Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man

Finished Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg. This is Flagg's first novel, published in 1983. Recently I'd been thinking of how I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistelstop Cafe so long ago and of how much I enjoyed the book. It's one of the few contemporary novels that has a permanent spot in my bookshelves. If I liked the book so much why hadn't I read any of Flagg's other novels? I had to get this one via interlibrary loan.

Eleven year old Daisy Fay is an only child whose father is constantly dreaming up get rich quick schemes and whose mother is growing more and more jaded by her unhappy marriage to Daisy's alcoholic father. This book made me howl with laughter. It's written as a series of entries in Daisy's diary beginning in 1952 and ending in 1959. Much like other books I've read recently (see Think of England and Five Quarters of the Orange), Daisy feels responsible for a fatal event that she has misunderstood. Filled with charm, wit and misadventure, this book is a must read for anyone who craves a good laugh.

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