What: I don't know what's happening where you are, but in my little part of the world it's snowing. This seems to be a particularly good time of year to read Stewart O'Nan's sad, heartfelt (and short) novel Last Night at the Lobster. The story takes place during one day in late December, as employees at a Red Lobster in Connecticut work their last shifts before the restaurant closes for good. The focus is on the manager, Manny, who is determined to do a good job right up until the end, despite a snowstorm, very few customers, chefs who don't show up, and a complicated personal life that's constantly in the back of his mind.
Comparable to: Michael Cunningham channeling Studs Terkel.
Representative quote: "Two months ago Manny had forty-four people working for him, twenty of them full-time. Tonight when he locks the doors, all but five will lose their jobs, and one of those five --- unfairly, he thinks, since he was their leader --- will be himself. He's spent the last weeks polishing letters of recommendation, trying to come up with nice things to say --- not hard in some cases, nearly impossible in others."
You might not like it if: You have no idea what happens in a Red Lobster kitchen and you want to keep it that way.
How to get it: It's easy to find. There's an audiobook, too.
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