The big question is this delightfully light and entertaining novel is, who or what really is "the fixer upper"? Is it the obvious, Birdsong, the dilapidated old house in Guthrie, GA that Uncle Norbert Dempsey left to Mitch Killebrew, or is it something or someone else?
Dempsey Killebrew, Mitch's daughter, is a Washington lawyer and lobbyist who is suddenly fired from her public relations job in the wake of a political scandal that leaves her reputation in shreds and her chance of finding another job nonexistent. She accepts her father's offer to "fix up" Birdsong and arrives to find the house in ruins and occupied by Miss Ella Kate Timmons, Uncle Norbert's caregiver and distant relative to Dempsey. She also finds a hilarious assemblage of local characters, including Mr. Tee Berryhill, Esq. and his father, who take Dempsey under their collective wing as a friend and client.
Dempsey is very likeable and if you enjoy home remodeling you will especially love this novel. She is, in some respects a superwoman (removing all of the tiles from the kitchen floor? sanding all of those cabinets?), while in others she is uncertain, lonely, and vulnerable. She learns well from her past decisions and behavior. This novel may be one of the best illustrations ever created of the old adage "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" (well, maybe not quite as innovative as Olivia Goldsmith's "The First Wives Club", but that involved several women and a collective plan). Her gradual acceptance of Alex's betrayal and his callous disregard for the ruination of her reputation and career spur her to action in a hilarious scene involving Alex and the FBI. This laugh-out-loud novel will be a welcome respite from the endless healthcare debate and economic crisis. Andrews always provides light reading at its best: appealing characters an settings, a story you can sink your teeth into, and generally hilarious situations that you KNOW could never happen but somehow seem like maybe they could.
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