The Last Suppers by Mandy Mikulencak -304 pages
Book Blurb:
Many children have grown up in the shadow of Louisiana’s Greenmount State Penitentiary. Most of them—sons and daughters of corrections officers and staff—left the place as soon as they could. Yet Ginny Polk chose to come back to work as a prison cook. She knows the harsh reality of life within those walls—the cries of men being beaten, the lines of shuffling inmates chained together. Yet she has never seen them as monsters, not even the ones sentenced to execution. That’s why, among her duties, Ginny has taken on a special responsibility: preparing their last meals. The prison board frowns upon the ritual, as does Roscoe Simms, Greenmount’s Warden. Her daddy’s best friend before he was murdered, Roscoe has always watched out for Ginny, and their friendship has evolved into something deep and unexpected.
My Review: 3.5 stars
The premise of The Last Suppers put this at the top of my TBR list. The idea of a woman giving a bit of comfort and humanity to death row inmates was indeed unique, especially because it wasn’t allowed. The protagonist, Ginny, was determined to give these men some sense of peace before they were sent to the electric chair.
Various inmates, Dot, Roscoe, Miriam and Ginny’s departed father made up the strong cast of characters. Food was also represented as a character. Its presence was in every chapter and caused a bucket of issues between the pages. It also brought great comfort. The idea that it could conjure up memories of happier times was a strong message in the novel.
Much of this novel takes place in the past as Ginny relives witnessing her father’s murderer die in the electric chair. That image has stayed with her long into her life and alludes to why she wants to give them a bit of kindness, no matter what their crime was. Her father’s murder is the underlying mystery in the novel and as Ginny meets the prisoner’s families, she gleans information on what really occurred.
Racial tension in the south is an ever-present theme in the novel as are love, inequality, loss, and prisoner’s rights. Discussions of capital punishment and treatment of prisoners could fill an entire book club with a lively debate.
Quotes I liked:
For her, food did what words could not.”
– “I think of cooking like solving a puzzle. Certain ingredients just fit together better than others. Sometimes is just one last piece that makes all the difference.”
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Just finished this. I found the last quarter of the book to be very strong but the path to get there was very dry. Great premise, it could have been so much more……
You saw my review. This premise should of blown my mind.