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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I adore this movie and so it was high time I read the book that went with it. Something the book excels at or gives a wider perspective towards but for the most part it’s true to the love, which also excels at parts the book falls short. Worth reading, love the recipes at the end.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I absolutely loved this book. I laughed, I cried, I got absolutely consumed by the character development and thought it was such a shame that it didn’t translate as strongly to the film (for whatever reason, they chose to completely alter the central love story 🙄). After my foray into Octavia Butler‘s dystopian hellscapes, I needed something light, but not without substance, and Fannie Flagg delivered. I was blown away by the gorgeous storytelling and the theme of this book: that we are all just stories—legends even—in the end. 10/10 recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
One of my absolute favorite movies but only somewhat recently found out that it was based off a book! Of course, I’m always partial to whichever format of a story I’m exposed to first so I will always love the movie the most but the audiobook was very enjoyable! (I was so impressed by the narrator that I looked up who it was and was shocked to find out it was the woman who played the elderly gypsy in Drag Me To Hell 🥲)
I particularly loved the chapter detailing Evelyn’s descent into anxiety/depression/grief and mid-life crisis after her Mother’s death, and feeling like her life is out of her control; these are feelings and experiences that all of us go through/relate to at one point or another.
I particularly loved the chapter detailing Evelyn’s descent into anxiety/depression/grief and mid-life crisis after her Mother’s death, and feeling like her life is out of her control; these are feelings and experiences that all of us go through/relate to at one point or another.
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
*sighs* I think I'm being quite generous with a rating of three stars. This book was published in the late 80s, so the amount of racism Flagg displayed in this novel is shocking and off-putting. Yes, yes some parts of the book take place in a different time, but I'm really trying to understand why Flagg used certain language to describe her Black characters. I was appalled at the way Artist was described! The stereotypical dialogue was offensive. Aside from the racism, it was a good book I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
This book left me with mixed feelings. On the surface it felt like the perfect comfort read, lighthearted (despite some heavy themes) and escapist.
But the more I read, the more I found the treatment of race problematic. As other articles and posts have pointed out more eloquently than me, the treatment of black people felt a bit reductive - happy in service roles, indebted/always looking up to white characters etc. Given how forward the book was in other areas (LGBTQ, feminism etc) I was surprised by this and wondered if it was the author's comment on how white people from a certain time and place saw black people. I appreciate it's not always fair to judge a book from the 80s by today's standards, but reading it today felt a little weird.
Ditto with the portrayal of fatness/diet culture - I found it sad that Evelyn seemed to have to lose weight to be truly happy, given how important food (especially non-diet food) was to her and the story and relationships until that point. Again difficult to judge it by today's standards and views of diet/makeover culture but I thought I'd mention it as some people may want to avoid the book as a result.
But the more I read, the more I found the treatment of race problematic. As other articles and posts have pointed out more eloquently than me, the treatment of black people felt a bit reductive - happy in service roles, indebted/always looking up to white characters etc. Given how forward the book was in other areas (LGBTQ, feminism etc) I was surprised by this and wondered if it was the author's comment on how white people from a certain time and place saw black people. I appreciate it's not always fair to judge a book from the 80s by today's standards, but reading it today felt a little weird.
Ditto with the portrayal of fatness/diet culture - I found it sad that Evelyn seemed to have to lose weight to be truly happy, given how important food (especially non-diet food) was to her and the story and relationships until that point. Again difficult to judge it by today's standards and views of diet/makeover culture but I thought I'd mention it as some people may want to avoid the book as a result.
1 star. It was all of the racism and colorist language for me. Jesus Christ. The writing style itself is not bad at all but the way the author handled racism was absolutely terrible. Not only is it a major part of the story (and I don’t care about it being apart of the setting and time period) but there is a way to handle it respectfully which the author absolutely does not. None of the Black characters have any agency and only exist to be harmful caricatures and stereotypes. I was disgusted.
The love story of Idgie and Ruth could’ve been really wonderful but I finished this book just fuming and uncomfortable. Awful.
The love story of Idgie and Ruth could’ve been really wonderful but I finished this book just fuming and uncomfortable. Awful.
I wish I could remember when or how this book came into my life. It’s been on my shelves for years, maybe even a decade or longer. I’ve thought about it a lot before actually sitting down to read it, not knowing anything about it besides the awesome title lol.
And it was a powerful and tragically beautiful generational story. This oozes 5 star qualities, but it just missed a hint of compellingness for me.
Of course I got confused in parts, but it never lasted long. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the abundance of characters, but the plot/timeline jumping. Don’t get hung up on minor details, the characters are truly the story. The battle between sadness and happiness really gets to you in the end, and probably just throughout if we’re being honest.
And it was a powerful and tragically beautiful generational story. This oozes 5 star qualities, but it just missed a hint of compellingness for me.
Of course I got confused in parts, but it never lasted long. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the abundance of characters, but the plot/timeline jumping. Don’t get hung up on minor details, the characters are truly the story. The battle between sadness and happiness really gets to you in the end, and probably just throughout if we’re being honest.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes