Flagg apparently only knows how to write stereotypical characters. In wanting to show a positive feminist message (in her second-wave feminist kind of way), she has a lesbian who is just like a man. In order to show that racism is bad, she 'Uncle Toms' her black characters. She has the elderly being rambling old cute simpletons, or else "crazy."

The racism was the thing that got to me the most (the rest was just sad and ridiculous). Some authors know how to show the racism of an era without being racist themselves, but Flagg hasn't mastered that yet.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a unique book. It has an interesting plot, lots of black humor, a rapid to and fro journey between two completely different spaces and times, glimpses of history and some wonderful characters. Let me take you through each of these:

The plot of the story is mundane that grows poignant as one reads through it. Evelyn is an empty nester, menopausal, overweight, neglected wife who meets the 86 years old high spirited Mrs. Ninny Threadgoode at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home. And… Mrs. Threadgoode starts to talk.... it is through these conversations that the author entices you to have an acquaintance with The Whistle Stop community during 1920s to 1950's. But the enthusiasm with which Ninny Threadgoode introduces the characters is very distracting at the beginning. I could not help but identify with Evelyn who, I assume must have been equally baffled. However, the reader gradually develops a fondness for each character. I marvel at the author’s skill at characterization though, each one is introduced episodically, all the characters seem real. I loved each character and wondered, 'what happened to that one?' I am quite glad that Flagg concluded each character’s life story.

The narrative is notable because the flashbacks and flashforwards occur with ease and the transition comes through the ‘weekly news’ which lends coherence despite seeming discontinuity.

Fannie Flagg throws at you this volley of comic instances, intermittent conversations and ‘weekly news’ wrapped in black humor which all finds resolution at the end. Skirting along an episodic narrative, Flagg broaches the issues of domestic abuse, racial discrimination and depression around that time. Of particular significance is the attitude of benevolence, equality and amity with the then called ‘colored’ people. This is opposed to descriptions of oppression and discrimination that we normally come across in other books written around the same time as this one. The main premise of the book remains to be of love, friendship and loyalty that go beyond differences of all kind. The same influences Evelyn, to overcome hesitations, self defeating beliefs and doubts that aid in personal liberation. Ninny Threadgoode’s dealing with her arduous life is something that you can take home from the book. It is remarkable that with much ease she takes a lighter perspective on everything. In one conversation, Ninny tells Evelyn with time the differences between a married couple become apparent and how easily you develop liking for them because they are a part of the very person you love. :) Here, I conclude this review and recommend this book which is so full of goodness.

Evelyn Couch, an empty-nester woman who is unable to find meaning in her life, finds personal strength and a new zest for living through the stories and friendship of Mrs. Threadgoode, a nursing home resident.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is essentially about the relationships of two sets of women—Evelyn and Mrs. Threadgoode in the present (1980s) and Idgie and Ruth in the past. At the start of the novel, Evelyn has no purpose and finds her life unbearable. Her kids are grown and don’t talk to her, her marriage is essentially loveless, and she has no job or friends. During her visits to see her mother-in-law in the nursing home, Evelyn starts to develop a close friendship with Mrs. Threadgoode, another resident at the home. Mrs. Threadgoode recounts stories of life in Whistle Stop, Alabama from about the 1920s onward. Many of these stories center on two close friends and lesbian lovers, Ruth and Idgie. Evelyn’s and Mrs. Threadgoode’s growing friendship and inspiration from the strength of Idgie and Ruth help Evelyn become a happier, more confident person.

The importance of friendship is the central, unifying theme for the whole novel. The story skips around to different times, different cities, and different characters. Yet through all of the changes that occur over time and place, the constant is that kindness and friendship can triumph the many hardships that people might face in life.

Fried Green Tomatoes is a very emotional book. The characters are very likable (with the one obvious exception) and easy to empathize with. Consequently, readers will share in the emotions of the characters through both joyful and painful times. It’s also hard not to feel a sense of sorrow and loss for the gradual transformation of Whistle Stop from a bustling village into a ghost town.

