Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
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| Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant | |
| Author | Anne Tyler |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Publication date | March 12, 1982 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 303 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0394523814 |
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is a 1982 novel by Anne Tyler set in Baltimore, Maryland.
The book follows the lives of three siblings: Cody, Ezra, and Jenny, and explores their experiences and recollections of growing up with their mother, Pearl, after the family is deserted by their father, Beck. The novel ends with Pearl's funeral, and a surprise occurrence.
The novel examines how siblings may share the same events yet experience them differently. Eg. Cody remembers his childhood as a harsh time. He blames himself for his father abandoning him and considers himself left to the mercy of an angry mother who favours Ezra. Meanwhile Ezra remembers his childhood fondly and creates a nostalgic family-themed restaurant.
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is Anne Tyler's ninth novel. It was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1983. Anne Tyler considers it her best work.
[edit] Plot
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Pearl Tull is a stern perfectionist who is prone to attacks of violence and who raises her children, effectively alone. Cody, the oldest, is envious of his brother Ezra who he believes is Pearl's favorite. Cody feels that Ezra is stealing attention away from him. This could be what prompts Cody to steal Ruth, Ezra's fiancee, in what could be seen as an attempt to win some affection that is Ezra's. This also stems from the fact the Ezra, seemingly unknowingly, "steals" every girlfriend that Cody has ever 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 restaurant 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 at Ezra's "Homesick Restaurant." Ezra is forever attempting to mend the family for various reasons. At Pearl's funeral her children's father finally returns 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. Although family is everything it is certainly never close to perfect.
