The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion: A Novel

It started out a little slow but so worth sticking to it. Lots of laughs and tears along with historical info. A little history, little therapy, a little family drama and lots of love

I love Fanny Flagg's books, and her previous one (I STILL DREAM OF YOU) is a masterpiece. ALL-GIRL is not her strongest novel but still worthwhile. The problem is a bewilderingly slow start, centering on two characters who are not terribly interesting or sympathetic. Sookie, the focal character, is an indecisive Southern gal taken advantage of by everybody except her loving husband. She is in particular a victim of her overbearing mother, Lorene. This mother from hell is, we're told by one and all (including Sookie), is very funny...but she isn't. She's a monster and unpleasant. In an otherwise lovely reading of the audio by Ms. Flagg, Lorene's screeching voice finally sent my wife and me to the fast forward button. Eventually Sookie will grow, though Lorene never does, and her periodic presence is unpleasant.An editor should have encouraged Ms. Flagg to cut back on the first hundred pages -- wherein feeding birds takes up page after page, in forced unfunny ways unworthy of this author -- because we (my wife and I) almost bailed. Only our love for Ms. Flagg's previous books kept us going (again, the audio version).Finally -- and this is an intended pun -- the book takes off with the story of flier Fritz and her sisters in Wisconsin, all but one of whom become pilots with the WASPS in World War II. This flashback storyline is charming and compelling -- typically, sweetly subversive stuff from a fine storyteller. That this wonderful story is interwoven with less interesting spurts of Sookie and her grating mother presents an annoyance, until finally Sookie develops as a person (and a character). Ms. Flagg is two things little noted: a feminist and a mystery writer. Her positive agenda in the former and her shrewd gifts as the latter are on full display, once things get going.If you like Fanny Flagg's novels, dig in, and be patient -- it will eventually soar. For first time readers of Ms. Flagg, start elsewhere.

This book is very entertaining and has a nice twist to it

The book came really fast even though I don’t have Amazon Prime. I’ve read this book before but didn’t have it in hard print and I wanted my daughter to read it and then keep it with all the rest of my Fannie Flagg books which I love them all.

“The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion” is something I read for a Goodread’s bookclub. It is from the same author as “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe”, and it follows a similar style where their is a modern story, a story set in the past, and eventually the two stories progress until there is a meeting of characters.Overall, I found the story lite on the historical fiction side, predictable, it tried too hard to tie up all the loose ends into a pretty package, and it was ultimately demeaning (see spoiler below). I found myself much more interested in the historical story although the modern one was humorous at times.I would have happily read a complete novel that focused on the historical story without the modern element mixed in. The reason I say the historical fiction was skimmed over is that it comprises about half the story, and part of the “facts” listed in the book look like something from Wikipedia. The information is also lacking some of the later things our government did in 1977 and 2009 to recognize the women mentioned in this portion of the novel. I know these later things were insignificant compared to their sacrifice, but I thought it was an important element the author didn’t know or simply left out.I found the book to be quite predictable just from looking at Sookie’s character. I figured out the “mystery” or “surprise twist” well before the author revealed it toward the end of the story, and I even predicted what would happen in the modern story in regards to Sookie’s son. I felt the treatment of Sookie’s son was an example of the author trying too hard to write an ending that would appeal to a certain segment of people in the United States. I will not go into the details here so as not to spoil the ending and/or hurt people’s feelings.I normally write spoiler-free reviews, but I cannot do so with the last part below. I suspect many readers will not even recognize why this part of the story is so offensive to someone who served in the military and especially to those that respect what honor means......<spoiler>The novel includes the awarding of a Medal of Honor, although the author erroneously calls it a “Congressional Medal of Honor”. The author’s use of this medal completely demeans the brave men and one woman who earned our nation’s highest award for amazing feats of bravery where they risked their own lives. By awarding the Medal of Honor in this novel for something that does not come anywhere near the level required, it cheapens the medal and illegitimately elevates the fictional character to an undeserved status. I thought this was an example where the author was trying too hard to make a “feel good” ending to the story.</spoiler>

I really don't know how many times I've read this book but each time I just can't put it down. I've read every book I can find that this author has written and re read them often. They are all so good.

Like most of her books, this one is a beautiful tale of life, relationships and love. The story about the WASPs is a true story to appreciate women in all their capacities. A book to be read.

Very nice and entertaining book. I loved the history of Fritzi and with her I discovered a facet of WW2 I did not know. As a foreigner, it is an instructive book, which allows to travel to different places of the USA but also in its history and society. I recommend.

Einer dieser Romane, bei denen man wünsche, sie würden nie enden. Die Geschichte der Endfünfzigerin, deren Leben von der dominanten Mutter beherrscht wird und die sich allmählich frei krault. Parallel dazu der Alltag im Amerika in den 1940ern, mutige und pfiffige Frauen. Ich habe das Buch "Fried green tomatoes" geliebt und dieses ist genauso wunderbar. Wer die Bücher von Anne Tyler liebt, ist auch mit diesem Buch gut beraten!

A real feel good entertaining story for Fannie Flagg. Wonderful characters, and interesting plot makes this book very enjoyable.The historic reference to the female flyers in W.2 give the book more substance.Margaret Jaffe

After the fried green tomatoes this was a shock but it could make a good film tooFANNIES so good at describing old ladies and LONG LIVE THE SOUTH

I loved this story. It had warmth, mystery and humour. Great book to relax with.