Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
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Was there date inconsistencies in the book?
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Okay, now you have me curious. It has been so many years since I've read Fried Green Tomatoes that I don't remember but will see if I still have my book somewhere to check it out. It very well could be there was a discrepancy. It's so easy to get messed up on dates when writing a book. Do you know that no one noticed how off the dates were in my book until it almost went into publishing? My editor didn't catch it, my test readers didn't catch it, and I didn't realize it either until my editor decided at the last minute to go through the manuscript again one last time. Good thing she is a perfectionist. You didn't say whether or not you enjoyed the book though. Fannie Flagg is marvelous.
Oh wow. The book goes through so many people, that it's strange how it could get lost and almost missed. I, like your editor, am a huge perfectionist and would have probably found it haha. Based on your experience, I can understand why it feels like I'm the only who might have caught this.
When I read a book I pay special attention to dates, times, and places. The setting is huge to understand the timeline of events. ESPECIALLY, with this novel. I know many books now and days, like to change narrators and time, but this book goes crazy with it.
But I really did enjoy it. It is a great novel that I recommend to others. Though as you see with my comment, I advise them to pay extra attention to detail because at times it's difficult to follow. Haha.
Does the book get into specific dates? Again, it has probably been over 10 years since I read that book, so I don't remember. With the book I wrote, The Naked Block, the dates aren't written out or exact. I generalize with the time, such as Easter coming up, or talking about the Super Bowl, or college spring break. My book takes place in one year, but it goes from late winter to early fall, but it also talks about the past a couple of times. There were at least two places that couldn't have been accurate timing. Many readers are like you, they catch little things (or big things) like that, which can be a negative because you don't want to be thinking about the author when you're reading fiction but believing its real. Does that make sense? Is this the first Fannie Flagg book you have read? Her book, Daisy Fay and The Miracle Man, was the funniest book, and I believe one of her best. It's a must read.
Yes, as far as dates, it is written before each new "chapter." I use quotations because there are no chapters. She starts a new "chapter" with the setting. It says the location and an exact date to to the day. For example, it says "Birmingham, Alabama. March 23, 1942." The book jumps back and forth from the 1920's to 1950's from when Mrs. Cleo is growing up, to when she is in a nursing home in 1984. The location also jumps from Birmingham, to Whistlestop, to Chicago, to Georgia. It does get confusing if you're one who really wants to get lost in the story of, where you're at and who is in the "scene" and what's really going on, instead of reading to just read and finish the book. But like I said, I still enjoyed the book. Such a great story. I have been meaning to see the movie. I love Kathy Bates!
Oh and yes, this is the first and only book I read from her. It was for a book club. I was the one who actually chose it! I will look into it. She writes really well. Thanks for the recommendation.
Let us know if you read Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man. I'd like to know if others found it as funny and good as I did.
I am re-reading this book for the second time, and I noticed this last night, with the dates with Ruth's death. It happens in the same section of the book, too, in the part where Artis goes to prison. It says that he had his run-in with the dog catchers on October 17, 1949. A few pages later, it's July 11, 1948, and they say Artis has been in prison for this incident for 6 months. This is really, REALLY bothering me.
I use this book in a college course I teach and some students get really bothered by the discrepancies. I like to use them as discussion moments. But the real reason for my comment - I think there is another date issue with Artis that involves his marriages. In my book, the page is 258. It says October 17, 1949. Artis is in Slagtown with his second wife. It is the scene where he tries to protect his friend's dog. However, on page 221 earlier in the book, it says Miss Electra Greene becomes the bride of Artis. When I first read the book. I thought this was his first marriage. Was it actually his third? If so, who was the first? Is she mentioned?
Jeremy wrote: "I know this sounds trivial and I don't know if it might be that I am missing something but I just got done with the book and I felt some dates didn't add up. Many probably didn't pay attention bu..."
I know I am a few years late to this party, but thank you for posting this! I just read the book and noticed this too - the one I caught was the Ruth's death/Stump's insult of Peggy inconsistency, and I flipped back and forth a number of times trying to make sense out of it. I'm kind of surprised that I couldn't find more about this when I Googled it, but I'm at least relieved to discover that I'm not crazy...
I found another date discrepancies in Whistle Stop, Alabama's Weekly Bulletin. Dated October 18, 1940... P.S. Opal says again to please stop feeding Boots. And then in the next one dated August 31, 1940..By the way, Boots died and Opal says she hopes you're satisfied.