I really enjoyed the book. Other readers my get more out of the relationships in the book than I did. I was much more interested in the story and setting. I was lost in a sort of nostalgia for the café and the “simpler times” of Depression-era Whistle Stop. Although the book has a leisurely pace, I found that it read very quickly; I couldn’t put it down because I had to know what was going to happen next. I highly recommend it.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe will most likely appeal to women who are 30 or older and people who enjoy reading historical fiction or books that take place in the South.

This is a story that completely and totally achieves what it planned to achieve. This small southern town where all kinds of characters and relationships carry the reader through the days.

Fannie Flagg is a literary genius! Her prose comes at you like a huge cat and leaves like a kitten.

A poignant story set in small town, Whistle Stop, Alabama. A story that examines friendships, love, self, in a funny manor.
The characters are loveably funny, heartwarming and real.

I loved the trip into 1930’s Alabama with its look into the south. It captures your heart and carefully comes into the struggle that is the changes of Whistle Stop and its Cafe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it! Makes me want to see the movie! I want all of it. A love I have for the characters lasts far past the finishing this book!

Time & again, this book has restored my soul.

This is a very good book. Solid hardback. I have about 80 copies in the bookshop. 12 of them are supporting the little fridge up to a reasonable height. Two of them are under the cash desk which otherwise would be a bit wobbly. Another 8 (in two's) are against the ends of the four shelves under the galavanise bit of roof where it leaks when it rains hard (not now, post Irma I need a new roof as I have two huge holes in it, so I moved the books) . Sometimes prior to the hurricanes, when it rained a bit everyday and they didn't dry out they got mouldy so I replaced them with some more. I've got lots to spare. I have to be honest though, I've never even sold a single copy.

You might wonder why I would buy 80 copies of a book that doesn't sell. I didn't. I acquired them through no fault of my own. What happened was the book was remaindered in huge quantities and I buy from this particular remainder house. Some while back I'd ordered about 8 boxes of books but 10 came. Two of them were full of Fried Green Tomatoes. I immediately got on to the company who said yes they knew of the situation and would refund my shipping costs and the debits on my account.

What had happened was that they let one of their members of staff go (customer service, she was a bit... prickly at best and teeth-achingly rude at other times). They didn't exactly fire her they just didn't renew her contract. So to get her revenge in the time left to her with the company she distributed this and other titles (all hardback) to international customers knowing she would have left before we got the books and the shit hit the fan.

Cost the company quite a lot of money, but really, you have to give the girl at least 3 stars for creativity.

Nowhere south of the Mason-Dixon line served up better barbeque and even better love and laughter than The Whistle Stop Cafe in Whistle Stop, Alabama did in the early 20th century, and no one loves reminiscing on those good ol' days more than elderly Ninny Threadgoode. Ninny is enjoying a brief stay at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home, accompanying an old friend during her transition into assisted living. There she meets 48-year-old housewife Evelyn Couch, who, with her husband, visits her mother-in-law there each Sunday. Evelyn feels she has reached a dead end in her life and is full of sadness and rage at how things have turned out for her in her monotonous existence as a chubby housewife with no ambitions. Ninny and Evelyn begin an unexpected friendship, and through Ninny's stories of her life in Whistle Stop, Evelyn finds the courage and inspiration she needs to take hold of her life and shape it into a happier one.

Through chatty and companionable Ninny's observations and recollections of life in a rural Alabama railway stop, we are introduced to a colorful cast of characters. We meet the whole of the Threadgoode family, who Ninny grew up with and eventually married into. No one in this family shines brighter than youngest child Idgie Threadgoode, a rapscallion of a tomboy who can't say no to a good day of hunting, fishing, drinking, and slipping quiet acts of kindness all about town. The Threadgoode family boasts a reputation of being extremely generous and kindly, always taking in all sorts of stray children and creating a happy home for both Black folks and white alike. One of these stray children, beautiful and sweet-as-pie Ruth Jameson, captures the heart of nearly everyone who meets her—and especially young Idgie. The two go on to start a café with help from the family and their Black employees Sipsey, George Pullman Peavey, and his wife Onzell. This story follows a large ensemble cast and their escapades throughout the years, flipping back and forth between the past Ninny is remembering and the present in which she is sharing her memories with Evelyn, and does so with boundless amounts of heart.

