Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - 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 ⭐

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artstitute's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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abigailkokitus's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

I did really enjoy this book, but the very excessive usage of the N-slur was a bit jarring and off-putting, and how race was addressed in general. I know it’s just realistically depicting the times (I guess?) but it was still difficult to read. Otherwise, I liked the story itself, and especially loved Ruth and Idgie’s relationship.

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leahb88's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-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

4.0

I have always loved the movie and was excited to read its inspiration. I would say I continue to love them both, but in different ways. The movie jumps between past and present (80s), yes, but in the book the past timeline that takes place in Whistle Stop is not chronological and jumps around a lot. I liked this because the focus was less on the murder mystery aspect (in fact it really wasn’t an incredibly relevant plot) and instead we were mostly just experiencing life in Whistle Stop. Enough comparisons and a review of the text itself… I enjoyed being in Evelyn’s head and going through her feminist transformation with her. The feminist ideas in this were a bit outdated (it was written in the 80s after all, only a few years after it became a crime for a husband to abuse his wife), but this is definitely a queer feminist text nonetheless. Again, the way race was talked about at times didn’t really jive with me, but it still challenged systemic racial injustices. Overall, this book just gives me a warm, fuzzy nostalgia.

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kcakes719's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

Maybe I happened to read this at the perfect time, but this book really changed my life. The story, characters, and setting are so well-executed. By the ending I was crying my eyes out. This novel made me feel ready to take on life, peaceful, and at ease with my own mortality.

I felt like I was really living in Whistle Stop. Truly a beautiful, timeless novel.

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