First Impressions

[Jessica]

Reply to this message to share your first impressions of this book.

Have you read other Stewart O'Nan books? If so, let us know how they compare to this one.

[LizzieAnn]

This is the first of the author's books I've ever read.  It struck a sad & mournful note.  Another thread mentions Steinbeck & Cather & their connections, and I can see a similiar one with this book.  All the endings - of relationships, of the store & it's being a home base, of hopes & dreams, of the economy in this community. 

[Librarian]

Hi-----I have never read any of Stewart O'Nan's other books. The description of this book captivated me. So I bought it and read it quickly. I loved it!!!!!! The literary voice in the story is excellent. My son is a restaurant manager and I am going to give  him this book. Besides any nostalgic or sad feelings brought about in the story, I could also see a lot of humor there. And it  connects even more if you or someone close to you knows the restaurant business in and out!!!

Librarian

Message Edited by Librarian on 03-03-2008 04:08 PM

[malinpgh]

This is my third or fourth Stewart O'Nan book. A long time ago I read "Prayer for the Dying" and recently, after reading "Lobster", I read "The Good Wife". None of the fiction I've read is a happy read but oh what care he takes to put just the right word down, one after the other. He is not a pretentious writer - you don't have to sit there with a dictionary, and I don't find myself stopping on a phrase or losing myself in the prose - but what a fine observer he is and how carefully and patiently he constructs the plot.

Like another post-er here, we gave "Lobster" as a gift to a relative working in the food service industry. I swear, the author must have been in her workplaces, with her co-workers. Although this is not a happy optimistic tale, I must say it's a little brighter than the other books I've read of O'Nan's. But I read him because I love his writing, not to read a "feel good" book.

[Jessica]

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LizzieAnn wrote:

This is the first of the author's books I've ever read.  It struck a sad & mournful note.  Another thread mentions Steinbeck & Cather & their connections, and I can see a similiar one with this book.  All the endings - of relationships, of the store & it's being a home base, of hopes & dreams, of the economy in this community. 

---

Hi Lizzie,

I feel the same way. The overall tone of the book seemed to be "resignation" -- endings, but unwanted ones, under circumstances that the characters had no control over.

And yet, there's no big tragedy here. It's a situation we've all probably experienced (unfinished relationships, jobs ending). But O'Nan has a gift for magnifiying the small, important moments in these characters lives.

(Which is exactly the reason I love My Antonia!)

[Jessica]

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malinpgh wrote:
This is my third or fourth Stewart O'Nan book. A long time ago I read "Prayer for the Dying" and recently, after reading "Lobster", I read "The Good Wife". None of the fiction I've read is a happy read but oh what care he takes to put just the right word down, one after the other. He is not a pretentious writer - you don't have to sit there with a dictionary, and I don't find myself stopping on a phrase or losing myself in the prose - but what a fine observer he is and how carefully and patiently he constructs the plot.

Like another post-er here, we gave "Lobster" as a gift to a relative working in the food service industry. I swear, the author must have been in her workplaces, with her co-workers. Although this is not a happy optimistic tale, I must say it's a little brighter than the other books I've read of O'Nan's. But I read him because I love his writing, not to read a "feel good" book.

---

Hi M--

Right? I'm always more impressed when stories are written simply, yet don't lose an ounce of the seriousness of the story.

And I've recommended this book to every single person I know who has ever worked in a restaurant. (I'm one of the few who never did their time in the food industry, and even I felt like I was a part of it...)

[malinpgh]

"Lobster" and "My Antonia" - an interesting comparison and one that I hope O'Nan would be impressed with - and Cather as well.

Coincidentally - or maybe not - both Willa Cather and Stewart O'Nan share Pittsburgh Pennsylvania roots, and more precisely in the East End neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. O'Nan grew up in or around Point Breeze (where I presently live) and Willa Cather spent some time in the adjacent Squirrel Hill neighborhood, on Murray Hill Ave in the McClung house. This links to her obituary in the now-defunct Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph (http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n111.html).

Restaurant work - never done it, but I'm a nurse and some of the dynamics are the same in any service industry.

[Rachel-K]

Thanks for the link. How interesting about O'Nan and Cather! I think it is true that you can grow up in the shadow of a famous reputation by sharing a bit of geography. It has been a long time since I've read Cather and I can't speak to the connections in their writing. I'd love to hear other comments on those connections.