Here’s looking at you
Lennoxville Library
Last week I finished watching all seven episodes of The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, despite having only the most rudimentary knowledge of chess. It was riveting. The miniseries follows the fictional career— and life—of a young woman who is a chess prodigy, from ages eight to 22. Despite a solid focus on the intricacies of expert-level chess, the appeal of the series was very much in watching the interpersonal dynamics of young Elizabeth Harmon (perfectly portrayed by Anya Taylor-joy) and her friends and family, as well as the visually stunning production.
Similarly, When I began reading my book club’s November choice, Minnesota native J. Ryan Stradal’s The Lager Queen of Minnesota, I knew that there would be a lot of attention paid to beer—not my favorite drink by any stretch—but I felt that, beer minutiae aside, I would enjoy this family saga set in the U.S. Midwest in the period ranging from 1959 to the present. The critical reviews, particularly those of U.S. news media, were outstanding, and in these challenging, worrisome times, I was primed for a cozy read, in the vein of Ann Patchett’s novels. Unfortunately, I ended up disappointed with the result.
This is only Mr. Stradal’s second book, the first being 2015’s wildly successful Kitchens of the Great Midwest, which centred on a young woman with an “extraordinary culinary palate and mad foodie skills.” Like food, beer is clearly a passion for this author, as is life in Middle America. The novel employs a disjointed chronology, beginning in 2003 with the introduction of Edith Magnusson, pie-maker extraordinaire, who achieves a certain level of unwanted fame when her pies are declared the third best in Minnesota.
An unassuming housewife and dietary aide at a nursing home for 37 years, 64-year-old Edith is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, and the nursing home finds itself having to fend off dinner “guests”. Unfortunately, just as she is getting used to her fame and finding herself busier than ever, her husband Stanley begins showing signs of dementia; soon after, he passes away. Edith needs a job that pays and moves to the upscale suburb of Nicollet Falls to make a living.
The next chapter brings the story back to 1959, and the reader is introduced to Helen Calder, Edith’s younger sister. Unlike Edith, Helen is not easily cowed. When asked what she’d like for her 16th birthday, she responds, immediately and firmly, “a beer,” having taken a small sip of this devil’s brew with friends earlier in the day. “She took just a tiny sip because she believed in hell, and despite what her grandfather said, hoped that one small taste could be forgiven, just in case she hated it. She felt the beer hit her tongue. Whoa, she thought. Her body flickered with a fear that had nothing to do with her family’s warning…it wasn’t just because she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing or suspected it would lead to her finally making out with Chesley. She was scared because it felt good.” And so begins Helen’s lifelong love affair with beer, with unintended consequences for her family.
A rift develops between the two sisters later in life, when Helen has met and married the scion of the Blotz family brewery, Orval, and is determined to become the Lager Queen of Minnesota. It turns out that she has a head for business, and quickly learns her way around a brewery and the beer industry. However, the brewery is down on its luck, requiring an infusion of fast cash. Helen and Orval have moved to the Calder farm to save some money and look after Helen’s ailing grandpa. When the time comes for Grandpa to make out his will, Helen convinces him that leaving the farm exclusively to her is the right thing to do, just because she has a plan and her sister doesn’t. Helen will pay Edith back—eventually. So in 1967, upon the death of their father, Helen puts her business plan into action, and in time, Blotz Beer is back on the map. At this point, many local breweries are falling to the larger companies, notably Coors, but Helen realizes that beer, including bad beer, still sells. Her plan to brew “lite” beer is a huge success, and Blotz becomes a Minnesota success story, with the slogan “Drink lots. It’s Blotz.”
Edith’s life, meanwhile, has taken a turn for the worse. She is barely eking out a living working at Arby’s and a bakery when tragedy strikes, as her daughter Colleen and son-inlaw Mark are killed in a car accident. Edith’s granddaughter Diana comes to live with her in Nicollet Falls. Like her Aunt Helen, whom she has never met, Diana proves to be a bright, motivated teen, also with a fondness for beer, and a knack for science and the intricacies of brewing. The action of the novel is now set in the early part of the 21st century, the heyday of craft beers. Diana, with a little help from her friends and more than a little larceny, becomes the protégé of Frank, the Heartland Brewery owner, and eventually a successful brewery magnate on her own. Along the way the reader meets Diana’s friends and acquaintances, and Edith, a nondrinker, becomes a key player in her granddaughter’s success. Now in her late 70s, Edith has recruited her friends, all grandmas, to help out with the fledgling Artemis Brewery, and the biggest success is, of course, Edith’s strawberry-rhubarb pie beer, “like pie in a bottle.”
For me, the biggest problem with this book is the author’s obsession with beer-related trivia, followed by his need to name every single one of the many, many characters, locations and businesses that appear. Minnesota and Minnesotans, finally, are just not that interesting. Stradal is an engaging and talented writer, but his story quickly becomes tiresome.
This book is available interlibrary loan. through