The Whole Town's Talking - Fannie Flagg
This is a very strange book and I can't decide if I liked it or not. I'll have to mull it over before I write a full review. Coming soon.

This all started out as a simple mail-order bride story, or so I thought. What it turned into was something else. I'm still not sure what, though. When I first finished the book, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I've since decided that I do like the book, but it's one that had to grow on me. I'll have to read it a few more times to catch everything that's in it. This is a very busy book!

It didn't stay mail-order bride or simple very long. Ms. Flagg quickly moved into the whole community and how they formed a town of their own and the changes the town goes through. Not just the town, but all the town characters, and how the events in the country and the world affect the town and its citizens. The author uses a narrator, conversations, letters to and from and probably some other devices I missed. She does an incredible job of stuffing this book full of information. It's just like the small town it's about, very busy with the lives being lived in it and all their connections to the wider world.

Her last device is a series of conversations from a particular place, which I won't reveal. You have to read the book to find out that secret, it's just so special. It works very well in creating a feeling of closure. I don't know if I'll read any of Ms. Flagg's other books, but this one was quite the experience. If you like your fiction chock full and a bit quirky, this one's for you.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am not being compensated in any way. All opinions are fully my own.
~ Judi E. Easley