Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

18 reviews

saintyeehaw's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.5

Kind of a nice book about

lesbians

but reeks of white savior tropes and is overall extremely racist--even the "good" characters seem to think of black people as lesser than in some way and never address their own racism. The older white characters actually think black people are meaner in the present... because they are mad... about racism. The charm of this book has definitely aged like milk unfortunately. 

Also, the main character finds her self worth by

joining an mlm instead of learning to love her body and unlearn her fatphobia?

Come on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Classism, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Terminal illness, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

udari's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Racism

Minor: Sexual violence

rchristine11's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This was a great book. I knew very little about it going into it, and was pleasantly surprised at the sapphic relationship. This book is an adult novel and no character is without fault or flaw. The book is reflective and nuanced. It is told nonlinearly and touches on themes of sexism, aging, racism, abelism, colorism, domestic violence, euthanasia, non traditional family units, coming of age, and poverty. The book uses slurs continuously throughout. It’s not for everyone, and could easily offend. I usually stay in the fantasy/sci-fi/horror genres, but I ventured out for this one and I’m glad I did. I absolutely love a nonlinear story with multiple narrators. Sometimes it was an omniscient narrator, other times we are listening to ninny reminisce, or reading the weekly bulletin and the book jumps between decades, cities, and characters quickly. I really enjoy that narration style in a book.  It takes a great writer to pull all that together to create a coherent story. 
I’ve read a lot of critiques of the novel since finishing it and I think many of them miss the point of reading an adult novel (as opposed to children or YA lit). They mention the problematic nature of Idgie and Stumps relationship or the character Grady being likable while also being a KKK member. People point to colorism and racism and abelism displayed by the main characters. I feel like each criticism is saying “the narrative portrayed something bad and, because it wasn’t called out as such in the narrative, the book itself is promoting harmful ideas.” To which my response would be that this is a book for adults. As adults, we don’t need to be told when something is bad. This type of narrative style allows readers to engage critically with the issues presented and form their own nuanced opinions. 
This is not an easy read. It’s challenging, slow, and reflective. But it is a good book regardless and is full of hope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence

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

mfieldshalva's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cancer, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual violence

venusenvy's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

I'm so fascinated by the near-total acceptance of Ruth and Idgie's lesbian "marriage" by near everyone in their family and community.  Aside from their initial separation, them being both women seems to be a non-issue, and they are treated nearly the same as any other married couple in Whistle Stop.  This all seems to be part of a larger idea Flagg has in the book that "queer" things can be accepted without ever being discussed, and that contradictions to what is "normal" are, in fact, even more normal.  I see this idea reappear in a much more problematic and troubling instance -- the suggestion that Grady Kilgore can be both a member of the KKK and an accomplice of "Railroad Bill," providing illegal food assistance to the black residents of Troutville.  I don't have a coherent take on this, but to me it seems that Flagg is trying to suggest that there is much lurking beneath the standard idea of southern life.  With her huge cast of characters I'm not sure she achieves the right depth with most to pull this off.  Still, I really cling to this as a favorite love story.  I hope to do some writing and research about the book to get my head around it more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

There are moments of extreme violence against women, black people, and the homeless, and the Southern setting, and 1920s-1980s time period, lead to a use of upsetting language around race. Despite this, the tone of the book remains humorous and the theme of friendship is celebrated. I would argue that the tackling of serious issues is always couched in Flagg's lighthearted writing style and that thus a lightness prevails in the book -- but anyone with sensitivities to these content warnings could be very troubled.

beetsnotbombs's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Best book that I have ever read. Ms. Flagg is truly gifted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

bunnyreads2's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Enjoyed the audiobook a lot. Felt pretty emotional at the end. The only thing is that the whole time I thought the author was black, and when I realized she wasn’t, I kinda questioned the way racism was discussed in the story. But it’s mostly 2020 hindsight and doesn’t deter from the story’s quality and intentions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Infidelity, Hate crime, and Police brutality