Product Description

The remarkable novel of two Southern friendships--the basis of the hit film--available for the first time in large print.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38606 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-05
• Released on: 2005-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781400064625
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Cleo Threadgood, 86, shares a lifetime of memories of Whistle Stop, Ala.where the social scene centered on its one cafewith Evelyn Couch, a younger woman who is looking for meaning in her life. PW described this as "lively readingthe kind that eventually nourishes Evelyn and the reader as well."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Set in a small Alabama train stop town in the 1930s, this gem of a book almost could have been shelved as just another light romantic comedy. Various women's voices tell anecdotes of Whistle Stop, as the chapters jump back and forth through time. We hear from Mrs. Threadgoode, reminiscing fondly from her nursing home in the 1980s, and the chatty Dot Weems, editor of the gossipy town newsletter (1929-1969), and then listen in on spirited dialogue set in the town of Whistle Stop itself. The storytellers never find use for the label "lesbian," nor do they see fit to take us behind closed doors, but this is nevertheless the irresistible story of a fierce and true love between two women, Idgie and Ruth. After Idgie saves Ruth from an abusive marriage, these two friends become partners in running the Whistle Stop Cafe, where no one, "not even hobos and colored," is turned away for inability to pay. Readers are set down in the corner booth to eavesdrop on the comings and goings of an array of eccentric, ragtag characters who drop in for buttermilk biscuits, Big George's barbecue, and, eventually, news about their own hometown murder mystery. Among revelations big and small, Fannie Flagg mixes direct and empowering confrontations with racism, sexism, and ageism with the colorful and endearing language of the depression-era South and the cafe's recipes for grits, collard greens, and, of course, fried green tomatoes. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Colleen McQueen

Review
"The people in Miss Flagg's book are as real as the people in books can
be. If you put an ear to the pages, you can almost hear the characters
speak. The writer's imaginative skill transforms simple, everyday events
into complex happenings that take on universal meanings."

--Chattanooga Times

"This whole literary enterprise shines with honesty, gallantry, and love
of perfect details that might otherwise be forgotten."

--Los Angeles Times

"A sparkling gem."

--Birmingham News

"Watch out for Fannie Flagg. When I walked into the Whistle Stop Cafe she
fractured my funny bone, drained my tear ducts, and stole my heart."

--Florence King, Author of Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady


"Admirers of the wise child in Flagg's first novel, Coming Attractions,
will find her grown-up successor, Idgie, equally appealing. The book's
best character, perhaps, is the town of Whistle Stop itself--too bad
trains don't stop there anymore."

--Publisher's Weekly


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

A Southern Classic!!!!
Although I saw the movie based on this book several times, its only now 15 years after this book was published that I finally decided to read it. And now that I have gulped down the pages, I'm wondering what took me so long to envelop myself with this delightful book filld with Southern charm. And while it's also safe to say than many readers and viewers are now familiar with the stories about Idgie and Ruth and Ninny and Evelyn, rarely does a book today offer such wonderful and endearing characters and a plot which has you racing to the last page.

While describing a friendship between two women some 60 years before and a present day relationship between a nursing home resident and her loyal visitor, the reader is set off on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Dealing with subects as far reaching as women's liberation, homosexual relationships, rights of minority groups,integration and growing old, Fannie Flagg never fails to entice her readers and allow them to view a slice of American life now sadly gone.

It may have taken me all of this time to finally read a book by Fannie Flagg but if her any other titles are as good as this one, I surely will be in reader's heaven. I already have Welcome to the World, Baby Girl and am eagerly waiting to begin it. Maybe today's the day.

Deceptively Simple Story Packs A Southern-Fried Punch
Fannie Flagg's heartwarming stories never fail to entertain, and the characters in this one are some of the most endearing ones in all of Southern lit. The deceptively simple story is told in a witty and light-hearted manner, but delves into such emotionally-charged issues as lesbian relationships, the treatment of minorities, the problems of aging and more in an unforgettable narrative.

The story moves effortlessly between two time frames. The first story begins in the 1920's and centers on Idgie Threadgoode, a female Huck Finn, and her friend Ruth Jamison. Together, they own and operate the cafe which is the center of small-town life in Whistle Stop, Alabama.

The second story begins in 1985 when Evelyn Couch meets Ninny Threadgoode, the now-elderly sister-in-law of Idgie, at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home in Birmingham.

The two stories unfold in a light-hearted, folksy way that puts you into the lives of these poignant charaters and has you longing for the neighborly friendliness of a time long past. Evelyn is, in fact, so touched by Ninny's recollections that she is finally able to take control of her own life through the often hilarious and always inspiring life of Idgie.

For a feel-good read where the inherent goodness of people causes them to carry on through good times and bad, I highly recommend this one.

Wow...Read This Book
This was an excellent read! In 1985 two women meet and develop a frienship. Through this friendship, Ninny Threadgood takes Evelyn Couch on a journey of past times. Ninny, a woman in her eighties, and Evelyn, a middleaged woman, meet often in a nursing home to share treats and conversation. Ninny spins the tale of her home town and it's inhabitants. She tells stories of love and hurt, happiness and hardships. Evelyn who feels lost and uncertain embraces Ninny and the Whistle Stop adventures. The journey is equally important to both women. It allows Ninny to remember and embrace the past and aids Evelyn in creating her future.

The tale is of an old railway town and it's cast of characters. The reader will be swept away into the lives of those that live in Whistle Stop and surrounding area's. This a very funny and touching novel. We witness and experience many hilarious antics and corageous acts of love. Flagg does an excellent job at creating realistic characters with much depth and dimension.

I am so glad that I discovered Fannie Flagg! I highly recommend this book!