Heartbreak Cafe
Aug 12, 2009
Heartbreak Cafe
Author: Penelope Stokes
Publisher: Berkley Trade Paperback/Penguin
Publication Date: August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-425-22844-9
What happens when you've lived a nice simple life for 50 years, did what was expected of you, never reached for the stars..........then suddenly find yourself alone, self-reliant for the first time in your life, and distrustful of all/everyone you've ever believed in?
This happens when Dell gets a call from the police the day after she discovers her husband has regularly been sneaking away from work. Not only was he having an affair, but he died from a heart attack in the middle of a tryst.
She suddenly finds herself the focus of a small town's pity. She also discovers her "paid off" house is actually mortgaged to the hilt and there is no actual life insurance from her husband. She has never had a career, or even a job.
All she knows how to do is cook. What to do?
Of course - she opens a restaurant!
This story centers around Dell discovering herself. Her fears, prejudices, talents and deep longings. She also finds out how respected and loved she is by others.
She has to deal with her sudden suspicions of everyone around her. After all, it is a small town, she surely knows the person her husband was having an affair with. It eats at her daily that someone she might serve in the restaurant or have coffee with herself might have been her husband's lover.
A very good story, keeps you locked in the entire time. Makes you wonder how you would react if your entire world changed one day.
