Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
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| Author | Anne Tyler |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Released | March 12, 1982 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 303 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0394523814 |
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Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is a 1982 novel by Anne Tyler.
[edit] Plot
The novel follows the life of Pearl Cody Tull, and her children: Cody, Ezra, and Jenny. Pearl is a stern perfectionist who is prone to attacks of violence and who raises her children, effectively alone. Tyler's novel reflects the lives, issues, and sadness of the Tull family which can be traced back to the father's desertion. The novel deals with the ever-complex issues of family and the dysfunction that is inevitable. Cody, the oldest, is insanely jealous of his brother Ezra as he is Pearl's favorite, and feels that Ezra is stealing attention away from him. This could be what (spoiler waring) prompts Cody to steal Ruth, Ezra's fiancee, in what could be seen as an attempt to win some affecton that is Ezra's. This also stems from the fact the Ezra, seemingly unknowingly, "steals" every girlfriend that Cody has every brought home. Ezra is constructed to be completely innocent and as a result comes across as a fool. He often arranges family dinners at the resturant that he runs, which invariably end in an argument or fight. Jenny is the youngest, slightly misguided after her insecure childhood, which leads to rush into marriages. She has three, with two divorces. She eventually becomes a pediatrician and could be seen as the most normal of all the characters. She finds a happiness that is lacking in the lives of the others. The most significant issue in the novel is that of family dinners. He is forever attempting to mend the family for various reasons (not wanting to spoil the book). At Pearl's funeral her children's father finally return for the first time since he left home. However, they never seem to be able to get through a single dinner without conflict, this time with Cody facing down his father. It seems, however, that despite the Tull family's dysfunction the real lesson to be learned is to accept the things you can't change and make the most of it, and finally that although family is everything it is certainly never close to perfect. This book is wonderfully written, with Anne Tyler, a three time Pulitzer Prize winner, masterfully using laguage, metaphors and events to sculpt this family. Not your everyday fairy-tale happy ending; this book is a rather complex read.
