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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Goodreads really needs to update its app to allow partial stars- this was more a 3.75 than 3. The writing and premise were excellent. I liked how the author goes into each character’s thoughts. She does a great job with laying out what 2016 felt like. My beef with the book was it didn’t go enough - I felt like the author just scratched the skin and could have delved deeper into certain areas. As another reviewer mentioned, it was like “The most fun we ever had” but I didn’t connect with the characters as much. But book wasn’t a bad read- just not as gripping as I’d like
I landed at 4.5 stars for my rating! I really enjoyed being along for this family’s messy life and I especially enjoyed the ending! Gretchen and Riley really resonated with me and were my favorite parts of the story!
Rounding up slightly. I really did not have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised!
*2.5, being from Chicagoland I really enjoyed the references and place, but I just didn't end up caring about any of the characters.
I’m a sucker for a multigenerational family drama set in/around Chicago and will always pick up a book with this premise and/or setting. The writing, dialogue, and characters were an added bonus!
Chicago in 2016/17 – an odd time when it felt like the world was ending with the cubs winning the World Series and a notorious election leaving many in shock. It’s a weird, blurry, sliver of time to revisit, but Jennifer Close captured it in a unique and fun way. I loved the cast of characters. They’re messy, spoiled, kind of annoying, but real and lovable in their own unique ways. At the heart of it all is the family restaurant, Sullivans, which truly is its own living and breathing character that was an entertaining backdrop weaving all these storylines together.
Chicago in 2016/17 – an odd time when it felt like the world was ending with the cubs winning the World Series and a notorious election leaving many in shock. It’s a weird, blurry, sliver of time to revisit, but Jennifer Close captured it in a unique and fun way. I loved the cast of characters. They’re messy, spoiled, kind of annoying, but real and lovable in their own unique ways. At the heart of it all is the family restaurant, Sullivans, which truly is its own living and breathing character that was an entertaining backdrop weaving all these storylines together.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
“He sometimes wished they could be normal and have dinner parties, gather around someone’s table like God and Norman Rockwell intended.”
At times this felt glib but I fell in love with the Sullivans.
I’ve started and stopped this book at least 3 times since it came out. The description appealed to me, I heard really good things, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get past the first chapter. This time, I pushed through that weird hurdle and let myself have time to remember all the character’s names and relationship to each other and I’m so glad I did because I ended up really really enjoying the book.
I love a good family drama and this was everything you’d expect a book of that genre to be, with flawed yet lovable characters holding varying types of “secrets” and struggles that I felt like I was along for the ride of witnessing. It was also set in two locations that are somewhat unique to my reading—Chicago and a restaurant. This made me realize I’ve very rarely read books set in Chicago and it was interesting as someone who isn't totally familiar with the city. I feel like I’m constantly inundated with NYC books and while those are all fine and good, this was a nice departure. And the restaurant backdrop of both the family and the book was equally atmospherically rich, interesting, and enjoyable.
And how could I forget the third backdrop of this story—the 2016 election? Weirdly, this is the second book in a row I’ve read that’s set in somewhat conjunction to that, but both stories painted such real and intimate portrayals of that time period. This took me back to all those feelings and I could relate to Gretchen, Teddy, and Jane’s existential wrestlings with themselves and the future of this country and how the two are related.
Lastly, as a whole, I was struck with the writing in this. While it’s described as a “comedy,” I wouldn’t exactly call it that, but some scenes (the one I can remember right now involved weaning Owen off a pacifier) were so funny that I genuinely laughed out loud while reading, which I very rarely do. The writing style was simple, but descriptive and effective. It takes strong writing to make a mundane task like “marrying” ketchups into such a rich metaphor that it became the title of the story, but Close is definitely that type of writer.
Near the end of the book, there’s a really well placed verse of lyrics from Wonderwall (by Oasis, you know the one) that made perfect sense in relation to this book and the passage they were a part of and it’s hard to stick a Wonderwall reference without being cheesy, but I think Close did it, and I’m still thinking about all those aspects even now, days after finishing.
I love a good family drama and this was everything you’d expect a book of that genre to be, with flawed yet lovable characters holding varying types of “secrets” and struggles that I felt like I was along for the ride of witnessing. It was also set in two locations that are somewhat unique to my reading—Chicago and a restaurant. This made me realize I’ve very rarely read books set in Chicago and it was interesting as someone who isn't totally familiar with the city. I feel like I’m constantly inundated with NYC books and while those are all fine and good, this was a nice departure. And the restaurant backdrop of both the family and the book was equally atmospherically rich, interesting, and enjoyable.
And how could I forget the third backdrop of this story—the 2016 election? Weirdly, this is the second book in a row I’ve read that’s set in somewhat conjunction to that, but both stories painted such real and intimate portrayals of that time period. This took me back to all those feelings and I could relate to Gretchen, Teddy, and Jane’s existential wrestlings with themselves and the future of this country and how the two are related.
Lastly, as a whole, I was struck with the writing in this. While it’s described as a “comedy,” I wouldn’t exactly call it that, but some scenes (the one I can remember right now involved weaning Owen off a pacifier) were so funny that I genuinely laughed out loud while reading, which I very rarely do. The writing style was simple, but descriptive and effective. It takes strong writing to make a mundane task like “marrying” ketchups into such a rich metaphor that it became the title of the story, but Close is definitely that type of writer.
Near the end of the book, there’s a really well placed verse of lyrics from Wonderwall (by Oasis, you know the one) that made perfect sense in relation to this book and the passage they were a part of and it’s hard to stick a Wonderwall reference without being cheesy, but I think Close did it, and I’m still thinking about all those aspects even now, days after finishing.
(Audio) I was disappointed by this book. I felt emotionally detached from everything that was happening and a couple of the main characters were downright annoying. I bumped my rating up a little bit because I really enjoyed the book taking place in Chicago and the author's very specific references to the atmosphere of various suburbs, the Cubs theme throughout and the restaurant and location name drops. But overall I wouldn't recommend.
While I enjoyed this book I felt like nothing really happened. There were a lot of smaller plot points happening with the individual characters but I felt like it was missing a bigger plot point to drive the family's interaction. The was good but I felt like it had the potential to be great.