I just fell head over heels for this book! It reads like a big heaping plate of Southern comfort food. I looked forward to listening to the charming narration by Lorna Raver at every turn in my day. She really brought this book to life for me! I haven't seen this movie before but it is well-loved by many of the women in my life and I just can't wait after reading the book.

While dated in the year 2022, this book was remarkable given the time! I loved the portrayal of Idgie and Ruth's relationship and the acceptance with no questioning by the people of Whistle Stop. This small town has one another's backs. I was absolutely cackling when Evelyn destroyed the car of those two snotty girls in the grocery store parking lot. You say Wakanda forever? I say Towanda forever.

While I do wish there was less focus on Evelyn's relationship with weight, it was the '80s, and there was nothing more worth obsessing over in that time. Evelyn is a quintessential example of the type of middle class American housewife that Betty Friedan captures in The Feminine Mystique—bored, frustrated, and above all, held back by her own intrinsic beliefs about the world’s expectations of her and her role within it. I did still really appreciate her reclaiming of her life; it may not seem like much now, but at this time, she had to do a lot of work to undo the anti-feminist thinking and lifestyle that was ingrained in her and many like her at the time. Her friendship with Ninny was precious and changed her life in so many heartwarming ways. I also thought the handling of race in this story, especially given the setting, was lovely. The Black characters didn't just serve to be stereotypes. They were just as integrated and important to the narrative as any of the white characters, and luckily, just as loved. They capture the hearts of their audience, but that doesn’t mean the racism around them was dismissed by this author. She did a good job of addressing the experience of these characters realistically, including the prejudices they faced and those consequences. It also made me appreciate characters like Idgie and Ruth that much more. Nothing better than Railroad Bill—if you know, you know.

These vivid characters and this Southern fried setting will stick with me for a really long time. This was a wonderful, very comforting book. I can't recommend it enough!

This story is racist as hell.
Just in case you were wondering.

I'd never been interested in this book or the movie. This wasn't at all my cup of tea when it came out; I was in the middle of my high school career and only reading classics or fantasy and some science fiction. Domestic fiction, especially Southern, was an anathema.

I'm not sure why I had this on my Overdrive wish list. Maybe it showed up on its own? Or maybe I've just expanded my reading interests (now I'll read anything that isn't full of romance because: GROSS!) far enough that this fell into my net at some point. Whatever the case, I finally listened to this book that was all the rage for years during my more youthful times.
And it's racist as hell.
So probably it should be one star, right?

Probably.
But I can't honestly say I didn't enjoy large parts of this book.

Actually, this was a weird read, sort of two versions that happened simultaneously. Putting the story in the context of 1987, it was pretty open-minded and possibly even progressive, at least for white people, specifically middle-class white women. Any non-white American readers at the time would have seen just how shittily this story treats its black characters.
Still, it evokes that nostalgia for the years between World Wars, of gritty, bootstrap-pulling characters in a tiny town who get along just fine, where the sheriff is a member of the KKK but runs out another group of KKKers because the fine people of Whistlestop take care of their own, including their coloreds. Pie is served for a nickel, wife-abusers go missing and no one's interested in looking any deeper into their whereabouts, a band of hobos and prostitutes live down by a river (not in a van) but don't bother the townsfolk none. Kids die or lose body parts on the railroad tracks and it's sad but everyone comes out ok in the end because that's just how things were back then. There's a golden glow over the town and not just in Ninnie Threadgoode's rosy, sentimental memories.

30 years later, the racism is blatant and loud, covered with that "I'm not a racist" veneer that bigoted white people, specifically middle-class white women, love to use. There's lots of "I have black friends!"...(so I've been given license to say shit and believe shit I want to say and believe even though I know it's shit) going on. It's cringeworthy and it sucked. And it's sappy, overly nostalgic for something that has never actually existed.

