The Istoriaphile’s Corner

Everyone’s hometown plays a  special role.  It’s a part of each person’s identity, and wherever they go, some fragment of home travels with them, tucked around a corner of their soul. Strangers may see the same place as a paradise or living hell but to to a native son or daughter, this spot is where they started to become the person they are today.  That tie never completely loses its grip and while a lot of us leave our hometowns, some of us eventually go home.  The rest return in their dreams. That’s the theme of Fannie Flagg’s 2011 novel, I Still Dream of You.  On the surface, it’s a story of  twentieth-century women adapting to twenty-first century demands.  Brenda’s jumped into real estate work and politics with both feet, trying to improve the City of Birmingham and lose weight without losing her Krispy Kremes.  Brenda’s friend Maggie isn’t adjusting as well.  Maggie was raised to be a lady, considerate and kind but  her inbred courtesy is often undercut by other, unprincipled  real-estate agents.  Like her beloved old homes on Red Mountain, Maggie is in danger of being destroyed by opportunists driven by the almighty dollar. The friendship between Brenda…