Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant?

Question

I just finished the book for summer reading and the book kind of confuses me...
Know where I can find information on it such as: characters, themes, plot, author, main events, and conflicts? Or does anyone, who has read the book, know anything?

Answer 1

In my opinion you have chosen one of the truly great novels of the 20th century, Anne Tyler's best. Don't be confused. Trust your own judgment as you look back through the book. OK, browse around the internet, if you like, for a few key ideas. But mainly, ask yourself (1) how you feel about each of the five family members=Pearl Tull, Cody, Ezra, Jenny, and Beck; and (2) how each one of them has been effected by their family experiences.

One critic, for instance, begins,

"Through Pearl Tull, her two sons, and her daughter, Tyler takes us into the notion of how families both wound and heal each other. Pearl Tull is on her deathbed when the book begins, and through her eyes, as well as through the eyes of her children, we come to understand why her husband left her, what kind of a mother she was, who her children are, and what ties they each had with Pearl. A great book to use to teach point of view - not in a literary sense, necessarily - but to discuss how events and relationships differ depending on who is telling the story." [ http://cltl.umassd.edu/resourcesinstruct3dd.cfm ]

I am an Ezra. I understand Ezra's point of view best; I admire him most. But by the end of the book, I could understand how all five became who they were (or did not become who they might have liked to be).

This same critic suggests several questions that you might want to focus on as you prepare your response to the book:

"What does the book teach us about home? About families?

What's the importance of family dinners to the book? Of food and nourishment? How are different characters nourished or hungry?

How are each of the characters wounded? How are they healed?

Discuss this quote from Art and the Accidental, "The most aching nostalgia is not for home but for home idealized." [Is this one way to see the theme of the novel?]

Will Beck stay for dinner at the end of the book?"

Enjoy thinking about the book. Talk about it with other readers. It's worth your effort, your time and attention.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You'll find 61 book reviews on Amazon.com. I think some of those will help you with the plot, theme, conflict, etc.

Answer 3

look up the title on yahoo. stuf usually comes up. Helped me with 20,000 leagues under the sea (bleh)

Answer 4

Go to http://www.enotes.com/dinner-homesick/13479

You will find what you need.
TP