I'd never read any of Fanny Flagg's books before because of my stupid preconceptions. The titles of all her books and even the name itself seemed too girlish and naive to me. They were, in fact, too girlish. And it also turned out that it was not at all synonymous with stupid and uninteresting. I could even imagine a man reading this book.
Fannie Flagg began writing and producing television specials at age nineteen and went on to distinguish herself as an actress and writer in television, films, and the theater. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (which was produced by Universal Pictures as "Fried Green Tomatoes"), Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, Standing in the Rainbow, and A Redbird Christmas.
The synopsis for my book said that it was characterized by a measured narrative. I would even say extremely measured. No action, no dashing plot and no unexpected denouement. The plot in its classical sense is absent, the book is rather a certain chronological narration of the events from the lives of people living in the small town of Elmwood Springs, and descriptions of these very people. And it is the people in it that are the most interesting and are the main value.
In fact, here you can't even say for sure who the main character is. Perhaps it is Bobby, a schoolboy, full of childish hopes, with wide-open eyes exploring the world around him and greedily learning about Life. Or maybe it's his mother, his neighbor Dorothy, a housewife and host of her own radio show. I'll tell you a little bit about her, because of all the characters I liked her the most. She is a smart and wonderful person: she bakes cakes, educates her children, does charity work and is just a kind and sympathetic person, always ready to help everyone. I used to regard Melanie Wilkes as an infallible paragon of virtue in world literature, but now it's Dorothy Smith. Perhaps she appealed to me because she represents my inner ideal of the kind of woman I would like to be. She's also one of the first bloggers in history. Yes, yes, that's right. And her radio show is probably an example of the world's most soulful blogging: no "this is me and my infant in Thailand drinking vegan pina coladas" photos - just useful advice and heart-to-heart communication with the listeners, like with close friends.
"Standing Under the Rainbow" is the ultimate hygge book, so light, kind and soulful that your heart thaws after reading it. As if someone wrapped a blanket around you and sang you a lullaby. If you manage not to get bored to death in the first fifty pages and you stop waiting for the twists and turns of events, accepting the complete lack of intrigue, then you will get this feeling and already finish the book in one breath. Such works should be read from time to time - they pacify, clear the mind of negativity and calm the nerves. By the way, it is worth noting that the book is written in an incredibly simple and close to spoken language. As if a grandmother in the backyard tells you a fairy tale. A lot of simple expressions and colloquial sloppy, sometimes even incorrect forms of word formation. And not only in the dialogues of the characters, but also in the text of the author. Although, perhaps, I was just very lucky with the translation.
This book teaches you to appreciate every moment of life as well as any literature on self-development. It weaves together the stories of many characters - ordinary people in an ordinary small town. Everything is so ordinary and, at the same time, in the life of each character there is a place for a miracle, something interesting happens to everyone, there are big and small joys and sorrows. And at the same time, nothing happens in a global sense. It's hard to explain, but we kind of just observe their ordinary life day by day and realize that it's beautiful and interesting in itself. These people are different, with their flaws and imperfections, sometimes even physical, but they live and generally everything is good, the glass is always half-full. And at some point you realize that this is happiness: in communication with loved ones, in daily worries, in little things, in random joys, in labor, in helping others, in striving day in and day out for something, in dreaming. And that's all there is always and everyone. And it's beautiful, it's Life. It's something to be appreciated.
I don't know how the author managed to write such a brilliantly beautiful in its simplicity thing. For me, it is some kind of new genre, a new discovery. So I suggest you pour yourself a lot of cocoa and marshmallow and get comfortable snuggling up with this book. And I think I'll go hug my loved ones and stock up on Corn Flakes flour and start mastering a new recipe for tiered pineapple cake.
Comments