But then there's this strong current of feminism running throughout the book. Not third wave feminism, but that coming-out-of-the-dark ages feminism that just seemed to have occurred naturally after the 60's, a sort of after-shock from the first wave. Also, there's a lesbian couple that isn't presented as "OMG, look how forward this book is by featuring a lesbian couple!" but, rather, is just another couple among many in the story. I think that, more than anything, shocked me because I don't remember 1987 being a terribly inclusive time for gay folk. Hell, contemporary media still can't treat a lesbian couple as just another couple.

I'm sure this book was hotly contested in churchy circles but Flagg introduced Ninnie Threadgoode, octogenarian and devout Christian who loves Oral Roberts but doesn't like Tammy Faye, as an even-minded (racist as hell) moderate conservative, white, former-housewife who is now in a nursing home. How was she received? I don't know because I didn't care about this book when it came out but I think if this were the big blockbuster novel of the summer now, there'd be plenty of bitching about its portrayal of moral decline on Facebook despite the Ninnie avatar.

Actually, Ninnie's stories of old Whistlestop reminded me so much of the stories in Big Fish, seemingly tall tales that have been gilded with the patina of remembered better times that were never actually any better at all. There was a strong sense of "Even though things were hard, people and life were more wholesome back then" throughout the story; sentimentality at its finest. But that sort of narrative is appealing on several levels; it's nice to think there was a better time, even if we know there really wasn't.

I did appreciate the still-relevant topics of aging and the fear of not being young anymore, of first friendships and first endings, of finding oneself, of dying towns and forgotten people. I was also amused that Sipsey's recipes are my family's recipes, I grew up with that cooking. Is it Southern or is that just how people across the nation cooked? I don't know, I just know that that's how I make chicken and dumplings, too.

All in all, this is a story well-told with strong characters and an interesting, meandering plot but it really is racist as hell.

Apparently, this is the tale of an old woman reminiscing to a younger one about her life in a small town in Alabama, and the changes which take place as the American South moves from its racist past to the more inclusive present. It can be read like that, and enjoyed for its simplicity, its easy pace, and engaging characters. But perceptive readers who go beyond the facade will unearth a rich treasure of allegory and metaphor: because in this novel, as with any good work of literature, the real story is on the unwritten pages.

***

Evelyn Couch, a middle-aged, disillusioned woman on the edge of menopause, meets Virginia ("Ninny") Threadgoode at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home while on a visit to her mother-in-law who is lodged there - and her life changes forever. For the eighty-six-year-old Ninny is everything she is not. Even though alone in the world, the old woman revels in life, even with the realisation that it may be snatched away at any moment: while Evelyn broods upon a largely uneventful life, Ninny delights in wandering over the colourful landscape of her memory. And as she starts sharing the stories from her childhood and youth, the younger woman gets drawn into the world of the small town of Whistle Stop in Alabama, dominated by the cafe described in the title - and its co-owner, the indomitable Idgie Threadgoode.

Ninny, orphaned from childhood, had stayed with the Threadgoodes ever since she was a child - a big, benevolent southern family comprising Poppa, Momma, the steady Cleo, flashy Buddy, feminine Leona, artistic Essie Rue and the incomparable Idgie. Later on, she married Cleo and became part of the family. Now all of them are gone, leaving Ninny alone with her memories, which she shares in typical scatterbrained fashion, and a picture of southern life slowly emerges.

Idgie is the centre of the narrative. She has opened the cafe with her friend Ruth Jamison who, we later come to know, is separated from her husband. The food is cooked by Sipsey and Onzell, two "coloured" women, and Big George, Onzell's husband. And around this cafe revolves the life of the small town, as it grows, reaches maturity, and slowly fades away into oblivion. Life with all its attendant tragedy, comedy and farce (with even a murder mystery!) flourishes in Whistle Stop.

We have Ruth's son, Buddy "Stump" Threadgoode, missing an arm but still the heartthrob of the town. We have Jim Smokey Philips, committed to a life on the road when he is not putting in time as a helper at the cafe. We have Artis, Big George's son, the playboy of Slagtown. We have Albert, Ninny's mentally challenged son. We have Sipsey, whose thirst to be a mother is satisfied when she adopts Big George, an abandoned child... the list can go on and on. But they are all the supporting cast. The only one that really matters is Idgie.

