Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club ☹️It really pains me to say that this did not live up to my expectations for J. Ryan Stradal.
I never found my footing with these characters. There were too many, their voices didn’t feel distinct, a few didn’t seem necessary for the plot, while others felt overlooked. The way the narrative jumps in time were jarring and didn’t make sense to me. I think it the story would’ve been better served with a format similar to Kitchens of the Great Midwest: similar to a series of standalone, but interconnected, short stories. Lastly, there are several plot points that just seem unnecessarily and overly maudlin. There are plenty of trigger warnings out there, but just to reiterate: accidental death of a child, infertility, and the addition of another sudden death seemed overkill, literally. It made for a rushed and slapdash ending.
I always appreciate good atmosphere, especially of the Midwestern variety. This novel does so with aplomb: characters that say ‘geeze!’ and drink brandy old fashioneds in a very familiar supper club setting made my heart happy. There are also a few Easter eggs that refer back to his earlier beloved books. But it was not enough to recommend this rather dull story.
It is an absolute tragedy because his first two novels are fantastic and I already know people who won’t read them because this book was such a disappointment. I will consider this an aberration and continue to read everything that he publishes, for sure. I entreat everyone to read Kitchens of the Great Midwest and skip this one!