About this item
Who is Eva Thorvald? To her single father, a chef, she's a pint-sized recipe tester and the love of his life. To the chilli chowdown contestants of Cook County, Illinois, she's a fire-eating demon. To the fashionable foodie goddess of supper clubs, she's a wanton threat. She's an enigma, a secret ingredient that no one can put their finger on. Eva will surprise everyone. On the day before her eleventh birthday, she's cultivating chilli peppers in her wardrobe like a pro. Abandoned by her mother, gangly and poor, Eva arms herself with the weapons of her unknown heritage: a kick-ass palate and a passion bordering on obsession. Over the years, her tastes grow, and so do her ambitions. One day Eva will be the greatest chef in the world. But along the way, the people she meets will shape her - and she, them - in ways unforgettable, riotous and profound. So she - for one - knows exactly who she is by the time her mother returns. Kitchens of the Great Midwest is about the family you lose, the friends you make and chance connections that can define a life. Joyful, quirky or brazen, everyone lends their voice to tell Eva's story - one that's as heartwarming as it is irresistible, taking the bitter with the sweet.
About the Author
Born and raised in Minnesota, J. Ryan Stradal now lives in California, where he is an advisory board member at 826LA and co-producer & host of the literary/culinary series Hot Dish.His second novel, THE LAGER QUEEN OF MINNESOTA, was published by Viking / Pamela Dorman Books in July 2019. Receiving starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and BookPage, it became a national bestseller its first week of release, and in 2020, won the WILLA Literary Award in Contemporary Fiction. LAGER QUEEN was named one of the best books of 2019 by USA Today and NPR, among other places, and its rights have been optioned for television.His first book is the New York Times-bestselling novel KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST (Viking / Pamela Dorman Books) . Voted the 2016 Adult Debut Book of the Year in the American Booksellers Association's Indies Choice Book Awards, and named fiction book of the year by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association and the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association, KITCHENS has also been acquired for publication in twelve other countries. In 2014, prior to publication, the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society awarded KITCHENS first prize in their annual novel competition.His shorter work has appeared in Hobart, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Granta, The Rumpus, The Los Angeles Review of Books, BuzzFeed, Midnight Breakfast, CNET, and Vanity Fair.com. He likes books, wine, sports, root beer, and peas.
