Can't Wait to Get to Heaven: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Fannie Flagg (Author)
Key Phrases: dirty clothes basket, Aunt Elner, Elner Shimfissle, Miss Packer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Returning to Elmwood Springs, Mo., (where her sprawling 2002 novel, Standing in the Rainbow, chronicled the small town's inhabitants over five decades), Flagg keeps this outing much more tightly-focused; most of the novel takes place over a few days. Octogenarian Elner Shimfissle falls off a ladder after accidentally disturbing a hornets' nest while picking figs. After she dies at the hospital, the novel's bite-size chapters alternate between funny and touching vignettes showing how Elner's death and life has affected dozens of people in town, interspersed with scenes of Elner's laugh-out-loud assent into the hereafter. From there, the plot offers readers a series of delightful surprises. Perhaps Flagg's funniest novel since her debut, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, she's created a charming, life-affirming tale and a full cast of memorable characters, including Elner's late sister, Ida, who greets her in heaven still carrying her purse and a grudge about the bad hair styling she got for her funeral. Flagg is an expert at balancing pathos with plenty of Southern sass, and this could very well be the feel-good read of the summer.
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Product Description
Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and side-splitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here?

Life is the strangest thing. One minute, Mrs. Elner Shimfissle is up in her tree, picking figs, and the next thing she knows, she is off on an adventure she never dreamed of, running into people she never in a million years expected to meet. Meanwhile, back home, Elner’s nervous, high-strung niece Norma faints and winds up in bed with a cold rag on her head; Elner’s neighbor Verbena rushes immediately to the Bible; her truck driver friend, Luther Griggs, runs his eighteen-wheeler into a ditch–and the entire town is thrown for a loop and left wondering, “What is life all about, anyway?” Except for Tot Whooten, who owns Tot’s Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop. Her main concern is that the end of the world might come before she can collect her social security.

In this comedy-mystery, those near and dear to Elner discover something wonderful: Heaven is actually right here, right now, with people you love, neighbors you help, friendships you keep. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is proof once more that Fannie Flagg “was put on this earth to write” (Southern Living), spinning tales as sweet and refreshing as iced tea on a summer day, with a little extra kick thrown in.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (July 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400061261
• ISBN-13: 978-1400061266
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (160 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,288 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fannie Flagg's Newest Novel Is Heaven On Earth, July 16, 2006

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

What a wonderful treat Fannie Flagg's newest trip to Elmwood Springs is. The characters we first met in WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL and got to know better in STANDING IN THE RAINBOW have aged, had more experiences both good and bad, but still maintain the small-town, folksy charm of Flagg's earlier works. The laugh-out-loud moments are many amidst the tears, the suspense, and the fantasy.

Norma Warren's aunt, Elner Shimfissle, who was a minor character in the other novels set in Elmwood Springs, comes into her own as the main character and the epicenter of an emotional upheaval in the little town.

While picking figs from her tree in the front yard, Elner accidentally disturbs a nest of wasps and is bitten to death. Or is she? Fannie Flagg takes liberal license with the heaven alluded to in the Bible, but it's all in good taste and puts a very personal spin on a place still quite mysterious to the living.

The best thing about this book is the characters, their obvious love for one another, and the close-knit feeling of community that Flagg captures with her razor-sharp wit and endearing charm.

Remember Tot Whooten from the Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop? And Neighbor Dorothy with her fabulous radio show? Macky Warren, Norma's high school sweetheart and husband, and Dena Nordstrom, the cousin who was a high-powered New York executive? These and others have all returned and catching up on their lives is an experience not to be missed.

Along the way, the reader is actually told the meaning of life and given the formula for leading a happy and rewarding one. That's certainly more than I expected when I bought this book.

Another bonus is the yummy recipes mentioned in the book all appear at the end. They sounded so mouth-watering that I have Neighbor Dorothy's Heavenly Caramel Cake in the oven as I type this.

64 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Incredible Book by Fannie Flagg, July 16, 2006

By	70's Girl "Born to Talk" (Far From My Hometown) - See all my reviews

I have read (and loved) all of the Fannie Flagg books. I eagerly awaited this new book and bought it the day it was released. I was not disappointed. It was as incredible as all the others. It started out slowly and picked up steam...as time went on, I just could not put it down-yet I was so sorry to see it end. The first big surprise left me thinking of one of my all time favorite shows "Picket Fences".

We again are treated to the lives of the folks of Elmwood Springs. As an extra added twist? It is now 2006 and many modern terms are thrown in. For example, Elmwood Springs has changed and grown. Now there is a Pottern Barn, a Home Depot, etc. Linda has name her baby adopted form China and I think most readers will recognize the name from newspapers and magazines of late. The people are still quirky, folksy and small town, but they have been forced to adapt to life in the 21st century.

The star of this book is Aunt Zelner. We are taken into her life in depth and it is a wonderful trip. Don't want to give anything away, but she touches every one's lives, as well as the reader's life. I laughed and even sniffled a little. This book was so funny and so tender at the same time. This book was full of life lessons that have been said many times, but wrapped in with the folks of Elmwood Springs, they were food for thought.

I loved this book. Makes me want to go and read all the other Fannie Flagg books again.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's so nice to have you back Fannie, July 24, 2006

By	Buddy Leo "Buddy" (Fairfield, Alabama) - See all my reviews

Fannie Flagg has secured her place as one of the great Southern writers in the tradition of Truman Capote, Eudora Welty, Harper Lee,et al. She is a brilliant story teller with a unique and wonderful way with words. It has been a long time since I have laughed out loud while reading a book and a few moments later found myself with tears in my eyes over an unexpected sad turn of events. This is another "must read" from the gifted Flagg.