Reviews with content warning for Death - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

hm. wow. i’m honestly surprised at how beloved this book is…? maybe the book clubs of white mothers love this book so much that the rating is skewed extremely positively. it’s one of those books that just doesn’t hold up in modern scrutiny. the excessive n-word use, the micro AND macro aggressions, the FAT FARM??? it’s just uniquely catered to people who grew up in the ‘60s and think they’re so progressive because they recognize that black people can have complex inner lives “just like white people!” blegh…

i did like the nonchalance which idgie and ruth’s relationship was treated with. it was sweet. it’s the only part of the book that feels untouched by the 1987 publication date.

the plotting was rough, slow and fast at odd moments. so, so many characters too that sometimes i just ended up nodding along even if i didn’t truly understand who we were following.

the ending was also very sweet,

with evelyn visiting ninny’s grave. my grandma died in the middle of me reading this. my original goodreads review was going to be “a book that makes you want to call your grandma” but now i can’t. so that ending gave me a great amount of comfort.

Content Warnings

merlesstorys's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Gosh, how much I fell in love with the characters at the end. And that there was a Happy End for everyone (in some way or another).

The story seems so simple at the start, but as soon as I started reading, I discovered layers and layers.
Like the high possibility, that Idgie and Ruth queer were but never said out loud. It just showed that queer people always existed and that we always will.
Ninny‘s story was kinda heartbreaking. How she lost her husband and child, just to be alone in the retirement home at the end, but moved there for her best friend. And that she was so selfless in general, but gave Evelyn all her things.
And Evelyn, poor Evelyn. I‘m so happy for her and that she felt a lot better at the end. She found her way.

The structure of the book was interesting. The many chapters, consisting of flashbacks, newspaper articles and in-person-experiences were a lot at first (confusing and difficult to follow), but after a while I got a hang of it and it got easier to read.

In general I enjoyed reading this book a lot. Because I took my sweet time with it, the ending felt even for rewarding in the end - because I loved reading this book in a slow and steady pace. Normally I rush through a book, but I didn’t feel the need for it with this one.

Just a few things I love about this book that are maybe more of a spoiler than my review already is:

I love that Idgie‘s love for Ruth was never judged apon by her family, just accepted. And that Frank got what he deserved, even though the fact that Sipsey was the murderer was surprising. And the ending, the bittersweet but loving ending. How Idgie still looks after Ruth’s grave, even though she was already dead for forty years… so much to love about this book.

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eicart_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

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