Community Discussion
Topic: LP Book Club #4

#	Author	Message
41	DAR Tue 5/6/2008 10:14a	<<How did everyone enjoy the book? Did you like it or not? Why? Was there a problem in not knowing the characters from a previous book?>> Ursula I would like to apologize I never got the chance to read it last month. Heck I didn't do much reading save for the occasional comic book and that was few and far between. So I do apologize for that.
42	Ursula Tue 5/6/2008 5:06p	No worries. Did anyone read it?
43	alexbook Tue 5/6/2008 7:14p	Yep. I enjoyed it, mostly. The phrase "gently humorous" comes to mind. It reminded me a bit of a Miss Marple story, without a mystery. Didn't know the characters from the previous books, and it didn't particularly bother me. Elner seemed like a lot of fun, but I have a feeling I'd find her annoying in real life. I did feel a little stupid when I was nearly to the end and it suddenly struck me that "Elner" must be short for "Eleanor." ----- As for the meat of the book: I'm a non-believer (some Judaism, some Unitarianism, and some Atheism in my upbringing). I don't believe in the Bible or Heaven, and this book didn't do anything to convince me of it. Then again, I'm not sure the author was really trying to convince anybody. For the most part, I think she was just trying to entertain. For the most part, I took it in the vein of being purely entertainment, and enjoyed it in that vein. Still, there were a couple of points when I found myself getting a little uncomfortable. It's hard now to put my finger on just why, but the description of Elner's ascent into Heaven, from the staircase until just before she met Neighbor Dorothy, bothered me the most. I may think about it some more and see if there's anything I can add. I'm really looking forward to reading other people's reactions. Mrs ElderP? What did you think?
44	chickapin Wed 5/7/2008 6:05a	I didn't sign up, but saw it at the library and did end up reading it. I found it delightful. My mother is from the south and so many of these characters are related to me! I don't know why I hadn't read any of Ms. Flagg's books before, but I did read Standing in the Rainbow as soon as I finished this one and enjoyed it as well. I really liked her folksy style, but as I said--I grew up with it. I find that there is enough stress in my life that I will usually choose books that are an escape. (Not terribly intellectual of me, but there you go.) This qualified. It was just a fun read about some interesting people. Alex--I did like the ascent into heaven because it was individualized to what would make Elner most comfortable. This was reinforced by the Rainbow book which gave more info on the origin of the song. That was what she expected, and exactly what she got. Others experiences were different. I loved the relationships--family and neighbors. Lots of disfunction, angst, interference--but always love.
45	Mrs ElderP Wed 5/7/2008 7:46a	I loved it, a very charming easy read. (Or in my case an easy listen because I listened to CDs in the car.) I didn't agree completely with the idea of heaven. (I'd be suprised if anyone agreed with it exactly.) I don't think it's necessary to go into a theological dicussion of what I diagreed with. However, the "errors" didn't bother me, or make me dislike the book. It didn't bother me at all that I didn't know the characters. I'm not so sure whether I liked or disliked the way the author wrapped up every single character. Maybe if I knew some of the more minor characters from another book I may care a little bit more what happened to them in the end. I would also say that I was really pleased on how Macky Warren handled his "affair of the heart". That was almost a deal breaker for me. I was thinking, "oh no" here we go. I was all prepared to dilike Macky and then he goes and does the right thing. Ahhhh.... I do think that now that I know the end I'm going to have to go pick up the bigning and the middle now.
46	Mrs ElderP Fri 5/9/2008 7:27a	Tomorrow (Saturday 5/10) I'll start the book club #5 thread and the discussion about the next book.
47	Mrs ElderP Fri 5/9/2008 7:28a	As in, what the next book should be, that's what I meant!
48	Ursula Wed 5/14/2008 4:41p	Ay yi yi! I forgot my own book club! Yikers! I loved the book. I really enjoyed the light humor and it was a good read for me. What I really, really liked was how she kept us following along...did she die, really, or was she in a coma, or did God intervene and she really was dead in the hospital, etc. I liked how she resolved it by using the cake device. It was just charming how it helped the other lady, too. Was I the only one sad when Elner died for real? Macky was a great character. He had depth and a soul yet Ms. Flagg didn't have do drag him in the mud to make him interesting. Who else moves the whole family to another state for the sake of temptation? Also, it has been touched on before, but I was pleased with the way that she set up heaven to be what the die-ee wants it to be. I suspect a lot of us will be taking Cinderella's Coach... Thank you. I hope enjoyed this as much as I did and I kindly hand you over to Mrs. ElderP!
49	SoThisIsLove Tue 6/3/2008 4:02p	Okay, I'm a day late and a dollar short and never even officially signed up into the book club to read it, but... I finished listening to the book over the weekend. I found tears streaming down my face a couple of times. My late father is from Missouri and there were many references that touched my heart. My mother will be 89 this September. I don't see her often and the guilt came bubbling up more than once. Tears again. It was a very gentle book. I loved Sonny reincarnating all the time! And I am going to make that caramel cake if it's the last thing I do.... ;)
50	SoThisIsLove Tue 6/3/2008 4:04p	Oh, and Ursula? Reference Cinderella's coach? I plan on going on the first drop at Pirates. :) Talking skull and everything!

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