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

Fried Green Tomatoes reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, in that the pace of the plot is slow, if there even is a plot. The emphasis is on the charming characters across generations, and a kind of nostalgia for the early 20th century. It's a cute little story, worth reading but not very exciting or memorable.

It's flagged as "LGBTQ+" because it prominently features a committed relationship between two women, and no one in the novel is ever weird about it. Racism and sexism are strong themes, but there is apparently zero homophobia in Whistle Stop, Alabama. It's honestly kind of refreshing, but also confusing. Everyone treats this couple like they're married, but they're described in really vague terms, almost like a "Boston marriage" romantic friendship. It's like the opposite of The Price of Salt.

The way racism is depicted is particularly interesting - the novel features the Ku Klux Klan and an old white lady with a mild discomfort around black men and everything in between. It's difficult to tell which mildly racist opinions are the author's and which are just the characters'. The N-word and the word "colored" are used with abandon. The novel also makes a big deal out of colorism among the black characters.

One of the characters, Evelyn, an older lady in 1986, goes on a whole journey about how sexism has affected her life - and her story concludes triumphantly with her at weight-loss camp, and losing a significant amount of weight is one of her victories. Unironically. Evelyn's relationship with Ninny makes it seem like the story is about to take a strong body-positive stance, but it's a total bait and switch.

Content Warnings

rieviolet's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

While it was an easy and quick read, I cannot really put aside all the negative aspects I found in the book.

Got tired really quickly of all the uses of the n-word and the general "white savioury" vibe (I get that society at the time was racist and you cannot erase that but the author didn't realy need to go so hard on this trope), and I couldn't really stand the racism that still permeated the more recent story line. Also, like some other reviews mentioned, I find really unbelivable that in such a society (Alabama in the 30s) people would be so very much racist but at the same time be so cool about queer characters and not once say anything about the main relationship; I really cannot buy it. Not really a fan also of black characters being depicted in quite a stereotypical and one-dimensional way.

Moreover, I found the character of Evelyn to be all over the place and I also really really did not enjoy the fatphobia in her storyline, thank you but no.

Content Warnings

houndoflove1985's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

georgiaaa's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

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