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anur's review
3.0
Multigenerational story, about mothers and daughters all set around a Supper club. I found Florence so annoying and her actions especially with Floyd so awful but they are sort of glossed over and by the end it just left me disgruntled that she was around and Mariel was not.
Still an easy read overall.
Still an easy read overall.
turophile's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
gregzimmerman's review
4.0
Probably 3.5 but I'll round up.
Just a charming few-hours diversion. Not a whole lot substantial to grasp onto here, and not a book that you'll remember years from now as a momentous event in your reading life. But one you'll enjoy while reading, though with a few bits of clumsy plotting and some strange structural choices. It's not a book you'll think too deeply about so these are issues are probably fine.
Just a charming few-hours diversion. Not a whole lot substantial to grasp onto here, and not a book that you'll remember years from now as a momentous event in your reading life. But one you'll enjoy while reading, though with a few bits of clumsy plotting and some strange structural choices. It's not a book you'll think too deeply about so these are issues are probably fine.
danivoke's review
3.0
Mixed feelings on this one. I enjoyed the intergenerational stories but some felt over expanded and others felt too brief. Entertaining for the most part. Not sure if I’d recommend but glad I finished it?
bargainsleuth's review
3.0
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Supper clubs are such a Midwest thing, and I have been in my share of them over the years. While they are dying out, many have fond memories of time spent in them, enjoying a Wisconsin Old Fashioned and broasted chicken and all the accoutrements. So, for me, the Midwest setting and “up north” atmosphere was very familiar to me, and I think they are very accurate. One thing, though, don’t be like me and listen to the audiobook unless you’re not from the upper Midwest: the narrator butchered the pronunciations of places and products. You’d really think there’d be some quality control in that department.
However, the book is not so much about supper clubs as it is about several generations of women. Now, the author is a man, but I think he did an admirable job getting inside women’s psyche to bring that out on the page. There was humor to the book, as well as incredible sadness and poignancy. I thought it was fairly balanced, but more melancholy than humor. And I think that’s why I didn’t LOVE the book and just liked it. I’d recommend it to anyone curious about the famed Midwest supper club and how it used to be every Friday and Saturday night in the Northwoods.
I do have to admit that part of the reason I didn’t love the book was because the opening scene was something I’m not a fan of. I won’t say what it is, but it was an immediate jolt that I found unnecessary, although it is does happen quite a bit up north.
Supper clubs are such a Midwest thing, and I have been in my share of them over the years. While they are dying out, many have fond memories of time spent in them, enjoying a Wisconsin Old Fashioned and broasted chicken and all the accoutrements. So, for me, the Midwest setting and “up north” atmosphere was very familiar to me, and I think they are very accurate. One thing, though, don’t be like me and listen to the audiobook unless you’re not from the upper Midwest: the narrator butchered the pronunciations of places and products. You’d really think there’d be some quality control in that department.
However, the book is not so much about supper clubs as it is about several generations of women. Now, the author is a man, but I think he did an admirable job getting inside women’s psyche to bring that out on the page. There was humor to the book, as well as incredible sadness and poignancy. I thought it was fairly balanced, but more melancholy than humor. And I think that’s why I didn’t LOVE the book and just liked it. I’d recommend it to anyone curious about the famed Midwest supper club and how it used to be every Friday and Saturday night in the Northwoods.
I do have to admit that part of the reason I didn’t love the book was because the opening scene was something I’m not a fan of. I won’t say what it is, but it was an immediate jolt that I found unnecessary, although it is does happen quite a bit up north.
chrisvill's review
5.0
4.5 / 5 - J. Ryan Stradal's third novel takes his style and sensibilities and creates an upper-midwest saga focusing on a supper club in northern Minnesota and how multiple generations of one family (as well as the community) are affected by this one restaurant. I didn't want it to end. There's humor and heartbreak and humanity. It's hard not to get engrossed. As with his other books, the passivity can get frustrating, as well as certain characters, and the middles tend to be better than the ends. But I think that's what makes Stradal's writing so good: that all feels true to life.
seclark's review
3.0
J. Ryan Stradal is a season pass for me, but this book was a tough one just because of some of the content (TW: miscarriage, infant loss, infertility, etc). Still liked it, will still read anything he writes. Am I biased because I'm a MN girl at heart? Sure am. And I'm not sorry.
sdworaczyk2022's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
hanstoltz's review
3.0
In between a 2.5 and 3 here…
I thought it was well written and the tragedies were well done, however the jumping timelines and characters were a bit too confusing at times.
Mariel and Ned were a good couple to read about, and I am glad that they stuck through their struggles. But Florence was painful - as a daughter, friend, mom and grandma.
I don’t know. I loved the setting and the coziness of the small town rituals, but the characters were hard for me to get on board with.
I thought it was well written and the tragedies were well done, however the jumping timelines and characters were a bit too confusing at times.
Mariel and Ned were a good couple to read about, and I am glad that they stuck through their struggles. But Florence was painful - as a daughter, friend, mom and grandma.
I don’t know. I loved the setting and the coziness of the small town rituals, but the characters were hard for me to get on board with.