Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: What a delicious romp!
Review: This is a book that has been sitting on my shelf for years and I finally pulled it down and read it because a friend told me it was one of her favorite books. I am sorry I waited so long but very glad I finally read it.

This book is a delight! It is fun and it is also in a wry way a window to the foibles, loves, kindnesses and evils of a time past. And a parable about the tenacity of the human spirit.

It is the story of two women who meet in the 80's. Mrs Threadgoode, in her 80's telling the story of her life and the Whistle Stop Café to Evelyn who is depressed, unhappy and eating her way through a sad middle age. Mrs Threadgoode's life and the characters that people it are fascinating and the story is filled with humor, drama and heartache.

Through the ministry of the stories of the Whistle Stop Café, Evelyn is rejuvenated and inspired to face the challenges of her life while her company and attention adds pleasure to the waning years of Mrs Threadgoode.

Fun, fun, a wonderful read!


Rating:
Summary: Tales from the South
Review: Flagg has to be one of my favorite writers. For those who've been living under a rock and haven't seen or heard of FGT the movie, run, don't walk, to your nearest video store. Then buy the book, for the written word in Flagg's little hands is even more powerful. If you enjoyed books such as her WELCOME TO THE WORLD or Jackson McCrae's THE CHILDREN'S CORNER, then you'll completely devour this Southern classic. Five stars are not enough.

Rating:
Summary: Good for the Soul
Review: This book is one of my absolute favorites. I have read it again and again over the years. I will always have a copy of this book in my home. It's a keeper!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely great
Review: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe has been a favorite movie for many years. Earlier this year I finally got around to read the book as well, and was not disappointed at all. The story is similar, of course, to the movie, but the book gives lots of moving, touching and funny details which are lost in the movie.

Evelyn is a sad middleaged woman, who feels her life is empty and dull, and she is not impressed at first when she meets the old Ninny in a nursing home. Ninny starts telling Evelyn about her life in a small rural Southern town, and while Evelyn does not care at first, she soon becomes interested in all the people Ninny tells her about.

The story goes back and forth in time, from the early 1930'es to our day. We hear about the friendship between two very strong women, Idgie and Ruth, and all the people they know in the little town Whistlestop. Idgie and Ruth owns the town cafe, and more than once it is subtly hinted that they have a [...] relationship. A detail, by the way, left out of the movie.

The story also touches and deals with other subjects like slavery, racism, poverty but also love, faith, friendship.

It is a wonderful history that will make you both laugh and cry, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Rating:
Summary: Deceptively Simple Story Packs A Southern-Fried Punch
Review: Fannie Flagg's heartwarming stories never fail to entertain, and the characters in this one are some of the most endearing ones in all of Southern lit. The deceptively simple story is told in a witty and light-hearted manner, but delves into such emotionally-charged issues as lesbian relationships, the treatment of minorities, the problems of aging and more in an unforgettable narrative.

The story moves effortlessly between two time frames. The first story begins in the 1920's and centers on Idgie Threadgoode, a female Huck Finn, and her friend Ruth Jamison. Together, they own and operate the cafe which is the center of small-town life in Whistle Stop, Alabama.

The second story begins in 1985 when Evelyn Couch meets Ninny Threadgoode, the now-elderly sister-in-law of Idgie, at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home in Birmingham.

The two stories unfold in a light-hearted, folksy way that puts you into the lives of these poignant charaters and has you longing for the neighborly friendliness of a time long past. Evelyn is, in fact, so touched by Ninny's recollections that she is finally able to take control of her own life through the often hilarious and always inspiring life of Idgie.

For a feel-good read where the inherent goodness of people causes them to carry on through good times and bad, I highly recommend this one.

Rating:
Summary: Great characters, but rather unbelievable on certain points
Review: I loved this story and the characters. I enjoyed seeing Evelyn grow and change and 'find herself.' I did think that the whole notion of everyone in a small town in the deep South in the 30's having no problem with two women living together in an unabashedly lesbian relationship was very unrealistic. I don't think you could expect that reaction even today! I wish that our world were as perfect as Whistle Stop.

Overall, a great read and I'm looking forward to trying out the recipes!

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming
Review: One of my favorite novels of small-town America in the South, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is the story of the friendship between Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Bennett. Covering a period of time of about sixty years, the story is told through the eyes of Evelyn Threadgoode to a middle-aged housewife in the 1980s.

Whistle Stop, Alabama, 1920s: suffering from the loss of her older brother, Buddy, tomboy Idgie goes into reclusive hiding. When Ruth Bennett comes into town to stay with her family, the unlikely pair become best friends, and open the Whistle Stop Café, where their specialty is Fried Green Tomatoes.

Its an anecdotal book, comprised of the memories of Evelyn and newspaper clippings from local columnist, Dot.

In addition, the disappearance of Ruth's husband Frank runs its course. When his truck is fished out of the river twenty years later, people begin to wonder, Was it murder?

This book made me laugh; it also made me cry. The movie based on the book is just as good as the book itself.