Can't Wait to Get to Heaven: A Novel
by Fannie Flagg
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Read in January, 2008
If you‘re looking for a book that’s both fun and thoughtful—just the right something to get your summer off to a thoughtfully smiling start, you should give serious consideration to Fannie Flagg’s “Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven.”
This book is a magical blend of wistfulness, sadness, and humor. Some of the characters will keep you smiling for pages and hours. It’s definitely not what I would call religious fiction, and it is indeed humorous, but it’s also a nicely written loo...more
This book is a magical blend of wistfulness, sadness, and humor. Some of the characters will keep you smiling for pages and hours. It’s definitely not what I would call religious fiction, and it is indeed humorous, but it’s also a nicely written loo...more
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Read in July, 2006
10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good things are coming, and life is what you make of it, July 9, 2006
In Fannie Flagg's newest novel, she tackles the question: What is life about anyway?
Elner Shimfissle is 96 years old and she lives alone in a one bathroom house in Elmwood Springs, Missouri. On the day we first meet her, she has climbed an eight foot ladder to pick some figs for preserves and accidentally upset a wasps' nest in her fig tree. Sh...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone looking for a page turner beach read
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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5 comments
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
people who enjoy tales from small-town America from days of old
People are probably surprised when they find out I'm a fan of Fannie Flagg. This came about as a result of Fried Green Tomates (the movie), which led to me reading the book and then some of her other stuff. She paints such a realistic picture of characters living in small-town America in the recent past. She does whitewashe a little and leave some of the ugly parts out (like the commonality of domestic violence), but her characters are so complete and amazingly dynamic (you know Flagg knows each...more
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Read in October, 2007
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven is the current popular book in the Tri-Valley BookCrossing group. I had my chance to read it this past month and while I enjoyed it I didn't find it as strong or compelling a story as Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven is a fluffy fantasy that presents the afterlife much in the way that it was done in the Oh God! movies. I was almost picturing Ray (God) and Dorothy (Goddess) as George Burns and Gracie Allen (yes I know, she w...more
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven is a fluffy fantasy that presents the afterlife much in the way that it was done in the Oh God! movies. I was almost picturing Ray (God) and Dorothy (Goddess) as George Burns and Gracie Allen (yes I know, she w...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
light readers who are able to spell
This started out nicely, quick and memorable introduction of lots of likeable characters. Just as in " Fried Green Tomatoes", Flagg has the ability to make a town come to live, or in this case a neighbourhood and give you the feeling as if you've known those people all your life. She raises some questions about mortality, god and what life is all about here, nothing new, some chlichés, but in general she doesn't judge or make you feel obliged to have deep thinky thoughts - light, like...more
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Read in February, 2008
An easy, amusing, entertaining read. I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem of a book. The characters are wonderful and their adventures (particularly Elner Shimfissle, the main character) made me laugh out loud several times. Those who know the ways of life in a small southern town will definitely identify with Elmwood Springs, MO. I love that Elner not only fed the stray Labrador cheese sandwiches but that she also fed the blind raccoon ice cream and vanilla wafers, and that she assumed her c...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
southern lit, fannie flagg, chick lit, self improvement
i REALLY liked this book.
I personally enjoy Fannie Flagg's style of writing and her witty observations, so this was no different.
This book really struck a chord with me about being a good person no matter what. Life is a gift and each day is precious. Life is a roller coaster-sit back an enjoy the ride.
great characters, and a funny and endearing story.
One person can touch the lives of so many people and change it for the better, without even realizing it. Elner is just that woman...more
I personally enjoy Fannie Flagg's style of writing and her witty observations, so this was no different.
This book really struck a chord with me about being a good person no matter what. Life is a gift and each day is precious. Life is a roller coaster-sit back an enjoy the ride.
great characters, and a funny and endearing story.
One person can touch the lives of so many people and change it for the better, without even realizing it. Elner is just that woman...more
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Read in June, 2008
Most of the book covers one day from multiple perspectives, then goes through the aftereffects of the day. This has some of the same characters as Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, although Dena is a very minor character in this one. Aunt Elner falls off a ladder in her yard and has everyone worrying about her death. I really like this conception of heaven. It has some very sad parts, but also some funny parts and heartwarming parts. Toward the end I got really impatient because suddenly the ...more
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Read in March, 2008
I was so excited to read this book after having read A Red Bird Christmas and enjoying it so much. However, I found this book to be patronizing and disappointing.
