Standing in the Rainbow

 by Fannie Flagg

Vicki Carver -- Book Reviewer

 

           

            Many readers remember Fannie Flagg’s memorable book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café  which was subsequently made into a popular movie.  Flagg has a recently published book called Standing in the Rainbow  which is currently available at the library.

            The story begins in 1946 and spans over fifty years to the present.  The main characters live in a small town in Missouri called Elmwood Springs.  This is where the main characters who make up the Smith family reside.  Doc Smith is a pharmacist at the neighborhood Rexall store.  His wife, known as “Neighborhood Dorothy”, emcees a morning radio talk show from their home with the help of her mother-in-law, Mother Smith.  Two children, Anna Lee and Bobby, complete the family.

            Added to the Smith family is a diverse group of characters who add variety and spice to the story.  There is Minnie Oatman, the matriarch and lead vocalist of the Oatman Family Gospel Singers.  Her shy daughter, Bobby Raye, is thrust into a tumultuous life when she marries Hamm Sparks, a charismatic but misguided politician.  Tot Whooten, the local hairdresser, has continual but humorous misfortunes throughout the story until a critical experience changes her life.  Cecil Figgs, a wealthy funeral director, lends both a touch of irony and humor when he becomes involved in the political career of Hamm Sparks.  There are other characters as well whose presence in the plot adds color and humor.

            Standing in the Rainbow is divided into chapters which have the feeling of short stories connected by the evolving plot.  It is a long book, almost five hundred pages, but moves at a rapid pace.  The reader gets a feeling for what life was really like in post-war America in the late 1940’s and beyond.  There is a sense of how our country’s values and beliefs have evolved and changed through the later decades of the twentieth century.  Also, the small town of Elmwood Springs meets many challenges as it changes from a thriving business community in the 1940’s to a struggling town competing with busy discount stores on its outskirts.

            Standing in the Rainbow  is written in a style which is fast reading and enjoyable.  The colorful use of words and phrases keeps the story upbeat and humorous.  The flow of the chapters helps the reader to stay involved in the story and curious as to what will happen next.