Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

"Oh honey, it does no good to hate. It'll do nothing but turn your heart into a bitter root. People can't help being what they are any more than a skunk can help being a skunk. Don't you think if they had their choice they would rather be something else?"
          -Mrs. Threadgoode's advice to Evelyn

I am rating this one 5+---loved, loved, loved it! In chatting with a few book club members, we agreed we like Fannie Flagg and should read another of her novels. Some of us fondly remembered the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" but couldn't recall if we'd read the book. That's how it came to be our August selection.

The novel centers on 2 sets of women and their relationships. In 1985 Evelyn Couch is a woman in full-fledged mid-life crisis when she meets Virginia "Ninny" Threadgoode in a Birmingham nursing home. Eighty-six-year-old Mrs. Threadgoode saves Evelyn's sanity, perhaps even her life, with her beautiful philosophy of life and her stories of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison in Whistle Stop, Alabama, dating back to 1929. With a primary themes of friendship and personal growth, the novel also touches on racism, wars, domestic violence, Lesbianism (?) and even a murder. Of course there is much humor to relieve the intensity. Towanda the Avenger, Evelyn's alter-ego, is especially amusing.

I have found myself comparing Fried Green...to Stealing Lumby which I read right before it. Both are set mostly in small towns, with colorful characters, inserted newspaper articles---The Lumby Lines and The Weems Weekly, and recipes included at the end along with interviews with the authors. I especially enjoyed the interview with Fannie Flagg, known as a Southern writer. As a GRITS (Girl Raised in the South) I am partial to settings in the South. Flagg even notes Marjorie Rawlings as an inspiration. You may or may not know I am a big fan of Rawlings.  I am also reminded of Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, an old favorite of mine.

I read the book in three days---sort of inhaled it---and the meeting of our book club is in a few weeks. I hope I don't forget too much of the plot. Look for an update then...

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The Page Turners liked this one voting a rating of 4.1. We snacked on yummy southern fare---pimiento cheese, homemade sweets and country ham with Sipsey's biscuits from the recipe at the end of the book. Oh, and sweet tea, of course. All provided by our creative members. We had 26 questions from the publisher to consider and didn't get through them all but touched on most.

We agreed the format, with alternating past and present and different points of view, was easier to follow because each chapter was labeled with the setting. One former English teacher said she thought the book would just be "fluff" but changed her mind while reading. She noted that there was much food for thought and some emotional intensity along the lines of racial relations, domestic abuse, self-esteem and aging issues, among others. We were all curious about how Ninnie became a part of the Threadgoode family since she doesn't include herself in the stories she tells to Evelyn. I believe we all found characters to love, whether the 2 sets of women friends or others of the Whistle Stop community, both white and black.

Those who had seen the movie discussed a few of the differences but noted the film follows the book closely. One member mentioned that Fannie Flagg co-wrote the screenplay so that is explanation enough. I mentioned that the episode of Frank's disappearance reminded me of the Dixie Chicks' tune of several years ago, "Good Bye, Earl." If you're interested, here's the link.
https://youtu.be/Gw7gNf_9njs