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More copies of this ISBN:Last Night at the Lobster: A Novelby Stewart O'Nan
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Stewart O'Nan has been called "the bard of the working class" and has now crafted a frank and funny yet emotionally resonant tale set within a vivid workaday world seldom seen in contemporary fiction.
Perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall, The Red Lobster hasn't been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift. With only four shopping days left until Christmas, Manny must convince his near-mutinous staff to hunker down and serve the final onslaught of hungry retirees, lunatics, and holiday office parties. All the while, he's wondering how to handle the waitress he's still in love with, his pregnant girlfriend at home, and the perfect present he still needs to buy. Last Night at the Lobster is a poignant yet redemptive look at what a man does when he discovers that his best might not be good enough. Review:"Set on the last day of business of a Connecticut Red Lobster, this touching novel by the author of Snow Angels and A Prayer for the Dying tells the story of Manny DeLeon, a conscientious, committed restaurant manager any national chain would want to keep. Instead, corporate has notified Manny that his — and Manny does think of the restaurant as his — New Britain, Conn., location is not meeting expectations and will close December 20. On top of that, he'll be assigned to a nearby Olive Garden and downgraded to assistant manager. It's a loss he tries to rationalize much as he does the loss of Jacquie, a waitress and the former not-so-secret lover he suspects means more to him than his girlfriend Deena, who is pregnant with his child. On this last night, Manny is committed to a dream of perfection, but no one and nothing seems to share his vision: a blizzard batters the area, customers are sparse, employees don't show up and Manny has a tough time finding a Christmas gift for Deena. Lunch gives way to dinner with hardly anyone stopping to eat, but Manny refuses to close early or give up hope. Small but not slight, the novel is a concise, poignant portrait of a man on the verge of losing himself." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"'Last Night at the Lobster' takes place during 12 hours on Dec. 20, the last day for a Red Lobster restaurant at a depressed shopping mall in New Britain, Conn. Stuart O'Nan's entire novella could probably fit on those large, laminated menu pages that entice us to 'Come See What's Fresh Today.' There is no plot here beyond the serving schedule from opening, to lunch, to dinner, to closing. It's just... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) Review:"A deeply moving novel about how we work, how we live, and how we get to the next day with our spirits intact. If there was ever a book that embodies what's best in us, it's Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster." Stephen King, bestselling author of Lisey's Story Review:"A rueful mood piece....O'Nan hews to a neglected literary tradition by focusing his sympathetic attention on people with few options....Very low-key, but haunting and quietly provocative." Kirkus Reviews Review:"This slice-of-life novel is funny, poignant, and exquisitely rendered. Strongly recommended." Library Journal Review:"[A] densely packed 146 pages with few wasted words. It's O'Nan at his most concentrated....Last Night at the Lobster doesn't have Dickens' warm and fuzzy ending, but it is a paean to those who do their job and do it well..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Review:"Last Night at the Lobster makes beautiful sense in the span of O'Nan's writing life: It's a Zen koan of a book — Manny's life in all its integrity echoing out across a wintry mall in a Rust Belt American town." The Los Angeles Times Review:"Stewart O'Nan excels at bringing the reader into the skin of his characters....In lesser hands, Last Night at the Lobster...would be mundane; instead, this bittersweet story sings." Denver Post Review:"[C]oncise, unsettling, sometimes funny....Strong fiction such as this offers not only diversion and entertainment but also the opportunity to experience life as another human being. To read Last Night at the Lobster is to take an enlightening walk in the shoes of a different kind of hero." Philadelphia Inquirer Review:"The characters populating O'Nan's restaurant never leap off the page, and by the book's end, no great strides have been made, no pivotal issues resolved." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Review:"O'Nan's empathy for his characters is one of his great gifts as a novelist, and it is an impressive achievement that Manny's misplaced affection for Red Lobster is not risible, but tragic." The New York Times Book Review Synopsis:O'Nan has crafted a frank and funny yet emotionally resonant tale set within a vivid workaday world seldom seen in contemporary fiction. This work presents a poignant yet redemptive look at what a man does when he discovers that his best might not be good enough. About the AuthorStewart O'Nan is the author of ten novels, including Snow Angels and A Prayer for the Dying, as well as works of nonfiction, including the bestselling book with Stephen King on the Boston Red Sox, Faithful. Granta named him one of the twenty Best Young American Novelists in 1995. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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