Evening Book Club August 2016
Kitchens of the Great Midwest
J. Ryan Stradal
“...have a house without a pie, be ashamed until you die.”
― J. Ryan Stradal, Kitchens of the Great Midwest
― J. Ryan Stradal, Kitchens of the Great Midwest
Kitchens of the Great
Midwest, is a story of how regional food is the background of our lives and
forms lasting impressions of comfort and home. The discussion centered on the
characters and how they fit into the life of Eva Thorvald, the girl with a once-in-a-generation
palate. It continued throughout the evening with comments about the how did the
characters fit into the story. There was confusion about the brief introduction
of some of them and why they were essential to Eva’s story, but most said they
liked Eva. Some said there were too many of them and that a few plot lines were
not necessary to the story. Others said the characters reappeared later and
tied up loose ends and left some questions to be answered by the reader. This
is how Stradal writes, quirky and jumping from one situation to another.
Readers are forced to fill in the blanks and make up their own stories.
Most readers appreciated the humorous situations but were
put off by the reality of gritty living conditions of rural life in Minnesota.
It was decided that the author wrote about the culture of Minnesota and how
food reflected the tastes and history of the people who live there. All readers agreed that they liked the parts
about some of the food, especially the local tomatoes and sweet corn as well as
the story about Pat’s bars. Readers enjoyed one member’s recreation of Pat’s
chocolate peanut butter bars for the group’s snack.
The most intense discussion was reserved for the end of the
evening when everyone had strong opinions about Eva’s pop-up dinner party with
the non-refundable $120 reservation, $10,000 cost for two people, and three year wait with no choice of date. The
menu was good, but the portions were small and there were no substitutions or
seconds available. Readers questioned whether the diners were deliberately
chosen for that particular evening and how they were part of Eva’s life. Did
Eva know her mother would be at the dinner and how would she have known?
Listed here are books readers suggested. The
Beans of Egypt Maine, Caroline Chute ,
Shotgun Lovesongs, Nickolas Butler,
Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader, edited by Martha MacIntosh.
Have you read Kitchens of the Great Midwest? What did you
think? Please share your thoughts in comments.
