The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

Sheriff Grady Kilgore

WHISTLE STOP, ALABAMA

January 24, 1991

Grady Kilgore, a big barrel-chested bear of a man in his seventies, had been the sheriff of Whistle Stop, Alabama, until 1958, when he and his wife, Gladys, had moved to Tennessee. Today, Grady had driven down to Whistle Stop from Nashville with his grandson and was standing on the railroad tracks, looking across the street to where the old Whistle Stop Cafe used to be. Kudzu vines had grown all over the buildings and had covered most of the block. It was hard for his grandson to tell what was underneath.

Grady pointed over to one of the buildings. That s the old post office that Dot Weems ran, and right there s the cafe, next to Opal Butts s beauty shop, where your grandma got her hair done up every Saturday morning. Grady stood there looking around and was sad to see how much the place had changed since the last time he d stopped by.

By now, the old two-lane highway from Birmingham to Whistle Stop had been bypassed by a new six-lane interstate, and most of the area was now just a dumping ground. Old rusty cars and trucks had been abandoned by the tracks, left to slowly fall apart. Empty beer cans and whiskey bottles were everywhere. And as a sad sign of the times, Grady noticed there was a lot of drug paraphernalia scattered around that hadn t been there before.

The Baptist church, where he had heard Reverend Scroggins preach every Sunday, was now almost falling down, the stained-glass windows broken, the pews removed and sold. All that was left of the town were some of the old buildings and the old Threadgoode home, and that was barely standing. Vandals had pretty much destroyed everything else. Grady turned to his grandson and shook his head. When I get to thinkin how this place used to be, and what it is now, it just makes me sick. It wasn t never a fancy town, but it was clean. Now there s junk scattered everywhere. And the old Threadgoode house is full of

Fannie Flagg s career started in the fifth grade when she wrote, directed, and starred in her first play, titled The Whoopee Girls. At age nineteen she was already writing and producing television specials in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. At age twenty she went to New York and immediately began writing and acting on Candid Camera, and made over seventy-five appearances on The Tonight Show. 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; The Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook; Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!; Standing in the Rainbow; A Redbird Christmas; Can t Wait to Get to Heaven; I Still Dream About You; The All-Girl Filling Station s Last Reunion; and The Whole Town s Talking. 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. She also won the Harper Lee Prize for Fiction. Fannie Flagg loves all animals, especially human beings, and lives happily in California and Alabama.

The story blossoms in vintage Flagg style folksy and feel-good. An abundance of Southern charm will delight both readers eager to journey back to beloved Whistle Stop and also those wanting to visit for the very first time. Shelf Awareness

Who can resist a visit to Whistle Stop and all her inhabitants, past and present? No one! Library Journal

Reading this novel is like entering a second childhood. Kirkus Reviews

Flagg s memorable cast returns to Whistle Stop, Ala., made famous in Fried Green Tomatoes, in this heartfelt saga. . . . Flagg s multitude of fans will enjoy reminiscing and learning more secrets from her well-known protagonists. Publishers Weekly

Spellbinding storytelling, deftly drawn characters and an unerring ear for credible dialogue . . . The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop represents a gift, a blessing and a triumph. . . . It showcases Flagg s ability to write a sweet but never saccharine, comical but never cruel, profound but never pompous narrative; it celebrates the bonds of family and friends and the possibilities of recovery and renewal. Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

A charming and heart-warming story The Palm Beach Post

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop is a captivating novel with characters and relationships to be savored, as well as ample servings of hope and inspiration. These are venerable storytelling qualities which surely are needed now more than ever. . . . The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop should garner an even wider fan-base for Flagg, a well-deserved outcome for an exceptional writer. New York Journal of Books