Something to Look Forward To

Flagg follows The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop with a charming collection full of characters transformed by unexpected changes of circumstance. “Special Agent William Frawley” follows the eponymous alien agent, who’s sent to Earth to study human life. When he stops in an Indiana Baskin-Robbins, he charms the woman working there with his enthusiasm for every little detail. In “Don’t Forget to Write,” Helen, 64, is stunned when her husband leaves her for the younger Cassandra. She continues to dote on him, however, and even delivers his laundry to Cassandra’s house. Then Cassandra threatens to get a restraining order, at which point Helen’s interventions take a dark turn. An elderly woman in “The Dreaded D Word” is aghast when her money manager advises her to sell her lavish Alabama home, prompting her to take desperate measures to avoid the indignity of an estate sale. “Two Different Worlds,” one of several linked stories about the Vanderhoff family, traces the generational divide between Kansas farmer Velma Vanderhoff and her granddaughter Cathy, a yoga instructor in California, while “City of Lost Dreams” tells the sad story of Cathy’s late mother. In these homespun tales, Flagg channels her characters’ fear of change and offers a genuine sense of hope. The author’s fans will love this. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME. (Aug.)