23. For those of you who have seen the movie, how do the movie and the book compare? What is missing from the movie and why do you think this is so? Do you think the choices made in terms of how to streamline this complex novel for film were the best ones?
24. The importance of food in the fabric of everyday life is a central theme in this book. For example, Evelyn and Mrs. Threadgoode bond over the treats Evelyn brings. What does Evelyn’s battle with her weight say about contemporary society and women’s relationships with food and their weight? Are these struggles evident in the lives if Ninny, Idgie, or Ruth?
25. In the final chapter, we learn what has happened to Idgie. Why do you think she and Julian left Whistle Stop to take to the road? Why don’t their friends or family appear to know where they are? Does this seem like an appropriate ending for Idgie?
26. Will anyone or has anyone tried any of Sipsey’s recipes?
FANNIE FLAGG began writing and producing television specials at age nineteen and went on to distinguish herself as an actress and a writer in television, films, and the theater. Her first novel, Daisy Fay and The Miracle Man, spent ten weeks on the New York Times paperback bestseller list, and her second novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, was on the same list for thirty-six weeks. It was produced by Universal Pictures as the feature film Fried Green Tomatoes. Flagg’s script was nominated for both the Writers Guild of America and an Academy Award, and it won the highly regarded Scripters Award. Flagg narrated both novels on audiocassette and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word. Her novels Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! and Standing in the Rainbow were also New York Times bestsellers. She lives in California and Alabama.
Excerpts from reviews of Fannie Flagg’s
Fried Green Tomatoes
at the Whistle Stop Cafe
“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
Don’t miss Fannie Flagg’s wonderful novel
WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL!
And look for the Grammy-nominated audio book
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe
Available from Random House
in bookstores everywhere!
