“Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg.
We need to read books that talk about togetherness, in the time of He Who Is Too Disgusting To Be Named. Books that have characters who used to laugh and love their neighbours. Books that bring fresh hope for a life that can be lived more.
Here is a short take on one such book.
“Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg is all about good food and warm mood. The characters are so breezy, they exude a charm that affects your day immediately. The Black community lived in harmony with the Whites and the friendship between the communities lends a charm to Whistle Stop, Alabama that is extremely nostalgic to the Trump Age. It makes you crave for the best lunch in town in a warm, noisy cafe with your friends, laughing your lungs out and forgetting the worries of your life for a day. I felt such nostalgia that I immediately rang up all my old friends to reminisce the good old moments spent with them.
The love between the two women who owned the cafe is shown in a very platonic tone, and it felt more like a deep love between two souls, rather than two bodies. The story revolves around the unwitting friendship that blossoms between an 86-year-old Ninny Threadgoode who lives in a nursing home and 48-year-old Evelyn Couch who is undergoing a severe mid-life crisis. Evelyn is depressed and dreads the future ahead of her, when Ninny starts telling her stories of people who lived in Whistle Stop, Alabama. Evelyn finds herself escaping into the life of those people. She finds courage and hope through Ninny who is optimistic and hopeful even in her old age. Ninny encourages her, and Evelyn eventually takes charge of her life and finds happiness and meaning in life again.
Unplanned friendships that blossom without us noticing it are the best. Friendships give us courage to face our lives.
It is only by hearing the stories of others’ lives that we find the courage to face our own.
A candle that has burnt for long lends its warmth, even in its flickering last moments, to those struggling to stay aflame.
Beedi Queen 
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