34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to Both Sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, Baby Girl, March 31, 2002
Fannie Flagg serves up a hefty helping of Southern humor in this sometimes funny, sometimes melodramatic, but always interesting story. Baby Girl is Dena Nordstrom of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, who becomes one of the top tv journalists in New York City. She learns a lot of lessons in the big city, such as tv news has no ethics, tabloid shows are what America wants, and people with no morals rise to the top. When Dena crashes from the stress of big city living, she goes back home (against her will) to be coddled and loved by her extended family. The very best parts of this book take place below the Mason-Dixon line as cousin Norma and her husband Mackey Warren delight readers with their down-to-earth goodness and hysterically funny dialogue. Also adding to the fun is Kappa sorority sister extraordinaire Sookie from Selma, Alabama, the complete antithesis of Dena. Sookie is a devoted wife and mother, a born-again Christian, but mostly she is a loving friend who never forgets that being a Kappa is the ultimate achievement for all women. Flagg describes small-town living perfectly and captures all the love, humor, and genuine neighborly concern that small towns have become famous for. Lucky for Dena, because she has a major crisis to confront. Things become serious when Dena delves into her past and searches for the mother who abandoned her many years ago. The climax of this novel is surprising and totally unique. I was shocked at what I learned about Dena's mother and overcome with emotion at the poignancy of the story.
But the reason this book appealed to me so much was primarily due to Neighbor Dorothy, the first character we meet and the one whose spirit hovers over the entire story. As Flagg moves back and forth from the forties to the eighties and all points in between, we get a picture of what it is like to grow up in a loving environment and how it stays with you and reaches out to help you no matter how far away you roam. So curl up with Dena, her friends, neighbors, and shrinks, and most of all Neighbor Dorothy, for a bittersweet trip North and South and see which world is the one for Dena.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dena Nordstrom's Search for herself, February 5, 2002
WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL is the second Fannie Flagg novel that I've read. The first, of course, was Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Welcome To the World, I have to say, is not as wonderful as the other book, but I think comparing the two may be a mistake.
The novel switches back and forth between the present, the 1970's, and the past, the 1930's and 1940's. Dena Nordstrom is a famous television personality of the 1970's, almost akin to what Oprah Winfrey is for us today. She's' highly respected and well-loved by her many fans. She brings ratings to her television network, and everyone just loves her. She lives in New York, lives a fast life of parties and liquor and all the trappings that come with being a famous celebrity.
Then we switch to the 1930's and 40's. We see Dena's roots, where she came from. We get them in pieces, in short scenes, because Dena herself does not know too much about her childhood or about where she came from. Her mother was a mystery to her, and she knows hardly anything about her. All she knows is that she once loved her mother very much, but somewhere along the way she stopped loving her.
The scenes of the 1930's and 40's take place in a small country town called Elmwood Springs, Missouri. To modern day Dena Nordstrom, this is hicktown. She has no desire in going back home. Fannie Flagg paints a quaint, wonderful little town where everyone knows everyone else, and there is not one secret in town that nobody knows. However, the biggest secret is something that no one knew, because Dena's mother chose to keep it secret.
Dena has troubles sleeping and soon is forced to see a psychiatrist to help. She starts with one psychiatrist, Gerry, but he soon sends her off to another one, a friend of his, Dr. Diggers. She's black for starters, and she's a paraplegic. She gets around by using a wheelchair. Dena learns to trust Dr. Diggers, and through the psychiatrist she and the reader start to learn more about Dena's past,and her mother's past. What we find out at the end of the book caught me by surprise because it certainly was not what I had expected!
I highly recommend WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY GIRL. One hint of warning: I did not find the first part of the book very readable, because I did not really see where Fannie Flagg was taking this book. However, by the time I reached the end, it was a big "aha!" for me and it made so much more sense. This book was well done and I can see it made into a movie, as FRIED GREEN TOMATOES was years ago. Be very patient with this book - you will be greatly rewarded with the ending.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ, July 27, 2006
I bought this book at a Library Book Sale, and I brought on my vacation to a Rhode Island beach last year, and I enjoyed it immensely. I loved it, and Ms. Flagg wrote a good yarn. The storyline was really good, and I couldn't put it down. A MUST READ. If you like a good southern story, you will definitely enjoy this one.
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