Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

25 reviews

cozyteareads's review against another edition

This book is really intense, and I’m just not in a place to handle that right now. I don’t even know where to start with content warnings. It also uses a lot of racial slurs over and over, especially the n-word. I recognize that part of it is set in the 1920s in the southern United States, but it just felt like a lot at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Sexism, and Cancer

tangledinblue's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.25

Idgie Threadgoode is one of my favorite literary characters ever and I wish she were real so I could marry her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Murder and Sexual assault

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

laurataylor's review against another edition

emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Addiction, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Child death, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault

lpinney12's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism

diannastarr's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

I absentmindedly snagged this at the bookstore to carry with me on a road trip thinking nothing of it, but this definitely rose to the top!

It has a beautiful balance of humor and heartbreak and all of the characters are so incredibly diverse with their own unique flaws and personalities that makes them feel real.  As someone born and raised in the south, this book really did feel like home and it made me miss not only the sense of community, but my grandmother's fried grits patties that her mom used to make during the Great Depression.  Fannie Flagg's effortless imagery and seamless chronology is something to revel in, and I truly enjoyed the Weems Weekly as a nice "buffer" between the four varying perspectives. The way Fannie Flagg made each perspective have their own individual "voice" just sucked me into the story even more, and I found myself rooting for all of the different characters.  I adored Ninny's rambling and eccentric nature, Evelyn's struggles through her midlife crisis, Sipsey's no nonsense kindness, Smokey's somber life, Eva's independence, and Idgie and Ruth's wholehearted devotion to one another.

This book doesn't stray from the hard truths of southern history, but it also highlighted the individual efforts to get through tough times and how a community banded together in hopes of transforming the Whistlestop Cafe into a haven for all.  The language is hard to read and, at times a lot of the topics included are uncomfortable to witness, but as someone who's parents, grandparents, and so on and so forth were raised in a town similar depicted to this one, it's eerily accurate

- from the normalized age gaps in relationships (specifically Idgie and Ruth's comes to mind), depictions of domestic violence between Ruth and her husband, prostitution and it's stigmatization, how the different skin colors of Artis and Jasper shaped how people treated them and thus their futures, normalized microaggressions, train accidents (from the outside looking in, seems way left field but my grandmother's town has a strip that, to this day, is called "the death loop"), casual racist vernacular in conversation, the "white savior" mentality of the Threadgoodes, Judeo-Christian undertones, even down to the tradition of stopping the clocks and covering the mirrors in death to "let the spirit go" and not be trapped in the land of the living.

However, it's important to acknowledge these details and these various mentalities instead of watering them down any more than Flagg already had because they are very real and were prominent at this time.

In all honestly, there really is so much to unpack and I really do recommend this for anyone missing "home," looking for representation, feeling stuck in the middle of a midlife crisis, or just hoping for a good story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault

houndoflove1985's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, Cannibalism, and Domestic abuse

georgiaaa's review

emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Alcohol, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Cannibalism

inthereads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

while I thought the story in this book was told in a creative way (for example the way the story was told and the use of newspaper + recipe clippings in the text) I cannot fail to mention the use of the n-word and what seems to me like a white author using stereotypes to write her Black characters, which made me frustrated. If you're looking for a queer wlw book that uses media from the world in the book (such as recipes, newspaper articles, letters etc) then go read one last stop NOT this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

marenjk's review

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

Moderate: Homophobia and Alcoholism