The portrayal of "God" as the neighbors down the street was ok. However, the idea that the meaning of life is just to have fun and that everything was created for our pleasure is just ridiculous! While it was supposed to be a comedy, I found myself getting frustrated by the way the author continuously simplified ...more
The portrayal of "God" as the neighbors down the street was ok. However, the idea that the meaning of life is just to have fun and that everything was created for our pleasure is just ridiculous! While it was supposed to be a comedy, I found myself getting frustrated by the way the author continuously simplified ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of Fannie Flagg
I've enjoyed Fannie Flagg since I saw the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" ages ago. I found out that it was a book first, read the book and liked it just as much.
This is a feel good book about life and relationships. It was a quick read. Hope it's not giving away too much, the main character gets to meet God (a.k.a the supreme being) and ask about the meaning of life (to enjoy ourselves). While there are some dark parts (especially near the end) - I really thought it was mainly ...more
This is a feel good book about life and relationships. It was a quick read. Hope it's not giving away too much, the main character gets to meet God (a.k.a the supreme being) and ask about the meaning of life (to enjoy ourselves). While there are some dark parts (especially near the end) - I really thought it was mainly ...more
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Read in July, 2008
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"Can't Wait to Get to Heaven," like all of Fannie Flagg's books, gets the characters of small-town life just right. This is the story of the last day in the life of Elner Shimfissle, resident "auntie" and eccentric old lady of Elmwood Springs, Missouri. I loved the chapters that describe what happens when she gets to heaven and meets her maker--makers, actually, as there are two! She even gets and answer to her lifelong burning question: which came first, the chicken or th...more
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Read in January, 2007
Listened to this one....narrator, who may have been the author, could change her voice for each character and had the southern accents dead on. I felt like I knew these people from my childhood. It was an interesting story and I really liked it...but I really yearned for more character development....I feel like a lot of the development for me was due to being able to hear the southern accents and southern way of saying things and therefore associating things from my own childhood to the chara...more
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Read in May, 2008
This is another book Kelly and I read outloud to each other, at night, and any time we were in the car together. It was fun putting on our "southern" accents as we read. Fannie Flagg's humor is dry and ironic and just a hoot to read. We often laughed out loud until we cried. We are anxious to go back and read her other books (besides Fried Green Tomatoes . Evidently, the characters in this one have been in one of her previous books. The story line is touching without being over...more
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Read in August, 2007
I really thought I was going to hate this book, as I'm over-doing on the small southern town reads lately and I don't overly like the character development that this author uses, but I'm glad I went with the librarian's recommendation and picked this up. You know the main character - she was that sweet old lady who used to pass out candy bars at Halloween, or your piano teacher, or maybe the woman down the street who the neighbors used to call spry and spunky.
A fun, fast read that got a litt...more
A fun, fast read that got a litt...more
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Read in May, 2007
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. My only experience with Fannie Flagg is watching the film adaptation of Fried Green Tomatoes and her numerous performances on Match Game. I was really able to create vivid imagery of the characters in my mind, and throughout the novel I felt that I really knew and became close friends with the main character, Elner Shimfissle. It's silly, isn't it? I read this before I knew of Standing in the Rainbow, so it will be interesting to view the characte...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommended to Mellissa by:
familiar author
I laughed until I cried...
"Elner tried to calm Louise down enough so she could tell her what had happened.
'Who's that naked man?'
'I don't know.'
'What's he doing with a mop bucket on his head?'
'I don't know,' said a frantic Louise. 'He was here when I came in...'
"Louise looked down at the gun, then gasped. 'Elner, that's my gun! Do you think he shot himself with it?'
'It's not likely he could shoot himself between the eyes, throw the gun ac...more
"Elner tried to calm Louise down enough so she could tell her what had happened.
'Who's that naked man?'
'I don't know.'
'What's he doing with a mop bucket on his head?'
'I don't know,' said a frantic Louise. 'He was here when I came in...'
"Louise looked down at the gun, then gasped. 'Elner, that's my gun! Do you think he shot himself with it?'
'It's not likely he could shoot himself between the eyes, throw the gun ac...more
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Read in May, 2008
I did not like this book. The beginning was fresh and fun and the very end wasn't bad. But I was bored throughout the middle. I was very disappointed, since I had red another one of her book's already- Redbird Christmas and loved it! This one however I did not like. Yes, it was an easy read. Yes, it was a light read. But the book's view of heaven I did not care for, or how the character Elner died twice. This book was way too long in my opinion, considering I was unmotivated to read it a...more
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Read in February, 2008
"Almost losing one person you loves shines a bright spotlight on life, and suddenly strips you of everything but your real feelings." This one line sums up the entire book which gives a new, lighthearted meaning to life-after-death. The quirky characters made this smalltown experience come to life for me, a real talent of the author that made Fried Green Tomatoes a favorite of mine. There were a few parts that seemed to come out of nowhere, but overall, I enjoyed this enough to want...more
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