0307BestReadsCantWaitToGetToHeaven

A Review by Antoinette Klein

What a wonderful treat Fannie Flagg's newest trip to Elmwood Springs is. The
characters we first met in WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL and got
to know better in STANDING IN THE RAINBOW have aged, had more
experiences both good and bad, but still maintain the small-town, folksy charm
of Flagg's earlier works. The laugh-out-loud moments are many amidst the
tears, the suspense, and the fantasy.

Norma Warren's aunt, Elner Shimfissle, who was a minor character in the
other novels set in Elmwood Springs, comes into her own as the main
character and the epicenter of an emotional upheaval in the little town.

While picking figs from her tree in the front yard, Elner accidentally disturbs a
nest of wasps and is bitten to death. Or is she? Fannie Flagg takes liberal
license with the heaven alluded to in the Bible, but it's all in good taste and
puts a very personal spin on a place still quite mysterious to the living.

The best thing about this book is the characters, their obvious love for one
another, and the close-knit feeling of community that Flagg captures with her
razor-sharp wit and endearing charm.

Remember Tot Whooten from the Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop? And Neighbor
Dorothy with her fabulous radio show? Macky Warren, Norma's high school
sweetheart and husband, and Dena Nordstrom, the cousin who was a
high-powered New York executive? These and others have all returned and
catching up on their lives is an experience not to be missed.

Along the way, the reader is actually told the meaning of life and given the
formula for leading a happy and rewarding one. That's certainly more than I
expected when I bought this book.

Another bonus is the yummy recipes mentioned in the book all appear at the
end. They sounded so mouth-watering that I have Neighbor Dorothy's
Heavenly Caramel Cake in the oven as I type this.

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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-spirited 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.

In this comedy-mystery, those near and dear to Elner discover something
wonderful: Heaven is actually right here, right now, with people you love,
neighbors you help, friendships you keep. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is proof
once more that Fannie Flagg “was put on this earth to write” (Southern Living),
spinning tales as sweet and refreshing as iced tea on a summer day, with a little
extra kick thrown in.