Ratings11
Average rating3.7
Managing a failed seafood restaurant in a run-down New England mall just before Christmas, Manny DeLeon coordinates a challenging final shift of mutinous staff members, an effort that is complicated by his love for a waitress, a pregnant girlfriend, and an elusive holiday gift
Reviews with the most likes.
An accurate portrait of the mood of a crew in the last day before closing down a restaurant. This took me back a couple years, which is a sign of great writing.
This is a short book, with many characters considering its length. I was impressed that I could track each character, even though who never show up. This story is a vignette - one significant day in the life of a restaurant manager.
This is just a small slice of life for these people at this Red Lobster. We get a lot of behind the scenes views of what it is like to work in a restaurant. None of these people are perfect, but they are all trying. You probably won't look at a Red Lobster the same way again. You will be expecting to see Manny, Jackie, Kendra, and the others to be there.
I enjoyed this short, quiet book very much. It's about work–as so few novels really are–and about people who feel very real.
See my complete review at Perpetual Folly.
