FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE

by Fannie Flagg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 1987

Former Candid Camera writer Flagg (Coming Attractions, 1981) has written a hilarious, heartwarming novel about the practical uses of nostalgia and the healing power of community spirit. At 48, Evelyn Couch ""had gotten lost somewhere along the way."" By the time she had second thoughts about the Vietnam War, ""Jane Fonds had already moved on to her exercise class."" When she joined a consciousness-raising group, ""the woman suggested that next week they bring a mirror so they could all study their vaginas, and she never went back."" Overweight, menopausal and suicidal, Evelyn visits her mother-in-law at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home, and there encounters 86-year-old, purple-haired Cleo Threadgoode (coiffed by a midget because ""I love a midget""). The two became friends. Cleo chats about her life in the 1930's, when she was part of a huge, extended family that centered around the Whistle Stop Cafe, a barbecue joint at a railroad stop near Birmingham, Alabama. Cleo's old gang included beautiful, gentle Ruth and her blonde, trouser-wearing companion Idgie; Ruth's one-armed son Stump; gossip-monger Dottle Weems; and an assortment of tramps, bad girls, do-gooders and rascals. They all become so real to Evelyn that she takes Cleo's memories of the Whistle Stop folk into her own heart and, fortified by them, forsakes Mars Bars for carrot sticks, eventually finding fulfillment selling Mary Kay cosmetics. Tall tales, acts of simple courage, everyday heroism and love abound in this funny, high-spirited, unabashedly sentimental book. Flagg manages to treat her characters with both outrageous humor and solid affection--a rare combination that makes for great fun.

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1987

ISBN: 1400064627

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION