Helpful Score: 3
I found this one kind of funny, but more than that, it was a really well done storyline. I found myself rooting for Dena, hoping she'd find her way into her life, her character felt so empty for the vast majority of the book, it was sad really. Fannie Flagg is a most excellent writer, her characters jump off of the page at you. While Dena was meeting with Tennesee Williams, I could smell the ocean air of New Orleans and hear him talking... very well done. Definitely worth a read!
Helpful Score: 3
I usually love Fannie Flagg, but this book was not quite up to her usual standards. The plot only works if you keep in mind the time setting; otherwise the ending is slightly disappointing
Helpful Score: 2
HAts off to Fannie Flagg, again! This romp from New York City to the southern small town is brimming with wonderful characters. You get on this ride and don't want it to stop!
Helpful Score: 2
Wonderful book - funny, sad and perfectly southern. Fanny Flagg books are always so heartwarming.
Helpful Score: 1
a thoroughly enjoyable story - great beach read
Loved it!
This book is a lot of fun to read. It is funny and makes you feel good.
loved the book; I have the sequel on my wish list
Loved It!!
Anything by Fannie Flag is well written and down to earth wit. What more could I say?
Loved it! Sad, funny and entertaining.
With home-cooked, Southern literary flair, Fannie Flagg (Fried Green Tomatoes) returns with Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! "Baby Girl," as she is lovingly referred to by her sweet, country cousins, is Dena Nordstrom, a tall, blonde, corn-fed girl who makes it big in Manhattan. Ms. Nordstrom is now the top TV anchorwoman in the city, beating out veteran journalists and making ungodly amounts of money. Although her life seems charmed, Dena is frazzled and miserable. She drinks uncontrollably, is a borderline compulsive liar, and is forced to undergo therapy because of her stress-induced ulcer. Her psychiatrist, Dr. O'Malley, falls madly in love with her, of course, and sends the blonde bombshell to a close colleague, Dr. Diggers. Living up to her name, Diggers shovels up a mountain of dysfunction and forces Dena to face her mysterious past; all the while the good doctor reports back to brokenhearted O'Malley about her patient's progress. Meanwhile, back at the station, Ms. Nordstrom has made friends and enemies in very high places. Her greatest ally is Howard Kingsley, the Cronkitesque reporter who wields power with more ease than most seasoned politicos: "He closed the door and handed the driver a ten-dollar bill. 'Take this young lady where she wants to go for me, will you? And be careful, she's valuable property.'" It's a good thing she has friends like that, because her boss, Ira Wallace, makes George Costanza from Seinfeld look like a scrupulous saint. When Wallace hires a nasty but effective mole by the name of Sidney Capello to dig up garbage on celebrities, Nordstrom has a head-on collision with his sense of ethics (or lack thereof) and gets Capello canned. Or so she thinks. Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! is very much like its star, Dena Nordstrom: pretty, scattered, confused, and sometimes interesting. It's a long ride from the Whistle Stop Cafe, and readers who enjoy Jan Karon's Mitford Fall series will most likely be the biggest fans of Flagg's third novel.
I love Fannie Flagg and her books
I LOVE Fannie Flagg's books! This is such a funny and witty book by such a great author. I read this book after "Fried Green Tomatoes." If you've never read a Fannie Flagg book, do so now.
Anything from Fannie Flagg is a winner!Gives yu faith in healing, the power of small town America & how tight family ties really are.
I LOVE Fanny Flag and this was a Fanny Flag story at it's best. It's very Southern, it's very close to the truth, it's a good book to get lost in. It's about a woman who is on her way up in the media. On her way she discovers somethings about her own past, family she never knew, and put a lot of pieces to the puzzle of her mother's life she never knew about. Along the way, we learn about small community life, have a lot of laughs, and can see how far we've come from the values, mores, and morals of mid-20th century life in the South (if our values have changed at all).
I love the characters in this book! Good Book!
Another great flagg book. A must read made me laugh.
Really good story
This book was really good but then I love all of Fannie Flagg's books. Her characters and stories are just so great!
Not the best book I've ever read but an easy read.
Follows the life of Dena Nordstrom as she leaves her small Missouri town and becomes famous in New York, though she can't really break ties with the past.
I enjoy Fannie Flagg's stories - with characters who are funny, charming, sort of "down-homey."
I enjoy Fannie Flagg's stories - with characters who are funny, charming, sort of "down-homey."
Not as good as the prequel "Standing in the Rainbow," it is still a really wonderful read!
Another funny Fannie Flagg book. Great read.
Another great book of hers she makes you feel like you know the people. Her books are funny and sad but true to life.
If you like Fannie Flagg, you will love this book. Very charming.
The theme of the novel is about change and how the main charater (an Oprah-like personality)surives all her life long struggles. The author jumps around a lot in years and time periods, but I thing it adds to the story and makes it more fun to follow. Great plot, great characters, and the charm of the south shines through. At times you will cry, at other times you will laugh, wonderful book!
Fannie Flagg never disappoints. This book is a little hard to get started on as it has quite a few story lines hanging together but once you get going you can't put this one down! Not as good as Fried Green Tomatoes but, what ever will be?
