Book Review
by J. Ryan Stradal
vReview by Tonya Olson Ferrell
Being a Midwest girl through and through, I
was pleased to see Kitchens of the Great Midwest
selected as this year’s One Book South Dakota title.
I was born into a Norwegian/Swedish family and
raised in west central Minnesota; I grew up with
tator tot hotdish, jello salad, delicious bars, and, of
course, lutefisk, herring, and lefse every Christmas.
As I perused the chapter list in the front of the
book, I was not disappointed. Each of the chapters
centers around a different food: Lutefisk, Chocolate
Habanero, Sweet Pepper Jelly, Walleye, Golden
Bantam, Venison, Bars, and The Dinner. Each
chapter is also told from a different character’s
perspective. Each of these characters interacts with
the novel’s main character, Eva Thorvald, in some
way.
I found Eva to be a fascinating main character.
She experiences a lot of hardship, but she is never
bitter or mean. It’s clear from the beginning that
she’s very smart, with a true gift where food is
concerned, but she never holds that over the heads
of those around her. She loves deeply and takes care
of her people, adopting the outcasts and weirdos
that cross her path. The book takes us through Eva’s
life, starting before she was born, and watches as she
grows into a legendary chef. Because of the shifting
perspective of the novel, we both know more about
Eva than we ever would have if she’d told the story
completely from her point of view, and are left
wondering what she is thinking as a result of that
storytelling decision.
As I was reading, I appreciated the fact that
Minnesota was another main character in its own
right. From the beginning of the first chapter, Eva’s
father, named Lars, speaks of the Twins winning
the World
Series in ’87.
The characters
drink Grain
Belt Premium
throughout the
entirety of the
book. There are
casual references
to Highway
169 north and
MinneapolisSaint Paul as “the Cities”. There’s the elitist former
mortgage loan officer who graduated from Carleton
and bought a fancy house on Lake Calhoun. Stradal
interweaves these Minnesota nods seamlessly into
the novel, and while they don’t need to be there to
make the story work, in their inclusion Stradal adds
a subtle nod to those of us who live in this part of
the country. With his focus on Midwest classics
as well as spicy home-grown peppers and Sunday
night dinners focused on updated versions of
classic comfort food, he also captures the beautiful
complexity of the Midwest food scene, one that’s
sprinkled with old favorites and a newer “foodie”
scene that appreciates those roots.
Kitchens of the Great Midwest was a fun read
that I thoroughly enjoyed. The Library currently
has 50 copies available for reading in advance of our
One Book South Dakota discussion on October 12
with scholar Dr. Jamie Sullivan (a program made
possible by the South Dakota Humanities Council,
an affiliate of the National Endowment for the
Humanities). Pick up your copy today!
Willcockson Eye Associates, P
.C.
Quality Eye Care, Close To Home
• Best quality medical and surgical eyecare for you and your family
• State of the art cataract surgery
• Expert treatment of diseases such as glaucoma, eye complications
from diabetes, and macular degeneration
• Extensive selection of frames, styles and lens options at
The Spectacle Shop, LLC.
415 W. 3rd, Yankton
The Spectacle Shop, L.L.C. Call 605-665-9638
24vHERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
Karen E Dickes, D.O.
Board Certified Ophthalmologist
Medical and Surgical Eye Care
Brady W. Betten, O.D.
Optometrist
Medical Eye Care
Gregory A Kouri, O.D.
Optometrist
Medical Eye Care
Gregory Osmundson, M.D.
Ophthalmology Ltd.
Medical & Surgical Eye Care