Book Review: "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" by Anne Tyler

“I'm falling into disrepair”

- Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

I think you guys might remember that back in October I went back to my hometown of Birmingham for a bit and bought some books. One of these books was The Wall by Marlen Haushofer and another one was Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler. I also picked up some old books from home that, if it were not for me (the hero), would have been hauled off to somewhere dark and not fit for a book. These were mostly some 1930s copies of orange Penguin Paperbacks and included a book of Modern Short Stories. If you haven't read "The Face" by Peter Fleming then you probably want to do so today. So, let's take a look at Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant then.

The novel opens with Pearl Tull, the matriarch of the family, on her deathbed. Alone and filled with unresolved bitterness, she reflects on her life. Her three children—Cody, Ezra, and Jenny—are informed of her passing and prepare to reunite for her funeral. This sets the stage for exploring the family’s complex dynamics, marked by love, resentment, and misunderstanding. Through flashbacks, Pearl recalls her marriage to Beck Tull, a travelling salesman.

Their relationship begins with promise but deteriorates over time due to Beck’s distant nature and frequent absences. Beck eventually abandons the family, leaving Pearl to raise their children alone. Pearl’s pride prevents her from seeking help, and she becomes a harsh and often tyrannical mother. This is manifested really when she starts working as a cashier and then starts not really caring that her husband doesn't write. We start off feeling sorry for her but as this begins to roll along, there is a bitterness about her that the reader cannot get over. It doesn't make us actually really dislike her, but it does but a sour flavour in the reader's mouth at least.

As the eldest child, Cody feels the burden of responsibility but also harbours deep resentment toward Ezra, the favoured middle child. Pearl’s overt preference for Ezra fuels Cody’s lifelong jealousy. His feelings manifest in cruel pranks, an obsessive rivalry, and an unrelenting desire to outshine his brother, shaping much of his adult life. Ezra stays in Baltimore to care for Pearl and eventually takes over a struggling restaurant, renaming it the Homesick Restaurant.

He dreams of creating a warm, communal space where people can gather and find comfort. The restaurant becomes a symbol of Ezra’s longing for family unity, though his attempts to bring the family together often fail. Ezra is a dreamy and wonderful character who is kind of like the glue that not only holds people together, but also prevents everyone from killing each other. He doesn't have the mean streak that the rest of his family does.

Jenny, the youngest child, grows up feeling overlooked and overshadowed by her brothers. Traumatised by Pearl’s temper, Jenny develops a detached and perfectionist personality. As an adult, she becomes a successful paediatrician, but her personal life is marked by instability, including a failed marriage and struggles with motherhood. Yes we see that Jenny struggles, but we also acknowledge that we don't really like her - we draw too many similarities between her and her mother when it comes to tyranny.

The narrative follows each sibling into adulthood, revealing how their shared childhood has shaped their identities and relationships. Cody becomes a competitive and embittered businessman, Ezra remains tied to the family and the restaurant, and Jenny seeks independence through her career but struggles to find emotional fulfilment. Despite their differences, they remain tethered to Pearl and the unresolved tensions of their upbringing. The question the reader keeps asking is whether these siblings will find a way back to each other, or will they remain so separate that they eventually seek to not know each other like their mother and father once did.

It is a fantastic novel and written beautifully. There are great descriptions of emotion in which Pearl often states that she wanted her children to have an extra mother but also notes how well she did with them on her own. The way people fall out of love with each other and eventually go on their separate journeys might be upsetting, but in some cases we see that it is entirely necessary. The ending is amazing, there is such a great amount of realisation there and I think that it probably resonates with everyone who has ever lost someone.