October 7, 2019
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
Three women from the Calder family (Edith, her sister Helen, and
Edith’s granddaughter Diana) find unexpected satisfaction in brewing beer. Edith Magnusson and her sister Helen Blotz haven’t
spoken to each other in forty years, after Helen convinced their father to cut
Edith out of his will and leave everything to her. Helen never gave Edith a satisfactory
explanation of why, and worse yet, convinced herself that it was up to Edith to
reach out to her and offer forgiveness. Edith’s
granddaughter Diana is planning a life of crime, until she gets caught and is
offered what turns out to be the chance of a lifetime. It is also the story of how four grandmas end
up running a brewery, making brews like Grandma Edith’s
Rhubarb-Pie-in-a-Bottle, and having wonderful and unexpected adventures in
their golden years.
This is a pleasant read, but I have to admit, I almost gave up during
the first Diana section – I was so BORED with Diana’s life as a teenager and an
amateur criminal. I ended up skimming
most of that section and then the story turned back to Helen, the least likable
but most interesting narrator. There is
also a lot about the brewing process that could have been omitted without
hindering the reader’s grasp of the story.
A good editor should have knocked out about 50 pages and made this a
better book. Like many writers, this second book didn't live up to the author's first book, Kitchens of the Great Midwest.
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