Standing in the Rainbow

A Novel

By: Fannie Flagg

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Good news! Fannie’s back in town—and the town is among the leading characters in her new novel.

Along with Neighbor Dorothy, the lady with the smile in her voice, whose daily radio broadcasts keep us delightfully informed on all the local news, we also meet Bobby, her ten-year-old son, destined to live a thousand lives, most of them in his imagination; Norma and Macky Warren and their ninety-eight-year-old Aunt Elner; the oddly sexy and charismatic Hamm Sparks, who starts off in life as a tractor salesman and ends up selling himself to the whole state and almost the entire country; and the two women who love him as differently as night and day. Then there is Tot Whooten, the beautician whose luck is as bad as her hairdressing skills; Beatrice Woods, the Little Blind Songbird; Cecil Figgs, the Funeral King; and the fabulous Minnie Oatman, lead vocalist of the Oatman Family Gospel Singers.

The time is 1946 until the present. The town is Elmwood Springs, Missouri, right in the middle of the country, in the midst of the mostly joyous transition from war to peace, aiming toward a dizzyingly bright future.

Once again, Fannie Flagg gives us a story of richly human characters, the saving graces of the once-maligned middle classes and small-town life, and the daily contest between laughter and tears. Fannie truly writes from the heartland, and her storytelling is, to quote Time, "utterly irresistible."© 2002 Fannie Flagg; (P) 2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

“A real novel and a good one [from] the busy brain of a born storyteller.”—The New York Times

“Courageous and wise.”—Houston Chronicle

“Try to stop laughing.”—Liz Smith

“It’s very good, in fact, just wonderful.”—Los Angeles Times

Praise for Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

“Another winner . . . an assortment of zany, lovable, and intriguing characters.”—Chattanooga Free Press

“A well-choreographed story of loyalty and survival that zigzags deftly across the postwar years . . . Flagg can cook up memorable women from the most down-to-earth ingredients.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Flagg gives popular fiction a good name. . . . Let others pretend to literary greatness. Fannie goes for literary goodness--and achieves it.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Enjoyed

I so enjoyed listening to this book. no hate, no killing!! just a good story of yesteryear and how life was when I was young. I long for those easier days of small town America!!!

A BEAUTIFUL MEANDER

I listen to this for a change of pace from more intense books, and it was delightful. It meander through peoples lives and while bad things were not avoided. Just finishing it now I feel like I have left some old friends who I’ve known all their lives. I loved the character development where people were flawed or quirky, and yet all presented with kindness and hope

One of my favorites

Learn to love Fannie Flagg with this book or any. The narration is wonderful and as always with Fannie’s books, you simply fall in love with the rich cast of characters.

What a wonderful story!

I am at a point in my life when I really need something to make me smile. Thank you, Neighbor Dorothy.

Nostalgic

Loved it! Takes you back, nostalgic. Women empowerment sub story! I would read it again. 😄