For anyone with roots in the Midwest, reading a J Ryan Stradal book is like a visit home. For me, it is full of all the things I loved about growing up there, and all the reasons I left. That part of the company both fills you up, and breaks your heart, and that’s exactly what I want good fiction to do. Stradal delivers this in spades.
The Lakeside Supper Club stands to represent all the local eateries that specialize in a good old fashioned and prime rib, especially on Saturday nights. This story follows the family as the business of the supper club ebbs and flows and supports the families who work and live there. It contrasts with the chain restaurant, Jorby’s, which was the legacy of another family, and illustrates how big business has either prospered, or destroyed, the locals.
Stradal does a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. Florence, who we follow over her full timeline, is the stubborn old woman we are probably related to, but she’s quite a marshmallow inside. Her daughter, Mariel, represents so many of the sad things we experience in life—poverty, death, miscarriage, isolation, etc.—that we can’t help but root for her and her only child, Julia. And Julia represents what we want most for children—hope, respect for nature and history, but most of all fulfillment.
This is a story of hardship and love, legacy, and individualism. It jumbles timelines a bit and there are a LOT of characters to keep track of, but going home is like that, isn’t it?
Bravo to Stradal for another great book. Though… does ANYONE know what the twelve great salads of Western civilization are? So much to learn!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Viking for the ARC. This goes on my gift giving list for summer readers!
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