Stewart O'Nan

The ‘last night’ in the title refers to the last shift the Red Lobster in New Britain, CN will be open. The restaurant is on the outer edge of a mall parking lot. This novel revolves around Manny DeLeon, the manager, and the other workers at the branch that is being closed due to poor numbers. Manny is a very conscientious manager who attempts to keep the restaurant open for its regular hours despite staff not showing up or walking out, a major nor’easter that keeps patrons away and the usual onslaught of patron and staff problems. He himself is having problems letting go of a waitress at work who has broken off their relationship and committing to his pregnant girlfriend. This slice of life is a great little peek at the lives of these characters.… (altro)

This is an author that I only ran across because I was specifically looking for Wisconsin born authors.

This is a weird story set in Friendship, Wisconsin just after the Civil War. The town is in the middle of a diphtheria epidemic and a wildfire. The POV makes the story feel off kilter but it helps reinforce the isolation and the resulting descent into madness. The main character is struggling with civic responsibility amidst personal troubles and loss. Unfortunately, he does not fair so well and sinks into definite mental illness.… (altro)

A few years ago, at the start of the Covid pandemic, the Pizza Hut in our town closed down, as did a lot of restaurants. Sadly, its corporate headquarters made the decision to close it permanently. I've often wondered what happened to the dozen or more employees who lost jobs there. Well, Stewart O'Nan's acclaimed 2007 novel, LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER, opens a window into a similar situation, giving human faces and feelings to the workers at a Red Lobster near a failing Massachusetts mall. Their last day plays out from the viewpont of the Lobster manager, Manny DeLeon, a long-time and conscientious 'company man,' who has other problems - a pregnant girlfriend he doesn't really
love, and a waitress he still loves, though their affair has long since fizzled, and several unhappy workers who have shown up for this last day of work. And it's all set against a massive winter storm just four days before Christmas. O'Nan works his trademark magic of 'inhabiting' his main character, putting the reader inside Manny's head - and heart - in this awkward and, at times, heartbreaking final day of work at the restaurant.

I've often seen comments from O'Nan fans that this is their favorite of his books. Now I understand that enthusiasm, although I also wonder if they might have loved it for its brevity, at less than 150 pages. But the fact that whole lives are so vividly represented in those few pages says a lot. This is, I think, my thirteenth O'Nan book, so obviously I'm a fan. Loved this one too. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (altro)