Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Author: Fannie Flagg
Published: 1987
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 416
Target Age: Middle-aged women
Movie: Adapted for the big screen in 1991 as Fried Green Tomatoes, starring Kathy Bates, Mary-Louise Parker, & Jessica Tandy

Synopsis:
Fannie Flagg interweaves the lives of the inhabitants of Whistle Stop, Alabama in the early 1900's with present-day Evelyn Couch as she visits with Ninny Threadgoode. Evelyn is a depressed, middle-aged housewife when she meets Ninny, a spirited elderly woman in an Alabama nursing home. As Ninny shares stories from her life in Whistle Stop, Evelyn's life is transformed by the audacity and spunk of its denizens, particularly Idgie Threadgoode.

My Thoughts:
*One of the top 11 reads of 2008
To start, I enjoyed the format of the book; Flagg alternates between the present day and the past so that the reader gets snippets of the story from an aging Ninny as well as when it's happening, via the Whistle Stop newspaper, the Weems Weekly. This also adds an element of suspense to the story as part of the story is explained in one time period but not fully revealed until later. The reader experiences Evelyn's transformation from timid housewife to empowered, confidant 'Towanda' alongside tales of fearless Idgie Threadgoode and her "companion" Ruth Jamison. (Although it is never explicitly stated, Idgie and Ruth are lovers.) There is no single problem that Flagg focuses on in the lives of Idgie and Ruth--rather, much like Anne of Green Gables or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the story follows them as they make their way through their common, yet extraordinary lives. Flagg's cast of characters are funny and endearing and I found myself caring deeply for them. Tomatoes was an absolute joy to read and I would even recommend it to my non-middle-aged friends!

My Recommendation:
Read this if you're a middle-aged woman, if you know a middle-aged woman, if you ever plan on being a middle-aged woman, or if you like bacon.

Recipes from the Whistle Stop Cafe*:
*Note: these recipes come from Fannie Flagg's book, but there is an actual Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, Georgia where the movie was filmed. It looks like a neat cafe, my only concern was the absence of French Fries on the menu. There was something called "Freedom Fries" though--I wonder if they're similar?

Fried Green Tomatoes
1 medium tomato per person
salt and pepper
white cornmeal
bacon drippings

1) Season tomato slice with salt and pepper and coat with cornmeal
2) Heat drippings, fry tomato

Skillet Cornbread
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c buttermilk
2 c cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 TB melted bacon fat

1) Dissolve baking soda in milk
2) Mix cornmeal with salt, egg, milk
3) Add hot fat, pour into greased skillet
4)Bake @ 375 degrees until golden-brown

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 c shortening
1 c buttermilk

1) Sift dry ingredients
2) Add shortening, buttermilk
3) Roll thin, cut to desired size
4) Bake on greased sheet @ 450 degrees until golden-brown


If you liked Fried Green Tomatoes, you might also like:
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells