Cbr17bingo Family (bingo); the story revolves around three friends who are like sisters to each other and their families
I heard about this 2013 novel accidentally. The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat was turned into a movie last year and someone posted a clip on social media that got my attention. I haven’t watched the movie yet, but the novel was a wonderful read. It is the story of three women — Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean — who have been friends since their teenaged years in the late 1960s in Plainview, Indiana. Author Edward Kelsey Moore introduces us to his characters when they are in their 50s, but he switches back and forth between their contemporary world and the past to show the burdens and sorrows they have faced and how their friendship has been a salvation. Despite some heavy subject matter, Moore infuses quite a lot of humor into his writing, creating vibrant, lively characters whom it is difficult not to love.
The trio’s friendship started as a duo; Odette and Clarice became friends in grade school under circumstances that could have lead to them becoming enemies. Clarice’s family is well off and somewhat snooty. Clarice, even into adulthood, cares very much about appearances and, like her mother and other relatives, can be a bit catty and sniping about the way others dress and behave. Odette’s family comes from more modest means, and Odette herself has always been more of a “big girl.” The description of how the two girls meet and become friends made me laugh. Odette, my favorite character, just can’t be bothered much by what other people think of her, and throughout her life, she is an imposing and often intimidating person. She and Clarice become friends with Barbara Jean when they are in high school. Barbara Jean’s mother was a prostitute and her father is unknown. Barbara Jean is also a very beautiful girl who, after the death of her mother, finds herself in a dangerous situation. The way Odette comes to her aid was funny but also really moving. The three girls quickly form a bond and whenever they go to the local diner, Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, they get a special table by the window. The owner, Big Earl, dubs the girls The Supremes, and the rest is history. Earl’s restaurant is where teens (including young Earl) congregate on a Friday night and where families go to dine after Sunday services. It is where the girls meet boys, fall in love, and regularly gather with each others’ families and their neighbors.
While Odette, Clarice and Barbara Jean are very close and know most of each other’s secrets, they don’t know them all. Odette has inherited her late mother’s ability to see and commune with the dead, something that she does not want anyone to know, since most people find that sort of thing off-putting. Her mother’s ghost frequently shows up to offer commentary and advice at a number of community events, and it’s pretty funny every time. Her mother and the other ghosts enjoy smoking the occasional joint, and, for some reason, one of those ghosts is Eleanor Roosevelt. It’s silly but I loved it. Clarice is a highly accomplished pianist who gave up a promising career to marry the local college’s football hero Richmond. They are pillars of the community, but Richmond sleeps around. Clarice pretends not to know (something she learned from her mother) but now, in her 50s, she is having a harder time putting on a brave face. Meanwhile, Barbara Jean, still stunningly beautiful, married a successful businessman much older than her. We know that Barbara Jean is struggling with things that have happened over the years, including the loss of their son when he was just 8 years old, and she is an alcoholic. The deaths of some key members of the Plainview community and the illness of one of the Supremes force the three friends to confront the very things they have individually tried to keep buried. It’s a lovely story about lifelong friendships and how close friends are, indeed, family.
Despite dealing with illness, death, loss, and racism, The Supremes at Earl’s-All-You-Can-Eat is an uplifting story with some very funny scenes and dialogue. I plan to watch the movie, and I really hope it includes Odette’s ghosts and the horrible, tacky wedding scene of Clarice’s cousin. I think this is a book to read if you need your spirits raised.