Rating: 
Summary: Referral By a Friend Makes It a Favorite
Review: I work in a very slow office at a prison. I got into the habit of carrying novels to work with me. An inmate suggested that I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I took his suggestion and was hooked after a few pages. I couldn't put it down. I laughed and cried and copied down the recipes from the last few pages. If you haven't read this book, I strongly suggest that you check it out from your local library. Give it a try. You won't be sorry, and like me, you'll want to try the recipes as soon as you can!
Rating:
Summary: 403 pages of greatness
Review: 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe' is one of my favorite books. I just finished reading it again and I love it more than I did the last time!There are many characters in this novel and you will love 98% of them! This book takes place from the 30's to the 80's and is packed full of stories! You will learn things about racism that you don't want to know. I am ashamed of how some white people used to behave and how some still behave. This is a novel, but Fannie Flagg acurately depicts how cruel racism was back then and even can be NOW. The most memorable characters are Idgie Threadgoode & Ruth Jamison and Mrs. Ninny Threadgoode & Evelyn Couch. These women will teach you about true, real and honest friendship. Take note and you will have healthier and happier relationships. Fannie Flagg is an amazing author. She has a great sense of humor and weaves a story like you wouldn't believe! If you don't become completely engrossed in this novel I will be amazed. I can never read it fast enough! Fannie Flagg is also great at character development. As I stated before there are many characters in this book and yet, Fannie Flagg writes in such a way that you will feel as if you know each and every one of them personally. I am always kinda sad when this book ends because I don't want to leave Whistle Stop. I think that is why Evelyn is so sad in the end... she not only misses Mrs. Threadgoode, she misses Whistle Stop and all the people she met there through Ninny. Read this book ASAP... I believe you will enjoy yourself! Thanks Fannie!
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting read!
Review: Take this one to the beach! If you loved the movie, if you liked the books or movies Beaches or First Wives Club, you'll love this book. Everyone else very adeptly summarized the story line for you, so I will spare you. Essentially, if you enjoy having tidbits of information with varying voices and time periods thrown helter skelter, this is the book for you. It has quite a bit of literary strength although it breaks some of the rules. The book does depict a lesbian relationship between the main characters, but does not explore any erotic situations, or cultural implications of their time period. I thought it was a little odd that no one said anything about two girls in love. One character lends Idgie the money to start the cafe, because now she has a woman to care for. Doesn't it seem odd that no one in a tight knit southern community would at all comment on an obvious lesbian relationship in the 20's? Otherwise, it's a wonderful book, full of tall tales and high adventure. Although you start out hating Evelyn, you can feel the strength growing inside her, as she gathers Idgie's spirit from Ninny's stories. You cheer her on, and when the final page is read, you begin to think, maybe there's a few more steps I can take, too. Get your copy used from the marketplace sellers right here on amazon.com - always a wonderful experience.
Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful.
Review: I just loved this book from beginning to end. I did not want to put it down, and the characters were constantly in my mind. Fried Green Tomatoes... had me thinking what would it be like to have an older woman to talk to about life. I would love to have a Ninny Threadgoode in my life. Her outrageous stories about her life and family, and the confidence she had with her self made me want to grow old gracefully like Ninny. Before i read this book i saw the movie a very long time ago. Friend Green Tomatoes is one of my favorite movies. Most people do not read the book a movie is based on after they have already seen the movie, but that does not bother me. I was suprised at the great job the movie did in following the story so closely, but of course the book is always better than the movie. Through the book you can imagine the story, what Whistle Stop looks like as well as the cafe. While watching the movie you do not feel like you are part of the small Whistle Stop community, but through the book you feel like you are at the cafe sitting down to some barbecue. If you have already seen the movie, but not yet read the book, I suggest reading the book. For example, just because you have seen Gone with the Wind, does not mean you want to miss out on reading that masterpiece. The movie was amazing, but it does not compare to the novel. This is the story of a middle aged woman named Evelyn. She is scared about eveything in her life, and has always been the good girl. During the book she realizes that all through her life she has had this fear of being called names. This fear has led her to lead a life she does not understand, and is not happy living. Evelyn struggles with her weight as well as her self image. Her mother in law is in a nursing home. While Evelyn is visiting her mother in law, she comes across Mrs. Cleo Threadgoode (also known as Ninny). Ninny begins talking to Evelyn about the small town she is from called Whistle Stop, and all of the people who lived there. This is a story about a small community that is centered around a Cafe that resides next to the railroad tracks. Evelyn