Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg

Hilarity and misery go hand in hand in this novel.

I'll admit that when it comes to choosing new books I tend to veer towards the crime section pretty quickly, so when starting this project I realised I should probably expand my horizons and try something different. Flagg's novel is definitely that. It is a story of friendship and family, survival and the life-changing impact one person can have on someone else.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe tells the story of the Threadgoode family and their closest friends, in the small railroad town of Whistle Stop, Alabama in the 1930s. Flashing forward to 1986, through their weekly chats and the rambling recollections of 86 year old Virginia 'Ninny' Threadgoode , bored, middle-aged housewife Evelyn Couch is enthralled by the family's history and uses it to escape her own mundane existence, grow as a person and learn what is most important in life - friendship.

Honestly, I'm still unsure how I feel about this book. I didn't hate it by any means, but at the same time it didn't blow me away. It's one of those books that you have to convince yourself to keep ploughing on through in the hopes that the next page will have you gripped, and eventually you've turned the last page. I think this is because of the constant chopping and changing between characters and stories and time periods (you really need to have your wits about you to keep up!) It is needed to tell the story well, but it's borderline excessive. That being said, if you do make it all the way through, it is a heart-warming and soul-lifting read that also touches on many serious themes including racism, domestic violence and poverty.

P.S. The homestyle Southern barbeque recipes included in the final pages are an amazing touch. I might be trying the fried okra some day soon!

H x