Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by Fannie Flagg
★★★★☆
This novel, made famous by the 1991 movie, tells the story of two pairs of women. The first is Evelyn Couch, a chubby, middle-aged woman with self-esteem issues and an elderly lady, Ninny Threadgoode, who Evelyn meets while visiting her mother-in-law in a nursing home. Mrs. Threadgoode quickly befriends Evelyn and enthralls her with stories of her life in the small Alabama town of Whistle Stop.
The second story is that of Ruth and Idgie, the two women who run the town’s well-loved café. Ruth is a sweet-natured, beautiful lady with a young son named Stump. Idgie is a wild tomboy who drinks, shoots and swears with the men. Their love and friendship defies labels and stereotypes and binds them together for life.
I’ve loved this movie for years, but I somehow missed the book until now. I’m so glad I finally read it. The movie really did a wonderful job with the adaptation, but I think it missed some of the major issues from the novel. I was surprised by how many stories about race relations were in the book.
I loved watching Evelyn transform from a meek doormat to a happy, confident woman. At the beginning, Idgie is the polar opposite character, she’s just bursting at the seams with life. You just can’t beat her passion and spunk. I loved her relationship with Stump. She could talk to him in a way no one else could. She was the same way with the kind hobo, Smokey. She had a way of knowing exactly what people needed and giving it to them while asking for nothing in return.
The story bounces back and forth through the decades starting in the 1920s and finishing in the 1980s. The short chapters introduce us to dozens of southern characters, all of which manage to steal our hearts.
The author deals with serious issues, domestic abuse, racism, murder and more, but she does so while maintaining her sense of humor. One example is the sporadic “The Weems Weekly” which appears every few chapters. One Whistle Stop resident, Dot Weems, writes the bulletin on the small town news. She gives her personal commentary on the events and talks about “her other half (husband)” in a hilarious way.
I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. I can see this becoming a comfort read in the future. It was also a perfect book to read before my upcoming road trip to Alabama.
