On the HahaFiction shelf
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
Eleven-year-old Daisy Fay Harper has plenty to record about her family, especially a father whose next plan is always supposed to make their fortune. Her diary follows growing up on Mississippi's Gulf Coast in the 1950s, among malt-shop business and debutante rituals. Daddy's schemes eventually call for her to appear to return from the dead.
From the publisher’s blurb
“the family malt shop freezer holds unspeakable things”Read the full description at Ballantine Books publisher description
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What makes it funny?
Grandmother gives Daisy Fay a typewriter to prepare her for secretarial work. Daisy Fay wants to be a blacksmith or a tree surgeon, so the cat ruining the machine suits her fine. Her confidence extends to Daddy's unlikely stories about his military service. Readers in book groups name this among their favorite Flagg novels when funny books are the request.
The comedy at work
Daisy Fay tells us what she thinks the adults are doing, leaving readers to notice what she misses. Flagg has said she deliberately kept the child's interpretation separate from the adult reality. Daisy Fay's opinions are firm even when her understanding is incomplete.
Try this if…
An opinionated young narrator and Southern family life are the main attractions. Readers who praise the smiles in Flagg's books recommend this one enthusiastically, and Daisy Fay's optimism persists through difficult circumstances.
Good to know
This standalone uses dated diary entries. Family drinking and marital conflict matter to the story. The book also has dissenters among Flagg fans who enjoy her other novels, alongside readers who call it a favorite.
A few distinguishing details
- A father's money scheme requires a staged resurrection
- A child's confident account of adult confusion
From book groups
Questions readers ask
- Is Daisy Fay based on Fannie Flagg’s childhood?
- The author says it draws on her experiences growing up in the South. She wanted to give a girl the kind of coming-of-age story she had heard celebrated about boys.
More funny coming of age
Sources & further reading
- Publisher paperback listing
Publisher
- Reader discussion
Reader discussion
- Publisher and author interview
Publisher
- Reading excerpt
Reading sample
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