“The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion” by Fannie Flagg – A Life-Changing Connection

The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion is a novel written by Fannie Flagg, and it is completely within her realm of mastery. In other words, it has the same style and humor as one can find in Fried Green Tomatoes, and what’s more, I believe that this novel is on the same level as the afore-mentioned classic. In any case,

The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion tells us two stories separated by time but connected by one letter. First off, there is the story of Mrs. Sookie, who just married off her children and wants to travel the world with her husband Earle.

Just as her life was getting stale though, Sookie receives a letter that turns everything upside down, connecting her to events that took place during the Second World War, when four young women took charge of running a filling station while the men went off to war.

That is the second story, how the four women managed to not only keep the station running, but also brought it back from the brink of bankruptcy and made it the most popular filling station to ever exist.

To be frank, when I started to read the novel I had an overwhelming impression, despite all the positive criticism I had read, that it would be all over the place with an irregular structure that is hard to follow. It suffices to say that I was rather pleasantly surprised by how the whole thing turned out; before long the connection between the stories becomes apparent, and the jumps from one to the other are always easy to see.

After a couple of chapters, I had absolutely no problem following the story or its many unique characters. From a technical perspective I can’t find any faults with this novel, being one that flows seamlessly and is very easy to read and understand.

As far as the stories go, they are both interesting in their own rights. The first one can be interpreted as a woman’s attempt to find true meaning to her life once all the responsibilities she had to society and her family were paid. It is a woman’s quest for pure purpose that goes beyond the basic wants and needs we are programmed with.

The second story is that of the power of pure will and determination, and how the most unexpected little things can have the biggest and most impactful consequences.

They are both entertaining, very humorous, and at times even a bit tear-jerking… but no matter how you look at it, there is seldom a dull moment to speak of.

All in all, if you are looking for a fairly light and humorous novel that is solid in every category, I definitely recommend you pick up a copy of The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion.

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Fannie Flagg Fannie Flag is an American actress, author and comedian, whose real but lesser-known name is Patricia Neal. Her most well-known works include the 1988 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Shop Café, later adapted into a major motion picture. She was nominated for an Academy Award for screenplay adaptation.