Last Night at the Lobster.

O’Nan, Stewart (author).

O’Nan’s short novel is a day in the life of a Red Lobster, or more accurately the last day in the life of a Red Lobster. The story follows manager Manny DeLeon as he juggles disgruntled cooks, a waitress he’s recently, and reluctantly, ended an affair with, and unreasonable patrons over one last shift before the restaurant is closed down. All the while a massive snowstorm percolates outside, shrouding his quietly valiant effort to make something meaningful out of this last night. Much like Nicholson Baker, O’Nan revels in the mundane yet telling details that so often go overlooked, and with striking notes of lamented lost chances, uncertain futures, and overblown nostalgia, he paints a sympathetic portrait of a man struggling with the end of an era. The place study steals this show, however, as O’Nan captures the brisk rushes and dreary lulls of the insular restaurant world that will strike chords with the untold masses who’ve ever worked in food service. An intriguing but limited piece of writing that stretches, rather than flexes, O’Nan’s considerable talent.