Afternoon Book Club
July 14, 2015
July 14, 2015
All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion
by Fannie Flagg
“Whom the heart first loves does not know or care if they are related by blood.”
Fannie Flagg
The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion is a story of two family histories and a decades old secret that ties them together. Mrs. Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama is looking forward to a relaxing retirement when a secret is revealed that takes her back in time to the 1940’s Pulaski, Wisconsin. Sookie is horrified to learn of her true family heritage but grows to love and appreciate the richness of both backgrounds.This plot line stimulated a lot of discussion about genealogical research and surprises in book club member’s own lives which paralleled the All-Girl story.
Members enjoyed reading the book and readily connected with the characters’ stories. They loved the descriptions of their individuality and quirks. Everyone had a favorite, but Sookie’s mother, Lenore, the force of nature was liked by all. She had great friends and was well loved and more than tolerated by her husband in spite of her eccentric ways.
The story goes back and forth from southern culture in the present with Sookie’s family and friends to Fritzi Willinka Jurdablalinskie’s Polish family in 1930’s and 1940’s and their Wisconsin Phillips 66 Filling Station to Howard Hughes Airport and Avenger Field in Texas during World War II, ending up in the Danish settlement Solvang (Sunny Fields), California, complete with windmills. The author effortlessly ties up loose ends and family connections.
Several discussions about the importance of religion and morality in family life during the World War II era compared to how life has changed in our time added another dimension to the conversation. Some felt that the changes were for the good and the openness in contemporary society is more beneficial to children who would have been ostracized in earlier years.
Another strong theme was the actual history of the WASPS (Women Air Force Service Pilots), women pilots who were recruited and trained to fly military planes so they could fly the new planes from the factories where they were built on to military bases for male Air Force pilots and their war missions. This part of military history had been sealed and classified for thirty-five years without recognition. This was an unexpected revelation to most readers but not surprising due to the strong characterization of the women in this story.
Billy Bevins “Hiya, Pals”
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| Polish strudel from a bakery |
Loved the poppyseeds!
ReplyDeleteFannie Flagg has a nice style of writing that is both entertaining and informatiove... I don't know enough about Massachussetts ladies but I do know about Southern ladies and I've know each character portrayal elaborated, in depth, in this book to have their own real life counterparts!
ReplyDeleteLoved the book and thanks to Susan for going to the Polish bakery for the strudel!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great discussion, and comments on the blog, too! We discovered that Sookie was a character in Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, too, so now everyone will want to read that one!
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