Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas.
Fannie Flagg’s career started in the fifth grade when she wrote, directed, and starred in her first play entitled The Whoopee Girls, and she has not stopped since. At age nineteen she began writing and producing television specials, and later wrote and appeared on Candid Camera. She then went on to distinguish herself as an actress and a writer in television, films, and the theater. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe; Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!; Standing in the Rainbow; A Redbird Christmas; and Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven. Flagg’s script for the movie Fried Green Tomatoes was nominated for an Academy Award, and the Writers Guild of America Award and won the highly regarded Scripter Award for best screenplay of the year. Flagg lives happily in California and Alabama.
My Impressions:
A Redbird Christmas was my church book club’s December pick, and it was unanimous (an unbelievable feat!), we all liked it. Fannie Flagg took a small, south Alabama town and made it magical. The setting is wonderful with the river, the charming town and friendly people. But it is the characters that make this story. Flagg takes lost, wounded, lonely people and places them in a family in the little town of Lost River. When asked which character was our favorite, most of our group chose Jack, the surprisingly talented red bird or cardinal that claimed the hearts of the townspeople and healed the hurts of a little girl.
Flagg also achieves something special in her storytelling. She takes ordinary people, ordinary setting and adds a twist of the mysterious and magical. There is a fairy tale quality to her writing that changes the everyday into something special.
If you are looking for a sweet, definitely Southern tale that will make you laugh and perhaps cry, try A Redbird Chirstmas. (Please note: there is some mild profanity.)
Recommended.
(I purchased a copy of this book. All opinions are mine alone.)
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