Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg

Rarely does one get the chance to first enjoy the movie and then afterwards read the book and enjoy it just as much. This is one of those rare occasions, and I'm pleased to review it.

Let me start off by saying that I found the movie to be enchanting, with believable characters, an interesting plot and great acting. What I realized only after reading the book was that the movie was only the tip of the iceberg. This just may mean that ...
...with the movie. I think I got it right - movie first, book afterwards.

Fannie Flagg has put tons of charm in this book, without letting it get sappy or sentimental. This is a major achievement, especially when we recall that some of the issues addressed here can be very controversial - including such things as the KKK*, family abuse, segregation and more.

Flagg leaves us with little to no illusions as to the general ... more

Rarely does one get the chance to first enjoy the movie and then afterwards read the book and enjoy it just as much. This is one of those rare occasions, and I'm pleased to review it.

Let me start off by saying that I found the movie to be enchanting, with believable characters, an interesting plot and great acting. What I realized only after reading the book was that the movie was only the tip of the iceberg. This just may mean that those who read the book first, may have been disappointed with the movie. I think I got it right - movie first, book afterwards.

Fannie Flagg has put tons of charm in this book, without letting it get sappy or sentimental. This is a major achievement, especially when we recall that some of the issues addressed here can be very controversial - including such things as the KKK*, family abuse, segregation and more.

Flagg leaves us with little to no illusions as to the general attitudes of southerners towards these issues, but also shows us that there were those who were quietly different. Flagg's heroes were those who were in the minority at a time when being in the minority could get you in a whole "heap" of trouble. And certainly the idea of being in trouble - or trying to avoid it - is the real basis for this story.

Written in short to medium length vignettes, this book is a quick read. We jump from one time and place to another without the bat of an eyelash. This method of writing can be very confusing to the reader, but not so with this book. Flagg has used her typesetters to the maximum with this book, by making older entries look vastly different from the entries taking place in the present. She even went so far as to make certain parts look like we are looking at actual copies of the old, local newsletter. So, we have nothing to keep us from understanding what is taking place and when.

As you read the book the characters take on a feeling of being so lifelike that you are sure that you would recognize them if you met any of them on the street. I don't just say that because I saw the movie first, and was able to "see" and "hear" those particular actors in the parts, because that wasn't what happened for me. I found that while reading, I visualized the characters to look somewhat (and in some cases completely) differently than the actors who portrayed them in the movie - and this is very unusual, since I don't think that any mistakes were made in casting of the film.

This book also has the ability to make the reader truly feel the atmosphere of the times when it takes place. This is something that is often a downfall of many writers - many a time I have started reading a book and suddenly, in the third or fourth chapter, realized that the action was taking place sometime in the past or future. I suppose it does help that Flagg puts dates at the beginning of each vignette, but I often skipped over that little bit of information, and still could feel what era the action was taking place in.

As for the plot, even though I had seen the movie, I was still drawn into the story and felt there were things being revealed to me for the first time. This is true in some ways, since the movie did tend to leave some questions unanswered at the end. So, the book kept me guessing all the way to the last page. For those of you who aren't familiar with either the movie or the book, I'll state the story-line here very simply. This is the story of the events that happened to a group of people who lived in the town of Whistle Stop, Alabama in the 1930's. One of its female residents - Mrs. Threadgoode, tells these stories many years later, to Evelyn - a woman who makes friends with Mrs. Threadgoode while visiting her husband's relative in the same old-age home. The stories so intrigue Evelyn, that they actually ends up effecting her life as well. But we also see these stories told by other past residents - through snippets of newsletters and flashback vignettes. This description may seem aimless, but as you read on, all the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place, I assure you. And what good stories these are - with love, sex, intrigue, mystery and conflict.

Finally, an added extra is the little set of recipes which are included at the end of the book. Mind you, since I keep Kosher, I'm not going to attempt to duplicate any of the recipes that call for bacon grease, but even the recipes have a literary over-tone - as if you aren't reading a recipe, but rather sitting in the Whistle Stop Café's kitchen and taking a cooking lesson from an expert like Sipsy. Don't I wish I could have actually experienced this myself. Oh, yes, I almost forgot - she's fictional. Darn!

So, all in all, don't be daunted by having already seen the movie and think that you'll be disappointed with the book. And don't worry about reading the book and then realizing that the movie was a disappointment after all. They both have their merits, and both deserve a fair chance.

So, off you go now, and get that book, ya' hear? There's a good honey-chile! And thank-ye, kindly, for giving this ol' op a look-see.

~~~~~
On Amazon.co.uk this book sells for £5.59 (416 pages (2 April, 1992) Vintage; ISBN: 0099143712)

* The KKK is the Ku Klux Klan - a group of hooded terrorists of the American South. The Klan is made up of White Christian Fundamentalists who were known to lynch blacks (Negros) and later extended their hatred for everyone who wasn't a white and a Christian. Their ilk were the first White Supremists, later becoming Neo-Nazis and "skin-heads" whose hatred still haunts certain parts of the US today.
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