Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is at her superb best in this fun-loving, moving novel about what it means to be truly alive.
WINNER OF THE SOUTHERN BOOK PRIZE
Elmwood Springs, Missouri, is a small town like any other, but something strange is happening at the cemetery. Still Meadows, as it's called, is anything but still. Original, profound, The Whole Town's Talking, a novel in the tradition of Thornton Wilder's Our Town and Flagg's own Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, tells the story of Lordor Nordstrom, his Swedish mail-order bride, Katrina, and their neighbors and descendants as they live, love, die, and carry on in mysterious and surprising ways.
Lordor Nordstrom created, in his wisdom, not only a lively town and a prosperous legacy for himself but also a beautiful final resting place for his family, friends, and neighbors yet to come. "Resting place" turns out to be a bit of a misnomer, however. Odd things begin to happen, and it starts the whole town talking.
With her wild imagination, great storytelling, and deep understanding of folly and the human heart, the beloved Fannie Flagg tells an unforgettable story of life, afterlife, and the remarkable goings-on of ordinary people. In The Whole Town's Talking, she reminds us that community is vital, life is a gift, and love never dies.
Praise for The Whole Town's Talking
"A witty multigenerational saga . . . [Fannie] Flagg's down-home wisdom, her affable humor and her long view of life offer a pleasant respite in nerve-jangling times." -- People
"Fannie Flagg at her best." -- The Florida Times-Union
"If there's one thing Fannie Flagg can do better than anybody else, it's tell a story, and she outdoes herself in The Whole Town's Talking . . . . Brilliant . . . equally on the level as her famous Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe ." -- The Newport Plain Talk
"Delightful." --The Washington Post
"A ringing affirmation of love, community and life itself." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
The Whole Town's Talking follows the life of Elmwood Springs, MO, from the town's founding in the 1800s to its demise in 2022, told in life snippets of its residents and their descendants as well as their ghosts who reside in the Still Meadows Cemetery. Flagg brings back characters from several of her other novels, such as the beloved Aunt Elner, and introduces new characters and several celebrity guests, for instance, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow and President Harry Truman. Though she highlights the uniqueness of everyday life, mysteries abound: Who killed Lester the Peeping Tom at the bowling alley? Who is the imposter who married sweet Hanna Marie? Read by Kimberly Farr, who wonderfully brings out Flagg's charming and heartwarming humor and expertly emphasizes sadder moments with an appealing gentleness. VERDICT A cheerful and uplifting, character-oriented tale with a pleasing ending. Recommended to fans of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. ["Die-hard Flagg admirers will enjoy this title, but new readers should start with another Flagg book or pick up Americana favorites by Billie Letts or Ann B. Ross": Xpress Reviews 11/18/16 review of the Random hc.]-Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix P.L. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In 1889, Swedish immigrant Lordor Nordstrom buys farmland in Missouri and sets up a town from scratch. Thus begins Flagg's latest, which follows the development of Elmwood Springs and the lives of its inhabitants from the turn of the twentieth century through the present, with stops at all the major events along the way (both world wars, the Great Depression, the age of bobby-soxers, the big-box takeover of suburbia). Readers meet a host of characters and watch them grow, but there's a twist: when residents die, they are buried in Still Meadows cemetery, which looks over the town quite literally. That's right; the recently dead remain, watching the world change as time goes by. Flagg doesn't stray far from her winsome and winning formula: adorable town with a cute history, check. Quirky characters, check. Nostalgic look at America, check. Readers may recognize that Flagg has visited Elmwood Springs before (Standing in the Rainbow, 2002), and there are appearances by characters from her previous novels. Fans of Maeve Binchy and Lorna Landvik will adore this charming tale.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2016 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
The history of a Midwestern town founded by Swedish immigrants, including both lives and afterlives, from 1889 to 2021.Over the years, the mail-order bride business had been fraught with pitfalls and disappointments. Not this time. The big, ambitious Swede Lordor Nordstrom and the nearsighted little wife who answers his ad fall quickly, madly in love. Lordor goes on to start a family, to incorporate Elmwood Springs, Missouri, and become its mayor, and also to donate a panoramic parcel of land for its community cemetery. And then he dies. Shortly after the funeral, the strangest thing happened. Lordor Nordstrom woke up. Turns out, after people die, they remain as spirits in the cemetery, at least for a while; at a certain point the souls disappear from the gossipy spirit kaffeeklatsch for parts to be revealed. As this tale winds through the decades and generations, two communities flourish, one of the living and one of the dead. Flagg (The All-Girl Filling Stations Last Reunion, 2013, etc.) does a clever job of tracking her clan of interconnected families through the decades, including a drive-by from Bonnie and Clyde, a visit from Harry Truman, four different wars, the birth and death of downtown, and finally modern plagues including drugs, unemployment, and deaths from texting. Theres even a murder mystery woven in, the untimely and suspicious death of a particularly beloved resident which the spirits are determined to investigate and avenge. Much of the fun of the book happens in the graveyard, with conversations like this: I went to your funeral and sent you flowers. Thank you. Im sorry I wasnt able to reciprocate. My hip doesnt hurt anymore, butIm not happy.I hate that Im dead, thats why. Ive been saving for ten years to be able to make that trip to California, and now Im not ever going, and the ticket was nonrefundable. You know the expression This is not your grandmas epic novel? Well, thisis your grandmas epic novel, anodyne but sweeping in its sweet way, full of home truths and consolation. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.