Jacinta wrote: "I know I am a few years late to this party, but thank you for posting this! I just read the book and noticed this too - the one I caught was the Ruth's death/Stump's insult of Peggy inconsistency..."Yeah no problem. I am glad my comment eased your sense of insanity haha.
But I too found nothing online, which is why I came here and left a comment. I want to say I am surprised that there were a few inconsistencies for a huge author to go through probably a half dozen drafts and an editor, and still not catch anything, but I feel this story is truly unique. I think time, date, and setting wise, that this is the most convoluted story I have read. It not only jumps from place to place, but jumps from present day to decades before. And it is not once or twice, but seems to change every single chapter.
So it's not too surprising the author got mixed up. Although, if she knew she was going to go this in-depth with story telling settings, I would feel she would want to make sure it all was locked down and fit. But maybe that is my minor OCD tendency talking. Who knows?
For me, it’s where Artis is at end of his life and it says he “lost his activities” at age eighty. The date of this chapter is 1979. Earlier in the book it states that in 1930, he is 11. That means DOB is 1919. If he died in 1979, he’s 60, not past 80! Very confusing!
Is it possible they were intentional if there are so many? Maybe the idea was that the kind of folklore presentation - oral tradition with some tall tales and larger-than-life characters - and unreliability of the storyteller (as an aging woman) was bound to have some inconsistencies and it's not really meant to be taken literally. Maybe the goal is more to capture the spirit of a town as opposed to real-life events. Either that or the editor really lapsed...
Agreed--I'm so glad I'm not the only one to notice this! I just finished the book and found this so distracting, especially when it happened so frequently, and I'm really surprised the author/editor didn't catch the many errors. I don't think they were purposeful--the dates, to my understanding, came from the omniscient third-person narrator, not Ninny--but it was very frustrating to have the author go through the trouble of putting in dozens and dozens of specific dates all to have so many not line up!
Jeremy wrote: "I know this sounds trivial and I don't know if it might be that I am missing something but I just got done with the book and I felt some dates didn't add up. Many probably didn't pay attention bu..."
Ahh. I found this error too and came to check if there is something I am missing and found this thread. So there IS a discrepancy. Also, I think different editions have different style of chapter opening. One of my copies has no dates and the chapters just start at the relevant settings, but I also downloaded a Kindle copy and that one has dates. I found the Kindle copy so much more relatable because of the dates, and now I am distracted. I loved the book so far and am hoping I manage to love it despite, but I though I will still check if it's just me or there is something more to the story that I missed, like maybe Idgie found another partner or something, but that sounded very unlikely even in my head.
What bothers me the most is Jasper Peavy, to be honest. He retired in 1959. He came to Birmingham a year after Artis, who did so in 1934. So he worked for 24 years?? That does not make any sense. Artis and Jasper were both young when they came to Birmingham. So Jasper retired at the age of 44-46??? That is total BS. He should retire in 1969 at the earliest.
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Many probably didn't pay attention but I read each date and even looked back and compared it to earlier dates as I was reading and progressing through the book.
1) For my copy of the book, on page 262, it says the date is October 28th, 1947. It's the scene where Stump just got home from school and Idgie takes him to the backroom to talk to him about the name he called Peggy at school when she asked him to a the dance. Remember when he reveals he is scared to have sex and being made fun of. Well it starts off about him asking where Momma is. Idgie says she's at a the school at a meeting.
Well, a few pages later on 287, we find out that Ruth passed away on February 7th, 1947. So how could Stump be asking for her mom and her be at the school in October of 1947 when she passed away earlier, in February of that year?
2) As mentioned, Ruth passed away in 1947, but on page 351, when we find Smokey was in love with her all this time and he goes to visit Ruth's grave, her headstone said 1898-1946, not 1947.
3) On page 375, the date is December 5th, 1986. It was when Evelyn was in California and she gets the letter that Mrs. Threadgoode passed away. Two pages later the date is April 8th, 1986 and it says that is when Evelyn calls Mrs. Hartman (the neighbor of Ninny who wrote Evelyn the letter) and visits her. The book states Evelyn wanted to wait until the first warm day of spring before she called. But this is April of 1986. How could she call in that month when she doesn't get the letter until December later that year when she's in California?
Like I said, maybe my copy has typos or I am just not seeing something and I am totally misreading everything. Any replies are appreciated!