Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

Let it be known that I love Minnesotan authors. I love my adopted home state. I love the Northern part of my adopted home state. I love Midwestern culture. I loved - absolutely LOVED - Kitchens of the Great Midwest. Alas, I did not love this book.

I found aspects of this book to be particularly heartbreaking in ways I was not prepared for and probably would have caused me not to read the book at this particular time. Both the cover and the jacket description made me think this book was a somewhat lighthearted, humorous summer read. It is not. I found this novel profoundly sad and not necessarily in a bittersweet way. Just a sad way. Most of the characters frustrated me. Some redeemed themselves, but others did not.

I loved the aspects of Northern Minnesota culture and the unique beauty that is a Midwestern supper club. Stradal is a wonderful storyteller, and I admire the way he wrote this story of multiple women over three generations. I will absolutely continue to read his work, but this one just missed the mark for me.

Content Warnings

leahgustafson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I picked this one up because I needed something lighter and was really in the mood for something to fuel my excitement for summer. The Midwest, summertime, Up North vibes were spot on and made my heart so happy. Also, knowing and having been to the places referred to in a book always makes the reading experience more fun for me.
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I am a fan of books with multiple narrators and nonlinear timelines, and I read a lot of them. Unfortunately, the changing of perspectives and timelines in this one felt like we were really jumping around and did not flow cohesively. This format seemed to make the story more confusing, rather than adding perspective.
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There are some BIG, tragic events that occur in this book—be sure to check the content warnings. To be honest, I’m not sure they are all necessary to get to the heart of this particular story. Some of them just felt throw in. A few of the big themes/events are never fully developed and just sort of fall off. These feel like they could be ideas for other, separate books.
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Finally, some of the characters didn’t seem to match personality-wise with previous versions of themselves. Of course, people grow/change over time, but I didn’t find this kind of development well demonstrated.
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I know people have absolutely loved J. Ryan Stradal’s other books, and I’d be willing to give those a try. If you’ve read this one or any of his others, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!

Content Warnings

sam0ny's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This took me awhile to read but once I got situated and started reading it goes pretty fast. Lots of happy moments. Lots of sad moments but it feels as if you're in that town

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jo_22's review

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Awesome book- I loved the Minnesota setting and that it was centered around the supper club. Did a great job shifting character perspectives and time periods and it was really wholesome. Themes/focus areas of family & generations, small town culture, hardship & hope. I do wish there was a bit more parts tying some plot points together (ex.

Have Ned reflect on Mariel’s death or convo of Ned talking to Julia about Gus. More of Florence and Mariel after they reconcile, etc

) however @ the same time I do think there was strength and effectiveness in not focusing so much on the dynamics between characters after plot points occur and more focused on how each character deals with / lives their life with the weight/gifts/hopes of past generations. Plus it aligns well with the Midwestern/Minnesotan way of “things we don’t talk about”.
I loved the last page— and overall the book made me reflect on and appreciate my family & generations before me.
Really well-written.

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purplepenning's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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vanessagrausam's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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karolinez's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this book, and I was impressed at how the author could so intimately describe the characters' emotions. It was also a really complex look at the characters, which made them feel really human. People are extremely imperfect and make mistakes that hurt people, but we can't easily put them into boxes that are as simple as "good" and "bad." Will definitely read this author again. He had some really good turns of phrase.

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