Preview
  • Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

  • By: Anne Tyler
  • Narrated by: Elizabeth Rodgers
  • Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (206 ratings)

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Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

By: Anne Tyler
Narrated by: Elizabeth Rodgers
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Publisher's summary

Pearl Tull is nearing the end of her life but not of her memory. It was a Sunday night in 1944 when her husband left the little row house on Baltimore's Calvert Street, abandoning Pearl to raise their three children alone: Jenny, high-spirited and determined, nurturing to strangers but distant to those she loves; the older son, Cody, a wild and incorrigible youth possessed by the lure of power and money; and sweet, clumsy Ezra, Pearl's favorite, who never stops yearning for the perfect family that could never be his own. Now Pearl and her three grown children have gathered together again - with anger, hope, and a beautiful, harsh, and dazzling story to tell.

©1982 Anne Tyler (P)2020 Recorded Books
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What listeners say about Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Just so-so

I've always been a fan of Ann Tyler but couldn't get into this particular book. Can't really put my finger on why I didn't like it particularly, it just didn't grab me.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great writing style and performance, lethargic plo

Anne Tyler has an amazing style, and the performer was wonderful, but I never felt momentum or a real purpose in the plot. This certainly is a very good book, just not a great book.

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1 person found this helpful

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Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

This book did not disappoint! It was an intriguing journey as the author, Anne Tyler, took the reader through a family abandoned by their father. Each family member dealt with their unspoken grief uniquely, which is true for most families. The matriarch of the family chose to not to address her grief or acknowledge her children's loss. Powerful story!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Anne Tyler

A great performance of a quintessential Anne Tyler work. It’s not plot-driven. Quirky characters abound! I was delighted to discover that “Dinner at the Homesick Diner” has more in common with early Tyler, eg, “Accidental Tourist,” than the more recent “Clock Dance.”

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Characterizations Shine

I’m a big Anne Tyler fan. This is not a uplifting novel, but the characters are interesting and complicated. A satisfying listen because the voice acting is phenomenally well done.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Relatable

Wonderful book that was endearing and held my attention from beginning until the end. I would recommend it

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Family- Actual versus Yearned for.

This one of Anne Tyler’s stories reveals how differently three siblings see the same family. This family is sadder and more distant than others she has written into a story. It’s worth staying with them to the end.





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Riveting

Astonishing portrait of a complex family over many years. The narration is sensational. Anne Tyler is a master of character development. Pearl is an extremely relatable mother in ways good and awful. I’ll come back to this book….

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing story

The fine details of life was well written and it seamlessly followed the lives of an ordinary family.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant writing that moves the heart

I just finishing listening to Ann Tyler's masterpiece after a twenty-year lapse since reading this book the first time. If there was ever a book which deserved a second read, this one is it. This family of indelible characters will live with me a long while. Narrator E Rodgers captures each character's voice masterfully.

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