Name: The Lager Queen of Minnesota
ISBN: 9780399563058

J. Ryan Stradal

"A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate, and the secrets of making a world-class beer, from the author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest"--

A Novel

The Lager Queen of Minnesota

Ryan Mateyk

POPSUGAR 2020: A book with 4+ rating on Goodreads

This was absolutely beautiful, adorable, heartwarming... I could read 1000s of books like this. Write a sequel!

Colleen

2 Stars
 
*An exploration of family ties that was sadly underwhelming*


The Lager Queen of Minnesota is described as “A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer.” The story follows two sisters throughout their lives, from their teen years through their estrangement and many years that follow. The narrative skips around a lot. Between jumping from character to character and the non-chronological storyline, the pacing of the story was slow. I was interested in the story at first, but ultimately the story lost my attention. 

The other sister, Helen, was completely obnoxious and intolerable. As much as I disliked her, I hated that the author made such a point of portraying motherhood as the epicenter of life purpose and fulfilment. Stradal does not write convincing female characters. I haven’t read his more popular book, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, but The Lager Queen of Minnesota does not have authentic-sounding women. And since this is a character-driven story that focuses entirely on women, that lack of authenticity cripples the story. There are plenty of authors who are successful at writing characters who aren’t the same gender as they are. But if you are going to only write about one gender, then you damn well had better be able to write it convincingly.

I never connected to any of these flat, generic characters. Throughout the entire book, I held onto hope that there would be an emotionally impactful ending. But after all that slow build up, all I got was an anticlimactic, utterly bland ending that lacked any emotional impact. The storyline was unnecessarily convoluted. The plot had too many convenient coincidences. And the characters were too insipid. Overall, it was a lackluster story.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 2 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

Liz Carpenter

I wanted to hug this book when I finished. Stradal is a master at writing relatable, familiar Midwestern characters.

Caitlin Snyder

Jennifer Dieter

3.5/4 This book was lacking in fully developed characters. There are some pretty tragic things that happen early in the book that don’t trigger much of an emotional response, because I didn’t feel much for the characters. The book can also be choppy in parts, which doesn’t help you absorb these moments as a reader. As the book progresses, however, I found myself more wrapped into Diana’s story, and she did trigger those emotional responses I was looking for from Edith and Helen. Overall, a heart warming, very midwestern read that was deeply appreciated during a pandemic.

John Balek

I can't remember the last time I read a contemporary fiction book so this was definitely a different pick for me. As someone who has lived in the midwest their entire life there were a lot of familiarities in the book that got me accustomed to the story and world pretty quickly. 

The story is told in a way that jumps between characters and time periods. It was still easy to follow and this method of story telling was honestly one of the highlights of the book but this also meant that certain chapters were more engaging than others. Still, this was a very fun read that felt quite relatable. 

Personally, I'm the kind of reader who likes to read books taking place in places foreign to my current surroundings. While reading this, it reminded me of the time I read Huckleberry Finn while traveling Europe. I think I might have enjoyed this book more if I was not reading it in a world so similar to my own. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the story but I did feel like it relied heavily on the stereotype of midwest quaintness. It definitely enhances the midwestern aesthetic but sometimes it felt like were too many convenient moments for it to feel like someone's genuine life experience. That being said this book got me to buy a six pack of Leinenkugel to accompany my reading sessions, which did enhance my enjoyment of the book.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota A Novel

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