Dena Nordstrom - otherwise known lovingly as "Baby Girl" - is the surprisingly well-adjusted daughter of Norma and Macky Nordstrom. And though Dena has left Elmwood Springs to become a TV anchorwoman and the pride and joy of her network, her hometown is still an intrinsic part of her, and she of it. With a future full of promise, Dena survives her complicated present and her mysterious past, all of which are tied to Elmwood Springs.

Flagg, an Alabama native, has, time and again, proven her mastery of storytelling, her ability to make each character vivid and real. Welcome to the World is no different. With an expert ear for language, Flagg, through her narrator, lovingly invites us to be a part of this community that is Elmwood Springs, this community with bounds far more reaching than any map could measure.

Much of this novel is vintage Flagg. For instance, Aunt Elner blesses Dena's heart from afar over the fact that she "eats in restaurants day and night" up in New York City. Mourning the lack of "anything homemade" in Dena's diet, Aunt Elner decides to make use of her stockpile of hickory nuts and send her "my hickory nut cake with the caramel icing." There are no hidden symbols in this cake, no hidden answer to a mystery. This and other examples have little or no bearing on the plot at all. These entertaining asides, however, are ultimately the essence of Flagg's novel.

Through unmistakable voices and rich ties to home, Welcome to the World illustrates how much a part of a person place can be. You can take the baby girl out of Elmwood Springs, but you can't take Elmwood Springs out of the baby girl.

Pat Patrick is a reviewer in Nashville. Copyright 1999 BookPage Reviews