becomes intrigued with the cast of characters Ninny talks about and soon can't stay away from the nursing home. Evelyn is also struggling to become happier with herself and her life. She is tired of being scared of everything and everyone. Mrs. Threadgoode becomes her mentor. She gives Evelyn the confidence she has always lacked to become something and be happier with herself. This is an amazing novel. You will find yourself smiling while reading it as well as feeling as though you are part of a loving community. You will not be able to put this novel down because of what an amazing story teller Flagg is. The novel does not begin in the 20s and work its way to present time (or 1986) but it skips around quite frequently, and only Flagg (or gifted writers) could pull these events together without writing about them as they happened. I would recommend this novel for anyone that loves a beautiful story, with simply amazing characters.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: I first purchased this book after being enchanted by the movie, and whereas I was prepared to be disappointed (expectations and all) I found that I liked the book just as much and for different reasons. The story line that I so loved is there - the story of friendships across the ages and through different hardships. And the feeling of the warmth of the South shines through as well. But it is Fannie Flagg's use of the written word that pleased me as well, it is lyrical, and it touches the heart. This is only a short novel, but it is so full of passion and humour that it is hard not to think of it as a big book. It is delightful and I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Thought I wouldn't like it
Review: I got this book form my English teacher. She chose it for me for a reading assignment. I saw it was very thick and I didn't want to read it. When I began to read this book I liked it more and more. The more I read it the less and less I wanted to put it down. As I read this book I wanted to find out more and I never wanted to put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fiction. I liked it because it had suspense and it kept going back and forth and the more I would read I would find surprises in the book I didn't think I would ever find out. But I read and there it was, an answer to a question I had during the middle of the book, I found in the end. I liked it and I think you will too. Much Luv, Sterling
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read!
Review: To fully immerse yourself in this book you need two things: a quiet place to read and a lazy afternoon with no interruptions. With these you will be transported into the lovely, quaint town of Whistle Stop, Alabama. Here you will meet numerous interesting folks such as best friends Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, wanderer Smokey Lonesome, wise and nuturing Sipsey and easy to please Big George. This book never really does decide what time period it wishes to be set in, it just wavers back and forth, mostly between the late 1930's and mid 1980's. Fried Green Tomatoes captures the essence of the human spirit and shows what the epitome of love and friendship really are. The words will jump out at you and stay with you forever.
Rating:
Summary: Whistle Stop, Alabama
Review: The story starts of in the 1920s into the 80s following the lives of the Threadgoode family from Whistle Stop, Alabama. A family with a heart of gold is the heart of the little town of Whistle Stop. And who better to tell the story then one of the members of this family, Ninny Threadgoode. Ninny who grows up in the Threadgoode household and ends up marrying one of the Threadgoode boys puts her excellent story telling skills to use when she tells it to Evelyn Couch. Ninny at the time in an old people's home befriends Evelyn who is a visitor over there and in desperate need of a friend as she is going through mid-life crisis. Ninny goes on to tell a heartwarming story of Idgie Threadgoode, her sister-in-law. Idgie, a heroine in every respect, defies the authority of the Klan as she serves to the Blacks in her Café, falls in love with a woman and makes a home with her, runs her own business. She cannot be characterized as wild but she is fearless and sometimes reckless in her behavior. Another thing working in favor of Idgie is a very supportive family and community. Ninny goes on to tell a story of a people coming together in times of crisis and later the community falling apart as the country develops and people move into big cities. During the course of her story telling, she saves Evelyn. Stories of Idgie's courage motivate Evelyn into bringing change in her own life for the better. Although the movie version is great as well but lot of characters from the book are missing in the movie. The book is an experience in itself. The book will make you laugh, make you cry and you will remember the characters of this book for a long time. ps. There are recipes from the café in the end, an added bonus.
Rating:
Summary: A funny touching wonderful book
Review: I read this book years ago and just made me laugh, cry and feel great about life.
Rating:
Summary: A Serious Student of English Pours Her Heart Out
Review: I read this book after seeing the movie, and it is ten times more engrossing. There are twice as many characters, and you'll love them all. I also found "Ruth" of the movie quite flat, but I love her in the book. Besides the wonderful charaterizations, the book dealt very well with an obvious lesbian relationship. Although Flagg never directly states it, it's clear that Ruth and Idgie are in love, and all the other members of the community are so accepting that they give us an example to live by today.
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