One of the better books I've read so far this year. What a twist at the end! Great characters as usual.
Fanny Flagg is an author not to be missed...her characters are loveable, real and her writing is addictive....you won't want to put her books down!
I'm going to have to read more books by Fannie Flagg! This book is the story of a young woman who seems to be unable to make personal connections. As the story goes on and reveals her true experience, it becomes apparent what is going on in her life. There's a surprise at the end, sure to make the reader think.
I brought this book with me vacation and tried really hard to read it (since it was the only book I had) but I could not finish it. I found the characters unlikeable and the story line boring and slow moving. I normally enjoy Southern Lit but did not like anything about this book.
Such a fun read - but with surprises and depth and thoughtfulness.
Loved it.
A fun read in the usual Fannie Flagg way. It takes place in Elmwood as many of hers do. Enjoyed it very much
From the author of Fried Green Tomatoes...I loved this book. I've read it twice and loved it as much both times.
Readers of Fannie Flagg will love this novel Wandering back and forth through forty years of history as though it were backyard gossip, Flagg tells the life story of Dena Nordstrom, America's most popular female newscaster.
Funny, serious, and compelling, this novel focuses on Dena Nordstrom, an urban heroine who is brainy, beautiful, and a rising star of 1970's televison. Replete with a zany cast of characters, this is the story of a woman who tries to go home again, not knowing where home or love lie.
From the author of "Fried Green Tomatoes."
From the author of "Fried Green Tomatoes."
By the author of Fried Green Tomatoes. Written just as well. Really enjoyed it.
Good heartwarming read with mystery thrown in. I liked it a lot
Interesting book with a twist at the end that you will have wondered about throughout the story.
I just loved this book, it is funny, sad, and also has a message that I did not figure out...leaves you guessing til the end.
Fannie Flagg is a extremely funny author, I just love small town stories.
great charachters as usual for Fannie Flagg
I loved everything about this book. It's funny and sad. That is everything I want in a book. I am from a small town and this reminds me of people I know. Please try this book, you will not be disappointed.
Another novel about small-town America by the author of "Fried Green Tomoatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe".
Since I am more of a mystery/thriller reader, this book didn't really hold my attention. However, readers of Fannie Flagg or fans of laid-back general fiction may enjoy this book.
Since I am more of a mystery/thriller reader, this book didn't really hold my attention. However, readers of Fannie Flagg or fans of laid-back general fiction may enjoy this book.
Very good. I love her books.
What a refreshing and wonderful book. The characters are colorful and the town is someplace I would love to have grown up in. Great reading.
A sequel to some of her other books, some of the same characters. As always, Flagg's characters are wonderfully written. You get drawn in. She writes beautifully.
I always picture Fannie Flagg's stories being told by her character on the Bob Newhart Show.
This was a cute novel, but really all over the place with the story. Well written, though.
Reading this book there were several times that I laughed out loud and my husband and father-n-law thought I had lost my mind and marbles. Though Fannie Flagg is a wonderful writer and I most enjoyed reading all of her books. The newest one I have gotten by her is Redbird Christmas and can\'t wait to read it.
"CAPTIVATING . . . This is a comic novel to welcome home with open arms . . . Wandering back and forth through foty years of history as though it were backyard gossip, Flagg tells the life story of Dena Nordstrom, America's most popular female newscaster . . . You'd have to be a stone to read this book without laughing and crying." The Christian Science Monitor
From the Author of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" comes the story of New York TV anchorwoman Dena Nordstrom, who must take her fast-paced life down a few notches, face her mysterious past, and shake hands with her small-town heritage in order to find happiness.
very entertaining....enjoyable
This is a comic novel to welcome home with open arms..Wandering back and forth through forty years of history as though it were backyard gossip, Flagg tells the life story od Dena Nordstrom, America's most popular female newscaster.
A heartwarming tale! It would make a great "chick flick" someday!
NY Times Bestseller! "Utterly irresistible!" says Time Magazine. NY Times Book Review says "enjoyable...(Flagg) keeps it simple, she keeps it bright, she keeps it moving right along - and most of all, she keeps it beloved."
Memorable characters from small town USA. Funny and touching at the same time.
I love Fanny Flagg! This book is funny and makes you want to ready it several times!
I love Fannie Flagg and her downhome folksy style. I enjoyed this book very much
my husband and i read this book aloud to each other. good story -- makes you laugh, but good serious parts, too. spans a lot of years and various subcultures in the US. by the author of fried green tomatoes.
this was the first Flagg book i read, i had to get more
Entertaining, quick read.
If you enjoyed Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, you will love this book.
Loved this book. Laughed out loud in places, I did.
This book is hardcover without printed removable cover.
Not as good as Fried Green Tomatoes.
I have loved all of Fannie Flagg's books, so I was really hoping I would love this one too, and I did. It seemed a little run of the mill at first, but then the story grew to surprisingly enormous proportions. Wonderful characters, good plot, with mystery and romance.
On my Mt. Toobie Read pile.
