What's in a Name: Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts

Novalee Nation is 17, 7 months pregnant, and heading west to California with her boyfriend, Willie Jack Pickens.  Novalee's shoes fall out the hole in the bottom of the passenger floorboard of the car, and she has to go to the bathroom.  Naturally, they stop at Wal-Mart.  She runs in to get new shoes and what not, and when she comes back out, Willie Jack has left her.  Stranded.  In Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

Novalee spends the remaining months of her pregnancy living in the Wal-Mart, meeting new people, and really just buying time until she figures out something.  She doesn't really figure anything out.  But the baby is born, Americus (a name that will stand up to the hard times), and Novalee's squatting in the Wal-Mart is discovered, she becomes famous for having the "Wal-Mart" baby, and the kindness of strangers gives her a fresh start.

I've read almost every other book Billie Letts has written (Honk and Holler Opening Soon, Made in the U.S.A).  I swore I had read this one (I hadn't).  I'd seen the movie, but hadn't read the book.

The book is Fannie Flagg meets West Texas / Oklahoma territory.  Small town people with quirky personalities, big dreams and interesting back stories.  Like most of the other Letts books I've read, this novel takes a dark turn (if you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about).  The book is harder to stomach than the movie's sort of drive-by approach to that topic.

But even the book doesn't dwell.  It's not that long and we travel through 7.5 years of Novalee's life, chapter by chapter.  Life altering event, by life altering event.

Forney Hull is great in the book.  I liked him in the book better than I liked him in the movie (and I liked him in the movie).  Sister Husband, Mr. Sprock, Moses Whitecotton ... they were all wonderful.  Moses is kind of a pass through character in the movie, but in the book he's much more of a centeral focus, as he gives Novalee her career and her passion (photography) and helps her get back on her feet after the storm comes through.

I really liked this book.  I flew through it.  I had loved the characters already but I loved them more for having spent more time with them.  The movie, if you are interested, is fairly faithful to the book.  There are some things that are left out but that's to be expected.  But I was surprised to see that a majority of the dialogue from the film is lifted straight from the book.

If I were Billie Letts, I'd be proud of that fact.

Definitely pick this up if you're a fan of the genre, live in Oklahoma (or drive through), or loved the movie.  It's fun and uplifting and just sort of leaves you feeling like all will be right with the world if we keep doing our best with what we've got.