Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

By: Anne Tyler

Narrated by: Elizabeth Rodgers

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Pearl Tull is nearing the end of her life but not of her memory. It was a Sunday night in 1944 when her husband left the little row house on Baltimore's Calvert Street, abandoning Pearl to raise their three children alone: Jenny, high-spirited and determined, nurturing to strangers but distant to those she loves; the older son, Cody, a wild and incorrigible youth possessed by the lure of power and money; and sweet, clumsy Ezra, Pearl's favorite, who never stops yearning for the perfect family that could never be his own. Now Pearl and her three grown children have gathered together again - with anger, hope, and a beautiful, harsh, and dazzling story to tell.

©1982 Anne Tyler (P)2021 Recorded Books

Classic Anne Tyler

A great performance of a quintessential Anne Tyler work. It’s not plot-driven. Quirky characters abound! I was delighted to discover that “Dinner at the Homesick Diner” has more in common with early Tyler, eg, “Accidental Tourist,” than the more recent “Clock Dance.”

Really liked this one

The narrator did a fantastic job with all of the voices, especially the male voices were convincing. The ending was a bit lack-luster, but was fitting for the story.

Depressing.

Ms Tyler is one of my very favorite authors. I wish I hadn’t read this one, though. The characters were all so flawed that I couldn’t like them. I found the cruelty toward children to be very depressing and I was glad when I was finished.

Well-written but kind of depressing

I read this book and had memories of it being 5 stars all the way. But after listening to it I'm not so sure. Anne Tyler still wrote a great book, but it is missing the humor present in so many of her work. She has a knack for giving us a laugh or some hope in tough situations, but not in this book.

To day that this family is dysfunctional is an understatement. It opens as the mother of the family is dying. Then it goes through years and characters. I like some, I dislike others, and some I'm still not sure. Be prepared to be sad.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but if you've read a lot of Anne Tyler forget that she wrote it. You will like it better that way. I think the narration is 5 stars.

Not My Favorite

I'm a fan of Anne Tyler but Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is not one of my favorites. The characters were generally unlikable and the plot seemed to meander. Like other reviewers, I found the treatment of children (neglect, physical and emotional abuse) to be quite disturbing. This is not an uplifting story; rather, it is a study in the impact of unresolved childhood trauma and it's ripple effect across generations.

Families - Hard WORK

Until you're caught up in the middle of family chaos you NEVER KNOW what might happen. Each person has their own mind and abilities to comfort itself. So Sad MOST families don't have the communication or relationships that are caring & understanding with eachother. Most get experiences walking in another's shoes.

Great writing style and performance, lethargic plo

Anne Tyler has an amazing style, and the performer was wonderful, but I never felt momentum or a real purpose in the plot. This certainly is a very good book, just not a great book.

Great author

I’ve always enjoyed Anne Tyler stories. She is a gifted study of human characteristics, emotions, thoughts, behaviors and is able to articulate her observations. I like the characters and the realistic story lines.

Decent read

Was tough to keep up with it at times, but well worth the effort. A story of family -- not a tidy "Beaver Cleaver" type of family, but one with not so perfect parents, or siblings either for that matter. But in the end family is family with all the faults and scars.

Too dour for me...

The story was well written but painfully dour. If there were points made and a few weel-written moments, I didn't find them worth the heaviness of the book, overall. Well-narrated, though...