Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

The novel opens with Pearl Tull on her deathbed, attended by her son, Ezra. She fades in and out, lost in memories of years gone by. Born in the early 20th century, Pearl married and had three children. Her husband Beck earned his living as a salesman; frequent transfers required the young family to relocate on short notice. Pearl’s life was focused on her children and she had no social connections to speak of. When Beck up and left them all, she had no one to fall back on. But she managed.

Or so it seemed. In fact, Pearl’s end-of-life reverie was highly unreliable. While Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant initially appears to be the story of a quirky family, its dark side soon becomes apparent. Eldest son Cody is charming on the show more outside but inside is calculating and cruel, especially towards his brother Ezra. Jenny, the youngest, becomes a doctor but her personal life is a mess. And Ezra, the peace-keeping middle child, remains in Baltimore with his mother while working at the restaurant he eventually comes to own. Ezra repeatedly attempts to bring the family together by hosting elaborate dinners at the restaurant, which suffer under the weight of his perfectionism, shared family trauma, and the dysfunctional behaviors of every other family member.

The lives of each sibling unfold in alternating chapters, each a brilliant character study that also moves the plot along. I despised Cody and found Ezra and Jenny likeable, if flawed. The novel ends with Pearl’s funeral, where one particular loose end is resolved but much of the family’s future remains uncertain. I was actually glad Tyler didn’t fall back on a neat and tidy ending. There was no way this family was going to reverse the damage done to them, but they can move forward step by step, day by day. show less

Pearl Tull is looking back on her life with her three (now adult) children. Her husband walked out on the family when the children were young, and she found herself ill-equipped to cope. She carried on as if nothing had happened, not even telling the children that their father was gone. The narrative follows the lives of the three siblings – Cody, Ezra, and Jenny. It is a tale of a dysfunctional family that portrays how siblings remember the same events differently.

Set in Maryland mostly in the 1940s to 1980s, this is a story of life and a family, the passage of time, and the importance of communication. The author explores the ramifications of abandonment, with the three siblings trying to deal with it the best they can. Cody is show more aggressive, rebellious, and jealous of his brother. Ezra is the peacemaker who tries to heal the conflicts through food. Jenny engages in a series of failed relationships, eventually finding one where she feels needed.

The characters are deftly drawn, complete with strengths and flaws. The point of view switches among the siblings to provide the reader with a psychological portrait of each. This method allows the reader to gain a fuller understanding of the situation by viewing it from multiple perspectives. It is a quiet, reflective book. The main highlight for me is that by the end I felt I knew these people. I have read other books by Anne Tyler and this one is my favorite by far.

“Everything,' his father said, 'comes down to time in the end--to the passing of time, to changing. Ever thought of that? Anything that makes you happy or sad, isn't it all based on minutes going by? Isn't sadness wishing time back again?”

4.5 show less

Rating: A+

If you have not ever read this book, stop reading this review right now, go pick it up, and don't do anything else until you're done. If you're still reading this then you're either disobedient or you know how truly fabulous this novel is. Anne Tyler is an absolutely genius writer. She takes a series of events that are seemingly nothing--seriously, nothing of "consequence" really happens in this book--but you're captivated from the first chapter.

As I was reading I found myself feeling sympathy for which ever perspective was being used--she writes from Pearl, Cody, Ezra, and Jenny at different points throughout the book. When you're reading Cody you feel so badly for Cody, and (paradoxically) when you read Ezra your heart show more breaks for him. And it seems hard to imagine, having read any of the children's chapters, but you actually feel that Pearl (and her husband) as well are characters were rich and deep back-stories that are so complex.

At the end of the book I found myself deeply saddened, to the point of near tears (if I hadn't been at dinner with my family in Fazoli's I'd probably have let the tears spill). I just felt that these characters were all so tragic, their lives so sad, and then I realized what Tyler's teaching--everyone is tragic. No one has the perfect life. Family is very nearly all anybody has, and it makes you re-think what you think of your family and closest friends.

This book was easily, so easily, an A+ in my book. If I weren't a stickler for the grading system, I'd have given it an A++. It's really that good. show less

I really loved this book. Tyler has a beautiful writing style and developed characters that are realistic and complex. I cared what happened to the Tull family and could see the good and bad in each of them. It was written over 30 years ago but the hopes, cruelties and jealousies of this family are timeless themes that resonated with me and I think will for many of us.

I went into this novel with dread. I was expecting this book to hit a bit too close to home and maybe a little hard to swallow (mother death is always a hard one for me). To be honest, I have never read a novel by Anne Tyler and did not expect such incredible prose and vivid storytelling. This was a heartbreaking portrait of a flailing, damaged, and toxic American family doing their best (and as in life sometimes someone’s best just simply falls short). The heartbreaking, sad, and devastating moments of this novel felt both necessary and vital to the meaning of the story Tyler weaves in Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (and weren’t the entire Tull family both homesick and in dire need of nourishment? Some of them literally show more starving?)

This is my first but certainly not my last Tyler novel. show less

Anne Tyler weaves together a cast of characters which capture the reader in her wonderful novel: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. Pearl Tull, a domineering and stubborn woman who is adept at denial (especially when her husband abandons the family) heads up the Tull family. Tyler begins at Pearl's deathbed, then rewinds to reveal the intricate relationships and events that span her life.

Cody Tull is the eldest of Pearl's children - the son who remembers his father the most vividly and is perhaps the most damaged by Beck Tull's desertion. Jenny, the only daughter, worries about her weight and can't sustain a relationship with men. And then there is Ezra - the favorite son - gentle, lumbering and looking for family unity - the type of show more man who cares for others and can't quite give up on his mother. Even Tyler's minor characters will touch the reader's heart - especially Ezra's friend Josiah Payton:

'Mrs. Payton kept refilling his plate. "To look at him," she said, "you'd never know he eats so much, would you? Skinny as a fence post. I reckon he's still a growing boy." She laughed, and Josiah grinned bashfully with his eyes cast down - a skeletal, stooped , hunkering man. Jenny had never thought about the fact that Josiah was somebody's son, some woman's greatest treasure. His stubby black lashes were lowered; his prickly head was bent over his plate. He was so certain of being loved, her if no place else.' -From Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, page 108-

Tyler's novel is a character study - and there is no author out there who does character driven novels as well as Tyler. Beautiful, harsh, endearing, absorbing - all describe this wonderful story of the Tull family. As Pearl Tull's life spirals down, Tyler infuses the characters with hope and gives the reader a deeply satisfying story to remember long after the last page is turned.

Highly recommended. show less

Tyler has said that she felt this book was more deserving of the Pulitzer than Breathing Lessons, her winning achievement. I don't know that I'd agree (having absolutely adored Breathing Lessons), but I would say it was equally deserving. Tyler's characters are deeply flawed, but they remain sympathetic, even endearing, to the reader because they are so intensely real. In Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Tyler has captured the raw essence of the family dynamic: sibling rivalry, the complicated relationships between children and their parents, the many definitions of marriage, difficult times, tender moments and the every days in between.