Friday’s Read it or Rant: Can’t Wait for Heaven

Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven: A Novel by Fannie Flagg

I have recently read about 1980s Kabul, A child murder case, Sierra Leone, and a depressed family. I was all set to read a nice, light hearted book about a small town and quirky, yet mildly entertaining characters. And then the main character died! In the second chapter! I swear y’all, I almost chucked this one, and picked up a bodice ripper. I stuck with it because I have enjoyed Fannie Flagg in the past, and this was a return to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, a place I thoroughly enjoyed in Standing in the Rainbow.

So this is old school chick lit at it’s best. The back cover says that it asks the age old question: “What is life all about, anyway?” Um, whatever. Plato, it is not. It is about Aunt Elner Shimfissle who is a really old (no one knows how old because she has no birth certificate, and her sister buried the family bible) country woman. She climbs a ladder up a fig tree in her front yard, dislodges a wasp nest, gets stung bunches of times, falls, and dies. The End. No just kidding, she really does die, but the novel covers the ripple effect that she had in hundreds of people’s life. Everyone in her town, and many out of it, have hilarious stories and touching anecdotes about Aunt Elner. The novel also follows Elner to heaven. Yes, Really. So this is the part of the book that you really need to read with a grain of salt,(read the meaning of that here). This is not a religious manifesto by any stretch of the imagination. I would not read it with your Sunday School class or anything. Heaven is whatever she wants it to be, and God’s name is Raymond. He also calls himself Buddha, Mohammad, and Elvis. My summary stops here because I can’t tell any more without giving away the whole thing.

Which brings us to the million dollar question, does Hey You recommend it? Well, that depends. This book is light. Real Light. Like a half eaten Peep light. If that is what you are looking for, then yes, I would recommend it. The characters are charming, if not as well fleshed out as they could be. The plot does have some nice twists, but not exactly inspired ones. It is a good book to read on the tread mill, or while your child is watching Elmo. It is not a good book to write your senior thesis on.

Next up: Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. That should be a little heavier than a Peep.

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