A review by froon
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

2.25

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Death