Henningfeld is a professor of English at Adrian College. In the following essay, she traces the critical history of Tyler's Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and explores the various psychological interpretations of the novel.
Anne Tyler published her ninth novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant in 1982. Set in Baltimore, the novel tells the story of Pearl Tull and her children, Cody, Ezra and Jenny, as they attempt to come to terms with a pivotal event, their abandonment by Beck Tull, husband to Pearl and father to the children.
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant received excellent reviews on its publication. In the New York Times Book Review, Benjamin DeMott called it "a border crossing" for Tyler, a book which pushes her "deep into truth."' Likewise, John Updike wrote that Tyler had reached "a new level.....
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