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Can't wait to get to heaven : a novel / Fannie Flagg.
"Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and side-splitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirted octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here? Life is the strangest thing. One minute, Mrs. Elner Shimfissle is up in her tree, picking figs, and the next thing she knows, she is off on an adventure she never dreamed of, running into people she never in a million years expected to meet. Meanwhile, back home, Elner’s nervous, high-strung niece Norma faints and winds up in bed with a cold rag on her head; Elner’s neighbor Verbena rushes immediately to the Bible; her truck driver friend, Luther Griggs, runs his eighteen-wheeler into a ditch—and the entire town is thrown for a loop and left wondering, “What is life all about, anyway?” Except for Tot Whooten, who owns Tot’s Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop. Her main concern is that the end of the world might come before she can collect her social security."-- [Goodreads]
Record details
- ISBN: 9780345494887 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 9781400061266 (acid-free paper)
- ISBN: 1400061261 (acid-free paper)
- Physical Description: 365 p. ; 25 cm.
- Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : Random House, c2006.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Older women > Fiction.
Near-death experiences > Fiction.
Heaven > Fiction.
City and town life > Fiction.
Missouri > Fiction. - Genre:
- Humorous fiction.
Available copies
- 11 of 11 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Elkford Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 11 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show All Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkford Public Library | FC FLA (Text) | 35170000148858 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
More information
- PW Annex Reviews : Publishers Weekly Annex Reviews
Returning to Elmwood Springs, Mo., (where her sprawling 2002 novel, Standing in the Rainbow, chronicled the small town's inhabitants over five decades), Flagg keeps this outing much more tightly-focused; most of the novel takes place over a few days. Octogenarian Elner Shimfissle falls off a ladder after accidentally disturbing a hornets' nest while picking figs. After she dies at the hospital, the novel's bite-size chapters alternate between funny and touching vignettes showing how Elner's death and life has affected dozens of people in town, interspersed with scenes of Elner's laugh-out-loud assent into the hereafter. From there, the plot offers readers a series of delightful surprises. Perhaps Flagg's funniest novel since her debut, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, she's created a charming, life-affirming tale and a full cast of memorable characters, including Elner's late sister, Ida, who greets her in heaven still carrying her purse and a grudge about the bad hair styling she got for her funeral. Flagg is an expert at balancing pathos with plenty of Southern sass, and this could very well be the feel-good read of the summer. (July)