A review by tinysierra
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

At its heart, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a book about the value of community. In the end,
weight loss isn’t what solves Evelyn’s self worth issues and apathy about her life in my opinion.
It’s her connection with other people that shows her that
it’s important to keep on living and to love herself.
I’m not sure that Evelyn herself sees it that way, but that was my takeaway.

I love the way the story is told through different avenues and POVs.
 
I love the jumps through time.  

I also loved all the different characters we got to see. They just felt so endearing in their own ways. Everyone in the book is in love with Ruth. She’s great. I like her, too. But, Idgie Threadgoode is my favorite. The woman that she is. 🥰🥰🥰🥰 

This is a book that I really just didn’t want to end. I wanted to stick around Whistle Stop to hear more of the characters shenanigans. The author really brought the atmosphere to life. 

The racism, colorism, fatphobia, xenophobia, ableism (m*dgit and r*tard*d are slurs btw, if you disagree go argue with a wall), etc is rampant in this story and it’s a big focus so I don’t think everyone will enjoy their experience reading this book. Mary Kay, the multi-level marketing scheme, is mentioned. Happiness being tied to weight and weight loss is continually brought up. There is domestic abuse and marital sexual assault. 

Also, if you’re extremely sensitive about the treatment of animals, you may be saddened by
the insinuation that the community overfed this one lady’s cat to death (though who knows if that actually killed it since it was an outside cat) and a raccoon that was purposefully given crackers that it would accidentally dissolve in water. There was also an elephant that would do tricks.
I wouldn’t call those things graphic but some people might be more upset by them.
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