Last Night at the Lobster by Stuart O’Nan
Anyone who has worked in retail for any substantial length of time understands that the store becomes it’s own world and the people in it are a family. Not a cardboard cutout family filled with stock characters but instead a real family. One that is opinionated and argumentative. One that holds grudges and challenges each other. One with personal dynamics depending on who is interacting with who. One that has histories and weight that inform all of those interactions. With this in mind Last Night at the Lobster isn’t a retail drama but a family drama.
Others have linked Manny and Last Night at the Lobster, with Santiago and The Old Man and the Sea and they would be right, and obvious, to do so but I think that there is another connection, though perhaps a bit more obscure, with Red Baker by Robert Ward. Especially when you consider the two as diverging paths. I think that Last Night at the Lobster can be read as a kind of anti-crime novel because Manny could have easily gone the other way and it would have been a far different novel.
Last Night at the Lobster is a quietly brilliant book.
Recommended
The Cold Kiss by John Rector
The Cold Kiss has a lightning fast pace, great characters in a claustrophobic situation that is suspenseful and tense in the best kind of way.
I’ve got two kids and not a lot of bulk spare time so I can probably count on one hand the novels that I’ve read in one day over the last few years. The Cold Kiss by John Rector was one of them. Once I started reading it I had to finish.
The streamlined nature of the plot (and wanting to know what was going to happen next) kept pulling me back to read more. Good plot twists and reveals that further elevate the tension. It’s like a Scott Phillips meets Fargo wrapped up in the claustrophobic intensity of Die Hard. The third act at the motel was very intense.
Then there is the ending. I think that this ending could generate a lot of discussion if people are willing to have the conversation. I didn’t love the ending. Specifically the Reno parts. For me they went on a little too long after the motel and the end gamble felt out of place. I do wonder if the ending would have benefited from a more noir perspective, in other words did either of the two leads (three if you include the fetus) need to suffer (either directly or indirectly) from the actions at the motel. For me they didn’t.
Ultimately it’s a hell of a book.
Recommended
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
Really enjoyed this book. It’s filled with observations on the human experience and our interactions that are crystal clear, concise and ring true. The book is filled with the devastating and quiet moments like when the mother calls her friends and neighbors for help but knows that they are silently judging her for losing her child.
There is a lot of unnecessary artificial tension created by abrupt chapter breaks but this is a minor complaint.
A very solid and well observed mystery novel.
Recommended
LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER is only one of O’Nan’s brilliant novels. Also loved SPEED QUEEN and A PRAYER FOR THE DYING among others.
Kieran Shea turned me onto Last Night At The Lobster. Great, funny novel. And I can’t believe it’s taken you this long to get around to The Cold Kiss?