When were you last blown away by a debut novel?
Weeping through the final paragraph, I couldn't readily recall the last time a debut novel hit me as hard as J. Ryan Stradal's Kitchens of the Great Midwest (2015). Consequently, I then did what any self-respecting bookworm and compulsive chronicler would do. I scoured my book journals. In the end, my rewind took me back to 2016 when Leif Enger's debut Peace Like a River (2001) had a similar effect on me, albeit for entirely different reasons.
Stradal's debut is hilarious, moving, and wise in equal measure. Moreover, his architecture is thrilling but completely submerged until the denouement, one of the strongest final chapters I've read in recent memory. And the prose? Exquisite, end-to-end, if you can stop laughing long enough to pay close attention.
"The three women walked into a punishingly hot wooden building that smelled something like hay, dirt, and excrement being burned in an oven."
Pat, thanks for writing about your response to a book--sometimes I forget the power good writing has, especially if it's from an unexpected place. I am sure I have better examples of my own experiences reading something, but the one that comes to mind is Dave Eggers "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" not a novel, but whatever it was, I couldn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteRegina; Weird - almost like we're conversing in cyber-space. I happened to be online reading your latest Suffering School entry - funny and vulnerable, BTW - when this comment from you popped up! And here's the really cool part of this virtual meeting we're having: That debut by Dave Eggers - a post-modern meta memoirish something or other - is also one of my all-time favorites. I read it upon its publication (pre book journal years) so it didn't occur to me as I finished "Kitchens ..." or while writing this post. But it was clearly a peak reading experience for me as well. Thanks for your comment. Also, would you like a refill on your tea?
DeleteIt is rare to find books that are equally moving and funny at the same time. A book with the same vibe as Kitchens is Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson. I did not find Stradal's next book, The Larger Queen of Minnesota, as captivating as Kitchens, so I haven't tackled his third.
ReplyDeleteHey Jim; Thanks for the comment. I agree that funny/moving is an unusual - if not rare - combo. And thanks for the newest recommendation; you're certainly keeping my list vibrant. I'm into my 3rd Percival Everett book in under six months ("The Trees"); I'm still scratching my head in wonder at how this author got by me for this long.
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