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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i really love the style of this book. the mix of seeing events through the characters’ eyes, ninny’s retellings, and newspaper clippings makes it super easy and engaging to read. overall, a lovable ensemble of characters and a healthy dose of nostalgia and love for life’s mundane moments. i was pleasantly surprised by how overtly queer ruth and idgie’s relationship was. however, i have…. mixed feelings about the racial politics of this book. i understand that it’s probably a fairly accurate depiction of the time period, but i would have liked for the black characters to then have more pov sections or independence from the white characters in the novel. it’s midnight so this isn’t super coherent, but the racial politics definitely left me with a sour impression as i was reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
This book is adorable. I would most relate it to To Kill a Mockingbird because of its setting in the south during the same time period. It goes back and forth between the past and the present as an elderly woman tells the story of her life to a younger woman in a nursing home.
It is nothing like the movie, I just want to make that clear. And the book is so much better.
It covers so many different characters and manages to evolve them beautifully despite how many of them are. I love how Evelyn, the younger woman in the present, evolves just because of her friendship with Ninny, the elderly woman. She becomes more sure of herself and grows out of her fears which is beautiful. But I also love how it covers racism, sexism and lesbian topics in the 1920s - 1960s. It covers such an important time in our history, especially in the history of the south, and I loved learning more about it. I also loved the lesbian matter involved in the story because it was talked about as though it were the most common thing in the 1930s in this small town, which shows just how little of a deal it is and should be. The relationship between Ruth and Idgie was beautiful and I loved watching Idgie evolve and help parent Ruth's son. She was the father figure that he needed, and I loved it.
This book is extremely soulful and I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a simple, heart warming tale. The chapters are short, and the structure of the book is adorable as the chapters look like old newspaper headlines. The back of the book even includes recipes for everything that was served at the Whistle Stop Cafe, including friend green tomatoes. This just showed me how much heart Flagg put into her novel, character, and setting which warmed my heart. You rarely find a book with such a rich setting as Flagg has created.
Also, fun fact, if you want to actually eat at the Whistle Stop Cafe it is located in Juliette, GA . After the movie was filmed there, they opened the cafe out of a building that used to be a general store in 1927. Enjoy!
It is nothing like the movie, I just want to make that clear. And the book is so much better.
It covers so many different characters and manages to evolve them beautifully despite how many of them are. I love how Evelyn, the younger woman in the present, evolves just because of her friendship with Ninny, the elderly woman. She becomes more sure of herself and grows out of her fears which is beautiful. But I also love how it covers racism, sexism and lesbian topics in the 1920s - 1960s. It covers such an important time in our history, especially in the history of the south, and I loved learning more about it. I also loved the lesbian matter involved in the story because it was talked about as though it were the most common thing in the 1930s in this small town, which shows just how little of a deal it is and should be. The relationship between Ruth and Idgie was beautiful and I loved watching Idgie evolve and help parent Ruth's son. She was the father figure that he needed, and I loved it.
This book is extremely soulful and I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a simple, heart warming tale. The chapters are short, and the structure of the book is adorable as the chapters look like old newspaper headlines. The back of the book even includes recipes for everything that was served at the Whistle Stop Cafe, including friend green tomatoes. This just showed me how much heart Flagg put into her novel, character, and setting which warmed my heart. You rarely find a book with such a rich setting as Flagg has created.
Also, fun fact, if you want to actually eat at the Whistle Stop Cafe it is located in Juliette, GA . After the movie was filmed there, they opened the cafe out of a building that used to be a general store in 1927. Enjoy!
This book might be the best book I’ve ever read. I felt like I was sitting at the counter in the Whistle Stop Cafe the whole time. In tears by the end of the book! It is really the best story.
Not used to this style of book with short alternate narrations. But once I got the hang of it - it was easy going from there. An enjoyable book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
just a good book :)
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
note to my future self: take sticky notes of all the characters in the book to keep track (because there is a lot of them), and revisit the Reading Group Questions/Discussions before restarting the book so you can have a deeper understanding of the contents.
Slow build at first, but the feeling of nostalgia for an unreal place I’ve never visited is unmatched. Although I did not appreciate the author’s decision to reduce Black characters to a stereotypical caricature, while depicting white characters as saviors, I will give her the benefit of the doubt because she looks wrinkled and ancient when she produced this book.
Slow build at first, but the feeling of nostalgia for an unreal place I’ve never visited is unmatched. Although I did not appreciate the author’s decision to reduce Black characters to a stereotypical caricature, while depicting white characters as saviors, I will give her the benefit of the doubt because she looks wrinkled and ancient when she produced this book.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I didn't actually finish this book. It just didn't hold my interest. Maybe some people would really like it, but I found it to be too similar to other "Southern" storytelling books out there with nothing really new to say.