Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

**Spoilers ahead, but the book is from 50 years ago, so no apologies.** Woohoo, BOOK REVIEW!

First off, I want to open with the fact that this book is drowning in racism that is both relevant and not relevant to the historical context of part of the story and its location. There's a number of chapters that could be removed entirely and honestly seem to exist solely because Flagg wanted to say them herself (including WAYY too much comfort using the N word). It was written and published in the 1980's focused on small-town Alabama and the story bounces between there and several other time periods, mainly the 1930's. So for that reason alone, I don't recommend it.

Secondly, while there are some beautiful sections with an explicit sapphic love story - those characters don't experience a happy ending and Fannie Flagg fell prey to the #buryyourgays trope despite being a lesbian herself. Idgie isn't there when Ruth dies and her death is treated with no emotion at all really. There's no mourning, no sharing of Idgie's partner of almost 2 decades (and love of her life), and that alone pissed me off enough to stop reading for 24 hours. After Ruth dies, their story is absent from the book for almost all of the final hundred pages and the final graveside mention just leaves so much to be desired.

At the end of the day, there are some beautiful scenes and I'm thankful to have read a book from that period which has a queer love story so well accepted and respected by all the other characters in the book. However, the racism is inescapable and the lack of a good ending for our queer characters leaves me disappointed in the novel overall.

⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐

Content Warnings

gretag's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

venusenvy's review

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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.

Content Warnings

bunnyreads2's review against another edition

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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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