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.
