The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

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Manufacturer: Fannie Flagg
Brand: Fiction
Brew: Audiobook
Steeping Time: 7 hours 56 minutes
Tea Service: Book Club
Strength:

Synopsis: Bud Threadgoode grew up in the bustling little railroad town of Whistle Stop with his mother, Ruth, church-going and proper, and his Aunt Idgie, the fun-loving hell-raiser. Together they ran the town’s popular Whistle Stop Cafe, known far and wide for its fun and famous fried green tomatoes. And as Bud often said of his childhood to his daughter Ruthie, “How lucky can you get?”

But sadly, as the railroad yards shut down and Whistle Stop became a ghost town, nothing was left but boarded-up buildings and memories of a happier time.

Then one day, Bud decides to take one last trip, just to see what has become of his beloved Whistle Stop. In so doing, he discovers new friends, as well as surprises about Idgie’s life, about Ninny Threadgoode and other beloved Fannie Flagg characters, and about the town itself. He also sets off a series of events, both touching and inspiring, which change his life and the lives of his daughter and many others. Could these events all be just coincidences? Or something else? And can you really go home again?

If you haven’t read my review of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe,

I suggest you click here and read that first. What I’m about to say will make much more sense.

When Grady Kilgore goes back to Whistle Stop with his grandson in the first pages of the book, I can understand his heartache at what Whistle Stop has become. Red Rock, TX, was once a booming town bustling with business and townsfolk. To look at it now, you’d never know it. All that’s left of the once-massive town is our general store, two churches, and a few houses. If you know where to look, you’ll find the foundations of businesses long gone.

I’d imagine that anyone from the era of the thriving town that Red Rock once was would feel much the same as Grady if they saw it today. We don’t have graffiti, but we do have the drug problem. There must have been such good memories of my hometown, and now, there’s not much left to even look at. As someone who never lived here during its heyday, it breaks my heart as though I had.

If you’re looking for a feel-good book to warm your heart, you’ll find it in The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop.

It felt like going back home, especially after reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe again. Is it as good as the first one? Yes and no. I think the best way to describe this book as a sequel is to compare it to life. When you look back on the good times you’ve had, you are filled with nostalgia and happiness. You smile. Your heart warms. But it’s nothing like having lived it. For me, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe was living the good times. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop was reminiscing about it. It’s not bad. It’s just different.

This book, like the first, is written in third person omniscient. We see many memories and present-day moments from a multitude of characters, and we follow the same format of time-hopping, which I adore. We hear stories about the old days and then we get to jump back into those days and experience some of it for ourselves. I found the pace quick and engaging.

We read this book for our book club and the meeting date snuck up on me. I found myself starting this book on Thursday with our meeting on Saturday. Usually, I hate it when I get stuck in this situation. I like to take in a story at my own pace. If I need a break for a day, I like being able to take one. However, with time ticking down, the time crunch had begun. Lucky for me, this isn’t a book I needed a break from. I listened to the first four hours straight and only stopped because I had to go home from work. I could have easily listened to the full story straight through.

At the end of the day, it was wonderful to come home to Whistle Stop.

I loved spending more time with the folks that live there, and I thrived on getting exactly what I wanted from this book. It was everything I wanted the story to be. In my wistfulness for Whistle Stop to be a real place I could escape to, I looked it up. Turns out I can get pretty close. The little town of Juliette, Georgia, is where the film Fried Green Tomatoes was shot. The cafe remained open after filming and still serves southern food and, of course, fried green tomatoes. I know exactly where I’m going for my next road trip.

Have you read The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop? Let me know what you thought in the comments! Haven’t read it yet? Get yourself a copy here.
Cheers,
Lydia