I Still Still Dream About You; Fannie Flagg

Title: I Still Dream About You
Author: Fannie Flagg
Publication Year: 2010
Publisher: Random House
Edition: ARC
Source: Amazon Vine
Date Completed: 1/6/2011
Setting: Alabama
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommend: Yes

Given all that has been going on here over the past week, I felt that I really needed a book that might make me laugh, so I decided who better than Fannie Flagg to put a smile on my face.  Well imagine my surprise when I discovered early on that the leading lady in this novel is planning her early death by suicide. (Don't worry, it is not a depressing book).

Margaret (Maggie) Fortenberry, imagined a wonderful life. She was crowned Miss Alabama in her younger days, but now forty years later, life has seemed to pass her by. She sees her life as having been one disappointment after another. She missed the chance of being Miss America, as a result of how Birmingham, Alabama was positioned on segregation issues at the time. She never married, and can't make a decision, always concerned that she will hurt someone's feelings. She is working in real estate, in a terribly depressed market, where she is still missing her former boss Hazel who got her into the field at Red Mountain Realty.  So what's a woman to do at sixty years of age, after so much disappointment......well, for Maggie, she has thought it through, by making a list of pros and cons and has drafted her suicide note.

Before she has a chance to put her plan into action, a telephone call causes Maggie to put her plans on hold.  Suddenly one hilarious thing after another occurs that helps Maggie to realize that although life is full of disappointments, it is still worth living.

The story is has an array of quirky characters that are sure to make you chuckle. From Hazel Whisenknott, Maggie's former mentor at Red Mountain Realty, who we learn about through flashbacks.  Just over three feet tall, the lady was super woman, full of energy and spirit.  Then there is Brenda, the self-absorbed sneak eater who obsesses about her weigh. Brenda is also with Maggie when the two discover a skeleton at an old mansion that is for sale. Other characters include the elderly Ethel Clipp from the realty office, and a cut throat competitor realtor named Babs Binington.

Although the story is at times far-fetched and quirky, the author has the knack of making it work. In the end, I found, I Still Dream About You, to be just what I needed. It's one of those books that you'll be glad you read if you need to laugh at all the curve balls life sometimes throws at us.