The movie is great but does not align with the book in many ways. There are dozens of characters in the book that are not mentioned in the movie, including a woman named Eva who was very fundamental to Idgie’s early life and development. And don’t try to write down a timeline because the math still doesn’t math, but it does get closer to reality in the book than in the movie.
In the book, Mrs Otis is a 78 year old white lady, not related to Sipsey.
Big George is adopted by Sipsey and was already an adult when Idgie was born. The little girl in the movie is Big George and his wife Onzell’s daughter “Naughty Bird,” and she has 3 older brothers. According to Ninny, Sipsey’s mother was a former slave, and Sipsey began working for the Threadgoodes at age 11 and was in her 80s during Big George’s trial and worked in the cafe into her 90s. Some of the timeline does not match up when you write it out, but I’m not sure if that was an error from the author or intentionally making Ninny’s memories of dates (realistically) jumbled.
The book is wonderful. But consider it rated R, don’t let kids read it, and also keep in mind the author tries to be honest to the times and frequently uses language that was common then but no longer used now.
TWs: blatant, awful racism, “N” word frequently used, humanizing of KKK members, violence, spousal abuse, use of the “R” word, consensual sexual content from teens to adults including fem-to-fem. Rape mentioned multiple times and sometimes described in details. Deaths of multiple characters. Also in the book Idgie and Ruth are more than just “best friends.”
Even with all the negative content included the book still gives a warm feeling.