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A review by bethgiven
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg
3.0
I was glad when our book club picked a Fannie Flagg book; I've been meaning to read one ever since my sister-in-law recommended the author.
For all the talk I'd heard about how Flagg's characters were what sold the book, I was surprised at how well I liked the plot: so many varied storylines, from different places and times, are all woven together at the end to one cohesive tale.
Of course, the characters truly are delightful, too, especially the residents of Elmwood Springs (Aunt Elner reminded me a bit of my grandmother, a lifelong resident of Missouri herself; I loved how they'd talk endlessly of the meals they ate -- I can relate!).
Yes, I was really loving the book and its characters by the end; I found myself snatching bits of it whenever I could throughout the day (and it was nice that the book was subdivided into very short chapters, making this the perfect pick-up-and-read book).
That said, the beginning was really rough to read. There were a couple of characters who were rather prominent in the first hundred pages that swore like sailors, and it really bothered me -- I was tempted to put the book down a few times, not to be picked up again. I suppose it was a pretty effective way to demonstrate the scumminess of these particular characters, but yeah, it was almost too much for me ... so proceed with caution.
For all the talk I'd heard about how Flagg's characters were what sold the book, I was surprised at how well I liked the plot: so many varied storylines, from different places and times, are all woven together at the end to one cohesive tale.
Of course, the characters truly are delightful, too, especially the residents of Elmwood Springs (Aunt Elner reminded me a bit of my grandmother, a lifelong resident of Missouri herself; I loved how they'd talk endlessly of the meals they ate -- I can relate!).
Yes, I was really loving the book and its characters by the end; I found myself snatching bits of it whenever I could throughout the day (and it was nice that the book was subdivided into very short chapters, making this the perfect pick-up-and-read book).
That said, the beginning was really rough to read. There were a couple of characters who were rather prominent in the first hundred pages that swore like sailors, and it really bothered me -- I was tempted to put the book down a few times, not to be picked up again. I suppose it was a pretty effective way to demonstrate the scumminess of these particular characters, but yeah, it was almost too much for me ... so proceed with caution.