Last Night at the Lobster

I just finished reading Last Night at the Lobster by Steward O'Nan. I picked it up off the shelf at the public library. I judge books by their cover. This one looked interesting. And since I had just finished the really long Barry Parris book on Audrey Hepburn, this skinny book was appealing. I finished it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

It was about Manny, the manager of the Red Lobster in suburban Connecticut. The restaurant was closing and the book chronicled the last day and night the place was open. I have often thought about writing a book about food service, as I worked in bars and restaurants in Baltimore and Boston throughout college. But I could never wrap my head around a central idea. This book had a central idea but not much character development. In fact, after reading the whole thing the only picture I had of Manny was that he was Hispanic and overweight.

It wasn't a particularly fascinating book, and I probably wouldn't have understood it if I didn't have a background in waitressing. But it did reinvigorate my idea of writing about my own experiences. It was a fast read and that was exactly what I was looking for.