View from Page Thirty: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Hello, dear Readers! Since I'm still in quite a slump (damn you Netflix), I went to the list of books you call provided to me, the lovingly named Slumplist, and gave one of them a try - hence A View from Page Thirty*

As I perused the Slumplist, I decided to look up a book that I have been meaning to read for ages but never had - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe recommended by Ania.

The Book: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg 
Release Date: 1987
Publisher: Random House
Genres: Historical Fiction

Summary: 

It's first the story of two women in the 1980s, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women -- of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth, who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder.

A View from Page Thirty:
Erm I guess this section should more accurately be called the View from Page 81. I sort of just got lost and kept going. And I full blame the theme music playing in my head on that. The theme music from the movie from the early 90s. The theme music from one of my all time favorite movies.

So knowing that background, I can't really say if this is a valid View from Page Thirty. I already pretty much know the story from the movie (at least I think I do), and I heartily love it to pieces. It brings ALL OF THE FEELS.

I can't help but compare it to the movie and so far, I literally hear lines as I read them. I can't help but hear it narrated by Jessica Tandy. Personally I see this as a plus.

Things are a bit more disjointed than the movie though. The movie, while keeping the flashback reveal that the book is doing, seems to focus more on the four main ladies, while this is almost the story of Whistlestop, Alabama. I am getting more information on the lives of some of the background characters in the movie, which I find quite charming. The order of things is all over the place though so I am not sure if people who don't already know the characters and the story like I do would enjoy it as much. But honestly I am still leaning towards the "Still enjoyable" camp.

I was worried when I started this that all of the magic the movie has for me would be gone when reading the book because I know everything, but that's not the case. I am still loving the look at 1930s southern life. I am actually really looking forward to delve more into Ruth and Idgie's relationship and see how that compares with the screen.

I am going to keep reading for sure, but I do think that when this is all through, me and my well watched DVD are going to curl up for another session of feels.


So, is anyone else like me and avoiding reading a book a movie or tv show was based off of because you loved the adaptation so much? How about those that have taken the plunge, did it work out for the best or not so much?



*For those not familiar with a View from Page Thirty, basically it is me giving my thirty page first impression of a book. I have a personal rule that every book I start gets at least thirty pages. If I am not feeling it by then, time to move on. So I figured it would make a fun feature.