So yes, in comparison to the book, the movie is, as Masterson once told me, “redacted.” We were talking at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, when she played the mom of a queer teenage son in an indie movie called As You Are. When I brought up Fried Green Tomatoes as a mainstream movie with a lesbian love story, she said some things had been cut that would have made the relationship more obvious. “It wasn’t a love scene, but there were, like — clearly a love relationship type of a fight, of jealousy,” she said. “There was some more sensual kind of stuff in there. We were clearly playing that.” Reynolds, Susan (21 September 1998). "Fannie Flagg: Voice of Middle America". Publishers Weekly. 245 (38): 30–31. We never learn where Ninny came from or how she came to be adopted by the Threadgoodes, only that they took her in and treated her like a member of the family. This is only one example in a novel full of non-traditional families. What are some other examples of familial bonds that do not look like a traditional nuclear family? How does this author challenge and expand our understanding of the meaning and structure of family? Bud Threadgoode će ovaj put biti centar zbivanja, Ruthin sin, ljubav tetke Idgie. On je sada već djed i godine mu polako oduzimaju drage ljude što ga sjećanjima više vuče u njegov rodni kraj, k njegovoj užoj i široj obitelji uz koju je proveo divno djetinjstvo. Readers who like clean, heartwarming stories with happy endings will love this one. I think it’s also a great read for the holiday season.

In a sense, this was Bud recalling fond memories along with the written commentary of the newsletter put out by the local postmistress. The writing was pretty scattered I thought. I think if we had followed things in a linear fashion it may have worked better. But going from the 1930s, to 1980, to 1990, to 2000 whatever was a lot. You also have to pay close attention so you can see when people you have followed from the first book have died and passed away. I just felt so annoyed by the whole thing after a while. Throughout the novel the narrator and time period change, and chapter headings establish the date and source of the chapter. The narration alternates between the form of the fictional newsletter The Weems Weekly, the Threadgoodes' house in Birmingham, and an omniscient narration. The framing story, set in 1986, presents Evelyn Couch, who goes weekly with her husband to visit his mother in a nursing home. During one visit, Evelyn befriends Ninny Threadgoode, another resident. She tells Evelyn stories of her youth in Whistle Stop in the 1920s and succeeding years. Between subsequent visits, Evelyn begins to adopt aspects of figures in these stories as role models. Petski, Denise (October 14, 2020). " 'Fried Green Tomatoes' Drama Series Starring Reba McEntire In Works At NBC With Norman Lear Producing". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 14, 2020.

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?

Born Patricia Neal in Birmingham, Alabama, Flagg is the only child of Marion Leona ( née LeGore) and William Hurbert Neal Jr. Aside from a brief period on the Gulf Coast near the town of Point Clear, Flagg spent her childhood in the Birmingham area. [4] Although Idgie and Ruth's relationship is not explicitly described as lesbian, every resident both knows about it and accepts it; lesbianism is a theme in the novel. [4] The primary focus of the novel is on Buddy Threadgoode, Jr, the son of Ruth and her estranged, then later missing husband, Frank Bennett. I didn’t remember the strange legal fact that the Threadgoode family adopted Buddy before he was a year old. Even with his missing arm, Buddy has a successful career and a loving wife and daughter. They end up living up north but still keep in touch with Idgie, who moved to Florida. Later in life, Buddy and his daughter, Ruthie, are befriended by Evelyn Couch. Evelyn’s life certainly took a positive spin after meeting Ninny Threadgoode at the nursing home. Learning about Towanda, along with Idgie and Ruth’s friendship, was a lasting godsend for Evelyn. So, what are the ways? What is it that gets us through the night? Through the bad marriage? Poor health? The death of a child? A pandemic? Flagg is a feminist, and her work reflects her subtle but unmistakable passion for social justice. Again, with the first half of this book I feared she had lost her edge; once more, I see in the second half that I am mistaken. She was just warming up. Unlike so many of the novels I’ve read recently, this story gets better and better as it progresses. At 45%, it seems like a pleasant, harmless story, and a bit of a disappointment. At 56%, I’m sitting up straighter and noticing things. At 75% I’m laughing out loud. And from there to the finish, I don’t want it to end.As with the original FGTWSC, the key to keeping up with the ever-changing settings and narrators is in the chapter headings. If you skip them, you will be lost. (This fact has been established by trial and error in teaching the book to honor students in literature class.)