A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

I had had this book on my shelves for far too long. I didn't know what to expect, as although I have seen the film of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe, it was so long ago that I can hardly even remember the plot, though I know I enjoyed it.

A Redbird Christmas turned out, in any case, to be completely different. It's about a washed-up divorced man, Oswald Campbell, living in a men's hostel in Chichago, who is told by his doctor that unless he moves to a warmer climate he will be dead in a few months time.

By a series of coincidences Oswald ends up in the tiny hamlet of Lost River, Alabama. Lost River is populated by some interesting characters, in particular Frances Clevedon, who arranges Oswald's lodgings with her friend Betty, Frances's outspoken sister Mildred, Claude Underwood, postman and best fisherman on the river, and Claude's friend Roy Grimmit, who runs the local store. Roy has adopted an injured redbird and called him Jack.

This is a lovely, gentle story about Oswald's life at Lost River, his growing friendships, his appreciation of the river, its wildlife and its beauty. But unlike some similar books, A Redbird Christmas also has a plot; Patsy, a ragged little girl with a deformed leg, turns up at the store one day and eventually befriends Jack. Patsy lives a sad and loveless life in a run down trailer in the woods. Roy, Oswald, Frances, and before long the entire community, decide to help Patsy, and after fundraisers, potluck Alabama suppers, and a few near misses with the authorities, they carry out a bold, hilarious and necessary deception to bring their plans to fruition.

It's also the story of Lost River's relationship with the Creole people on the other side of the river, where they have lived since the 1700s, of how that relationship went wrong, and how it is finally healed. The issue of land rights and appropriation is touched on, but what the story is really about is friendship, support and love.

In a lesser author's hands A Redbird Christmas might have been cloying and twee (indeed that was one of the thoughts that probably held me back from reading it earlier), but Fannie Flagg writes so well that I enjoyed every word of this wonderful little book.