Prior to reading this novel, I'd seen the film only once, but had a clear enough memory to know essentially where the story was going.
I wish I hadn't known! I kept waiting for what I knew was coming, and so when those things were revealed in the novel, they didn't have quite the shock value that I think they would have possessed otherwise.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book. There was a surprising amount of homosexuality between the two main characters, Idgie and Ruth...not explicit, but quite clearly understood. And it seemed both known and accepted by the characters surrounding them. This seems unlikely for the time period and especially for a small town in the Bible Belt...even today, I think, in a town as small as Whistle Stop. It was nice to read and imagine it that way, though...without all the hatred and heat that seems so tied to that lifestyle from the people who are so adamantly against it. The love between Idgie and Ruth was just...love. Just good. It was matter-of-fact and didn't dwell on the rightness or wrongness or nature of the thing. That whole thing was really the only surprise I had in reading the novel...it was essentially left out of the movie (on purpose, to make it more palatable to audiences of the time.)
My dad grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, so my family visited often when I was growing up, and still goes back when finances and time allow. I loved reading a story set in so familiar a place...they talked about Ollie's Barbeque (which, in the novel, didn't compare at all to what Big George cooked up at the Cafe, but is absolutely some of the best BBQ sauce I've ever had!) and on the cover of the book is a sign for Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale, a dark ginger ale which can only be found in Alabama, and is SO much better than stuff like Canada Dry (ick!) It mentioned Ensley, a tiny town outside of Birmingham where my Grandpappy had one of his furniture stores. I half expected to see a mention of Braswell's 1811 Shoppe in there somewhere, haha! It mentioned Gus' hotdog stand down on 16th...it wasn't named, but that's Pete's Famous...THE BEST hotdogs in the world. It's a little place tucked into a space between two buildings...the walls are so close that you can touch opposite sides at once...and you pay a dollar or two for a hot dog and a dollar for a Coke in a glass bottle and $0.50 for a bag of chips...SO good...but I digress...
I just loved that, along with being an excellent story of love and family and friendship and community, it also held a lot of nostalgia for me. Ninny Threadgoode tells the story like my Granny told stories (and with the same accent, too!) and I could see and smell and hear everything, even though it was a totally different time. Summers at Granny's house had that relaxed, timeless feel, so I could easily imagine it all.
I know people who are deeply offended by homosexuality, and due to that, I cannot in good conscience recommend this to everybody...but if it doesn't bother you (or doesn't bother you *much*) I do. It does have some rather blunt descriptions of violence, and I imagine that might not sit very well with some people. I have a pretty weak stomach for that kind of thing myself, though, and those parts didn't bother me too much.
It's a different sort of story, but a good one :-)
This was borrowed from one of my dearest friends, and if I'm not mistaken, she threw in another by Fannie Flagg...I'm prepared now for her writing style...perhaps the next will hold a few more surprises for me...no movie to have spoiled all the twists, y'know? I'm looking forward to it!
**EDIT**
I watched the film tonight (after finding it in thirteen parts on You Tube, haha!) and just wanted to say one more thing about the novel. The movie was fun, and it's pretty tough to beat Jessica Tandy! However, the book, as usual, was so much better. There were more stories woven into its fabric, which I know is difficult with movies, due to time constraints and things like that. But I truly did find that the film lacked the depth of the novel. Still good...still perfectly enjoyable...but (as usual) I find that I like the book better :-D
