Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

A Novel

By: J. Ryan Stradal

Narrated by: Aspen Vincent

“Stradal serves up another saga of food and family, hurt and healing, pitched between cliff-hanger moments. . . that make the pages fly.”—People

From the New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal, a story of a couple from two very different restaurant families in rustic Minnesota, and the legacy of love and tragedy, of hardship and hope, that unites and divides them

Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed.

Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?

In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.

©2023 J. Ryan Stradal (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Stradal serves up another saga of food and family, hurt and healing, pitched between cliff-hanger moments. . . that make the pages fly.”—People

“Stradal...displays his gift for writing female characters who are fully realized, sometimes unlikable, but always as flawed and compelling as real people. The Midwest setting is written with love and respect, and while the story is often heartbreakingly sad, there’s also real warmth and comfort in Stradal’s writing. A loving ode to supper clubs, the Midwest, and the people there who try their best to make life worth living.”—Kirkus (starred)

“In his previous two novels. . . J. Ryan Stradal writes fetchingly of three lovely things: inventive food, craft beer and Minnesota. [Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club] possesses these same ingredients with added dashes of grief, estrangement, resignation and love. In other words, it's everything on the menu.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Simple, homey, sweet

We listened to this story over a few days’ travel, and it was an enjoyable view into a Minnesota family’s restaurant business. Great descriptive detail, sweet telling of a family’s ups and downs over four generations. I’ve never heard of a supper club before this book, but I feel compelled to try to find one now.

Good story

Great story! Pronunciation of Edina seemed off (should be "E DINE ah", right?) Loved how the main character found her way to have her own relationship with the "Supper Club" culture.

Every bit as excellent as his other novels

The story and writing are top drawer here, particularly for a resident of Minneapolis, MN. The only minor drawback is the narrator doesn't get all the pronunciations correct. Otherwise, highly recommended.

Generational Love

Loved this story that crossed generations- some doing better than others, but each finding their way to happiness. Performance was key as reader changed voices making it easier to follow each characters story line as they went back and forth! Loved it!

overall a good read

This book was enjoyable, especially for those of us who have experienced supper clubs in the North Country of the USA. The Minnesota references were accurate.

Excellent

Looking forward for the next audiobook. I was at the GMA recording in mid May and was intrigued by the author I never heard off before. I am a fan now.

Relatable and touching

Being a resident of Minnesota I can relate very well to the people and places in this novel. I loved that it was not over done as some writers accentuate cultures by making a caricatures of that culture. J Ryan did not do that. He made it realistic. So…for those of you who think it’s far-fetched well, it’s not. Loved the storyline. It was engaging and moving as well as very touching. J Ryan has a way of depicting women with great respect. Even though their character flaws are not hidden and their personalities are not disguised. Even when the personalities are at extremes, he obviously has respect for human nature and people in general and a high regard for moral integrity. He reveals that moral integrity in his characters and emphasizes that throughout his novels. Thank you for sharing a piece of ‘Minnesota nice’ with the world! Keep up the great job!
Performance was excellent, and it also was not a caricatures of Minnesota culture. That was very relatable and felt natural. Again, great job!

Loving story, well told, interesting twists

I wasn’t sure I would love this book, but I did, Not a lot of drama or tension, but a great story of family and legacy. Worth the read.

This book will stick with me...

This book needed some trigger warnings because wow...it basically broke me a few times. Stradel's writing and grasp of the complexity of human relationships (especially mother-daughter relationships) is beautiful and a little unnerving. My only complaint about the narration was that she pronounced 'Edina' wrong when she talked about Edina Sue from Edina, MN. If you are from Minnesota you know it's pronounced Ee-deye-nuh not E-dee-nuh :)

Another fabulous J Ryan Stradal book!

I absolutely loved his first two books and wasn’t sure this could compare, but I thoroughly enjoyed this touching story of family dynamics through the generations. Wonderful characters, vivid Minnesota backdrop and eternal themes of family and belonging. I loved it!