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From the New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal, a story of a couple from two very different restaurant families in rustic Minnesota, and the legacy of love and tragedy, of hardship and hope, that unites and divides them
Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed.
Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?
In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 18, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593670651
- File size: 268962 KB
- Duration: 09:20:20
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Aspen Vincent has a crystalline tone, an evocative style, and a satisfying storytelling voice. She does especially fine work giving these Minnesotan characters believable accents. The four generations of women who shape the plot are each given a unique sound. The plot of this mostly historical novel follows the dual course of two restaurant families. One founds a chain, Jorby's; the other runs the Lakeside Supper Club in northern Minnesota. A marriage unites the two, and family challenges--business and personal--move the plot along. There is a decisive and witty set piece in which a mother and daughter don't speak for a decade, and the entire proceedings honor this vanishing old-time eatery. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine -
June 10, 2024
In his third novel, best-selling author Stradal (The Lager Queen of Minnesota) returns to his Minnesotan roots, creating a multigenerational novel about two restaurant families struggling to survive in the tough food industry. Ned, heir to a chain of upper Midwest diners, feels unprepared and unenthusiastic about taking over the family business, while his wife, Mariel, has inherited the Lakeside Supper Club in rural Minnesota from her grandparents. Both Ned and Mariel are surrounded by quirky and somewhat toxic family members and coworkers, and they struggle to decide which of their families' dreams should die or be revived. Audiences looking for an ode to the upper Midwest will be satisfied, although the tragedies Ned and Mariel face might upset some listeners hoping for more lighthearted fare. Narrator Aspen Vincent competently voices the different characters and provides a smooth listening experience, but listeners wanting northern Minnesotan accents will be disappointed. While timeline jumps can be difficult in audio format, chapter headings are titled with character name and date, ensuring an effortless listen. VERDICT Recommend to book clubs and listeners who love small-town literary relationship fiction.--Sarah Hill
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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