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Fannie Flagg serves up some holiday cheer with her charming novel about the inhabitants of one small Alabama town and how it changes a man's life forever. Plagued by the relentless Chicago winters and told by his doctor that he doesn't have long to live, fifty-something Oswald T. Campbell decides to relocate to warmer climes. His doctor suggests a health retreat in rural Alabama. Since he's divorced, has few friends, no children and lives at a men's hotel, it doesn't take long to put his affairs in order.
He calls information, gets the number for the post office in Lost River, and is told by the helpful Frances Cleverdon that the health resort burned down in 1911. Determined to help the kind gentleman on the phone (and anxious to raise the male population in her tiny burg), she assists him in securing bed and board at a neighbor's house. Betty Kitchen and her ancient mother, Miss Alma, open their home to Oswald, and they are his first introduction to the sweet and willful women of Lost River.
Soon after his arrival, he meets Roy, who runs the grocery store along with his pet redbird, Jack. A redbird is the same as a cardinal, but Jack's not just any cardinal. He's the unofficial mascot of the town and, despite his fondness for pecking at the fruit, is loved by all. Oswald takes long trips upriver with mailman and fisherman extraordinaire Claude Underwood. Frances Cleverdon is the town's matchmaker and is convinced that Oswald would be good for her sister Mildred or perhaps even postmistress Dottie Nivens, who gave up a successful literary career in New York City to head up the Lost River Post Office. As he settles in and gets to know everyone, Oswald feels more and more comfortable. And he realizes the cough that plagued him in Chicago is almost nonexistent now.
Into this cozy hamlet comes Patsy, a young backwoods girl with a pronounced limp. She was left in the care of a neglectful stepmother when her father left town and she is mostly left to fend for herself. She journeys into town, dragging her poor twisted leg behind her in order to see redbird Jack at Roy's grocery store. Patsy quickly charms everyone in town and they desperately want to help her. After the girl appears with a hand mark across her face, Frances is elected to speak to the stepmother, and when she ventures into the back woods, she learns that the woman who is supposed to be looking after Patsy is not related to her nor does she care about her welfare. She has her own kids to raise, she huffs. So Frances suggests that Patsy come and live with her. Frances is delighted to be of help to the poor child and thrilled to finally have a little girl to raise as her own. Months later, Frances takes the young girl to see a doctor about her leg and is told that she must have a series of costly operations to correct the situation. In true Lost River form, the townspeople band together and hold benefits, bake sales and pancake breakfasts --- anything they can to raise the necessary funds for Patsy's operations. And because of the little girl's one special wish, the town of Lost River is in for the most incredible Christmas holiday anyone has ever seen.
Quite simply, A REDBIRD CHRISTMAS is a warm and tasty read. Fannie Flagg is the literary equivalent of buttery cornbread --- comfort food for the soul. As she did in her previous books, DAISY FAY AND THE MIRACLE MAN, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES and her most recent, STANDING IN THE RAINBOW, Flagg paints a captivating portrait of long-ago small town America --- where you left your doors unlocked, borrowed sugar from a neighbor, and always counted on the kindness of strangers. This is the perfect gift for your mother, grandmother or aunt, or anyone who would love to lose themselves in this quaint, simpler time.
--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller
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