Idgie, the compulsive liar. Idgie, the hot-headed feminist. Idgie, whose tough-as-nails exterior hides a heart of gold...

...And as she gets more and more involved in this tale of a bygone era, Idgie inspires Evelyn to find her inner superwoman.

***

What impressed me most about the novel is its structure. The tale is told in snippets, as the narrative jumps across time and space. Several chapters are narrated by Ninny, while others are extracts from various periodicals (the main one being "The Weems Weekly" of Whistle Stop edited by Dot Weems) and some others, straightforward third person narrative but with focus on different characters. It is really like listening to the reminiscences of an old woman who is pretty far gone in years, but whose mind is still remarkably sharp except for the chronology of events.

At the heart of the novel is the relationship between Idgie and Ruth: while it is no doubt lesbian, there is nary a mention of sex. Ruth's doomed marriage to Frank Bennet and the tragedy within that marriage is foreshadowed early - but the author drags on the suspense till the very end about what actually happened to Frank Bennet. Through these flawed characters and their tortured relationships, the changing face of America across half a century is brilliantly portrayed.

A lovely read.

Pomodori verdi fritti al caffè di Whistle Stop è stato pubblicato nel 1987 diventando un caso editoriale e nel 1991 ne è stato fatto un film (in italiano lo trovate col titolo Pomodori verdi fritti alla fermata del treno).

Il romanzo di Fannie Flagg si caratterizza per due narrazioni parallele, una ambientata nel tempo presente, attorno agli anni ’80, e l’altra ambientata nel passato, attorno agli anni ’30-’40 nell’America del sud, in Alabama. Nel primo caso la narratrice è Ninny Threadgoode, una signora anziana ospite di una casa di riposo, la quale dà il via ad alcune vicende successe nel passato parlando con Evelyn Couch, una signora depressa che cerca di sfogare la sua insoddisfazione nel cibo. Le vicende di cui parla Ninny servono da punto di partenza per andare a ritroso nel passato, in cui leggeremo un simpatico bollettino di Whistle Stop scritto dalla signora Weems, da cui poi parte l’accaduto citato.

Il racconto si concentra sulla popolazione nera, in particolare su come essa sia soggetta a razzismo (a questo proposito compare anche il Ku Klux Klan) e a sostanziali differenze col mondo dei bianchi. In Pomodori verdi fritti al caffè di Whistle Stop vengono affrontati anche altri temi altrettanto importanti come l’amicizia, l’amore fraterno e familiare, l’omosessualità, la violenza sulle donne, il femminismo e il coraggio.

Era rimasta vergine per non essere chiamata sgualdrina o puttana. Si era sposata per non essere chiamata zitella. Aveva finto gli organismi per non essere chiamata frigida. Aveva avuto dei figli per non essere chiamata sterile. Non era mai stata una femminista perché non voleva sentirsi dare della lesbica. Non aveva mai protestato né alzato la voce per non venire etichettata come una rompiscatole…

Aveva fatto tutto questo, eppure quell’estraneo l’aveva umiliata con le parole che gli uomini rivolgono alle donne quando sono furiosi.

Perché sempre riferimenti al sesso? si domandò Evelyn. E perché, quando gli uomini volevano umiliare gli altri uomini, li chiamavano donnicciole? Come se fosse la cosa peggiore del mondo. Che cosa abbiamo fatto per essere considerate in questo modo? Per essere chiamate vacche?

Nonostante un inizio un po’ incerto a causa dell’alternarsi tra tempo presente e passato, ma soprattutto a causa di molti personaggi, le cui vite poi sono tutte intrecciate, Pomodori verdi fritti al caffè di Whistle Stop mi ha rapita fin dalle prime pagine.

Tutti i personaggi sono ben caratterizzati, con una personalità ben definita e tutti si differenziano dagli altri. Ovviamente salta subito agli occhi Idgie, una donna dal carattere forte, che si distingue dalla massa, che preferisce indossare i pantaloni invece che gonne di pizzo, che non ha problemi a fare a botte e che non si tira indietro se bisogna prestare soccorso a chi è in difficoltà, nero o bianco che sia. Ruth, il suo unico amore, è l’opposto di Idgie: riservata, delicata, femminile, silenziosa e gentile.

