{"product_id":"mother-for-dinner-shalom-auslander-9781594633720","title":"Mother for Dinner","description":"\u003cb\u003eBy the author of \u003ci\u003eForeskin's Lament\u003c\/i\u003e, a novel of identity, tribalism, and mothers.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSeventh Seltzer has done everything he can to break from the past, but in his overbearing, narcissistic mother's last moments he is drawn back into the life he left behind. At her deathbed, she whispers in his ear the two words he always knew she would: \"Eat me.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis is not unusual, as the Seltzers are Cannibal-Americans, a once proud and thriving ethnic group, but for Seventh, it raises some serious questions, both practical and emotional. Of practical concern, his dead mother is six-foot-two and weighs about four hundred and fifty pounds. Even divided up between Seventh and his eleven brothers, that's a lot of red meat. Plus Second keeps kosher, Ninth is vegan, First hated her, and Sixth is dead. To make matters worse, even if he can wrangle his brothers together for a feast, the Can-Am people have assimilated, and the only living Cannibal who knows how to perform the ancient ritual is their Uncle Ishmael, whose erratic understanding of their traditions leads to conflict. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSeventh struggles with his mother's deathbed request. He never loved her, but the sense of guilt and responsibility he feels--to her and to his people and to his \"unique cultural heritage\"--is overwhelming. His mother always taught him he was a link in a chain, thousands of people long, stretching back hundreds of years. But, as his brother First says, he's getting tired of chains. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIrreverent and written with Auslander's incomparable humor, \u003ci\u003eMother for Dinner\u003c\/i\u003e is an exploration of legacy, assimilation, the things we owe our families, and the things we owe ourselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Shalom Auslander\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 159463372X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781594633720\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Riverhead Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/22\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.20w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/06\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2020 pg. 23","brand":"Shalom Auslander","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43995253276927,"sku":"9781594633720","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ef237d3e-62f9-4551-a178-3ee0d0506514.jpg?v=1683334746","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mother-for-dinner-shalom-auslander-9781594633720","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}