The Lager Queen of Minnesota
J. Ryan Stradal, 2019
Penguin Publishing
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780399563058
Summary
A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer, from the bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest.
Two sisters, one farm.
A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living.
So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.
With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz."
Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late.
Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up—will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family?
Here we meet a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that's often stacked against them. In this deeply affecting family saga, resolution can take generations, but when it finally comes, we're surprised, moved, and delighted. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1975
• Raised—Hastings, Minnesota, USA
• Education—B.A., Northwestern University
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California
J. Ryan Stradal is the author of New York Times bestseller Kitchens of the Great Midwest (2015) and national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota (2020).
His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Granta, Rumpus, and Los Angeles Review of Books, among other places. His debut, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, won the American Booksellers Association Indie's Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year, the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association award for fiction, and the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award for debut fiction.
Born and raised in Minnesota, he now lives in Los Angeles. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
I read J. Ryan Stradal’s Kitchens of the Great Midwest on a flight. I buckled my seatbelt, opened the book and when I looked up again, the flight attendant was asking if I needed assistance getting off the plane. I didn’t, but now you know the spell this author can cast. He does it again with The Lager Queen of Minnesota.
Elisabeth Egan - New York Times Book Review
[Its] generous spirit makes The Lager Queen of Minnesota a pleasure to read and the perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer day.
Wendy Smith - Washington Post
Wonderful…. Stradal’s gift for getting the reader to invest in these lives is particularly profound.
Chicago Tribune
Delightfully intoxicating…. [It] will make you smile with its droll humor, and its poignant moments will stop you to reread and confirm that they are really that good. In beer-geek slang, Stradal’s novel is "crushable" — easygoing, well-balanced, super-drinkable with tons of flavor…. [It]will make you go back for more.
USA Today
Everything about this book satisfies—from how the characters grow to how beer-making is described to Stradal's hilarious assessment of lagers vs. IPAs. You may never drink a beer in ignorance again.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
This charmer of a tale is a loving ode to the Midwest, the power of persistence and, perhaps above all, beer.… Warm, witty and—like any good craft beer—complex, the saga delivers a subtly feminist and wholly life-affirming message.
People
Complex female characters, tragedies, and descriptions…will awaken all your senses.… The Lager Queen of Minnesota …could cement J. Ryan Stradal as the King of Midwestern novels.
Entertainment Weekly
The fortunes and foibles of a brewery mirror the relationship between two sisters tussling over a family farm in this quirky, enchanting novel reminiscent of Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres.
Oprah Magazine
Stradal follows up Kitchens of the Great Midwest with a refreshing story about women who know how to take charge… a testament to the setbacks and achievements that come with following one’s passion.… [S]ometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always winning novel.
Publishers Weekly
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Booklist
[T]his is an ultimately hopeful and heartwarming story… [as] these truly original characters overcome their challenges and take care of each other. An absolutely delightful read, perfect for a summer day with a good beer and a piece of pie.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. At the center of the story is a family divided over an unfairly split inheritance. How do you feel about how each sister reacted to their father’s decision? Did this situation evoke memories of lopsided inheritances or contested wills in your own family?
2. Helen instantly loves beer on her first taste and soon comes to the conclusion that she wants to be a brewer. How would you characterize her ambition? Does her relationship with Orval feel honest or calculated?
3. When we first meet Diana, she is stealing tools from garages and selling them on the internet to make money. In spite of this, how does she become a sympathetic character? What actions does she make that reveal her kindness and generosity?
4. Edith likes to think of herself as a simple person—or does she? In what ways is she actually quite complicated? How does she reveal herself to be as calculating or focused as Helen?
5. Edith is convinced that her life would have been different had she received her half of the family farm. How would it have it been different? Consequently, how would Diana’s life have been different?
6. What do you think of the "education" Frank Schabert gives Diana about brewing? Do you agree with his methods?
7. Each of the sisters experience the loss of a beloved husband. How are they different in how they express their grief? How are they similar?
8. The relationships within the book, as in life, necessarily evolve and adapt as time passes. How do you feel about Diana and Clarissa’s friendship, and the reasons they grew apart?
9. If there was one more chapter after the final scene, what do you imagine might happen?
10. Who do you feel is the "lager queen of Minnesota," if anyone?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)