«C’è qualcos’altro che devi sempre ricordare. Ci sono persone magnifiche su questa terra, che se ne vanno in giro travestite da normali esseri umani.»

Attorno a loro, come dicevo all’inizio, ruotano moltissimi personaggi e ci affezioneremo a tutti, per un motivo o per un altro. Andare al caffè di Whistle Stop equivaleva ad andare nella casa di Idgie e Ruth e sentirsi parte di una grande famiglia. Ed è così che mi sono sentita io fin dalle prime pagine: mi sentivo parte di quella famiglia e più andavo avanti più stavo male all’idea che prima o poi tutto sarebbe finito.

«Tesoro, l’odio non fa bene a nessuno. Finirà per trasformare il suo cuore in una radice amara. La gente non può fare a meno di essere quello che è, proprio come una moffetta non può fare a meno di essere una moffetta. Crede forse che, se potessero scegliere, non preferirebbero essere qualcosa di diverso? Certo che lo preferirebbero! La gente è soltanto debole.»

Fannie Flagg non solo è stata molto brava a creare personaggi veri e reali, ma anche nelle descrizioni è stata una maestra: è possibile sentire il fischio del treno, il profumo di caffè bollente, il fruscio delle chiome degli alberi mossi dal vento, le risate e il vociare delle persone di Whistle Stop, il gusto dei pomodori verdi fritti, uno dei piatti tipici.

E in tutto questo, oltre ai sentimenti che si instaurano e che proviamo nei confronti dei vari personaggi, oltre al potere evocativo delle descrizioni, Pomodori verdi fritti al caffè di Whistle Stop ha il merito di essere un libro con un ruolo educativo. Non c’è nulla di esplicito, non ci sono frasi fatte che dicono al lettore come sarebbe auspicabile comportarsi, quanto sarebbe migliore il mondo se tutti fossimo gentili e generosi come Idgie e Ruth, no, ci sono semplicemente le loro azioni, i loro comportamenti. E in modo molto semplice, immediato, senza giri di parole, il lettore capisce cos’è giusto e cos’è sbagliato, si immagina un mondo migliore grazie a Idgie e Ruth, si sente pervaso da bontà e generosità e non vede l’ora di mettere in pratica quello che Pomodori verdi fritti al caffè di Whistle Stop gli ha insegnato.

«[…] A volte mi domando che cosa la gente usi al posto del cervello. Pensa a quei ragazzi: hanno paura di sedersi a mangiare vicino a un negro, ma divorano le uova che escono dal culo delle galline.»

4.5

Razočarana životom, često neraspoložena i tmurna Evelyn Couch jednom tjedno ima obavezu sa suprugom posjetiti svekrvu u Staračkom dom. Obaveza postaje zadovoljstvo kada upozna veselu, pričljivu i uvijek pozitivnu Ninny Threadgoode. Starica od devedesetak godina, još uvijek puna elana, priča joj svoju životnu priču koja raduje obje, gradi njihovo prijateljstvo i tako mijenja Evelynin životni stav nabolje.
Vraćamo se u prošlost, 1930.-ih i 1940.-ih godina u Alabamu. Centar radnje je malo mjesto koje ima svoju gostionicu Whistle Stop, a najbitnija zajednica je velika obitelj Threadgood. Teme su razne i zadovoljit će svačiji ukus jer odnosi između crnaca i bijelaca, ljubavi kako romantične tako i prijateljske, roditeljstvo, odgoj, poštenje, buntovništvo, obećavaju dobru priču.

Cijeli osvrt pronađite ovdje: https://knjige-u-svom-filmu.webador.c...

I enjoyed reading this multi-generational Southern story set in Alabama. I saw the 1991 movie version starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy at the cinema although I don't remember much about it except I also liked it. The novel's vibrant cast of characters (especially the strong female leads) appealed to me. The dishes served at the Whistle Stop Café also sound delicious.