Marrying the Ketchups

This book had me at the title and only got better from there. Jennifer Close’s insightful, razor-sharp writing made me laugh out loud while recognizing so many indelible truths about what it means to be a family. I loved all of these characters, and sorely wish I could be at the table for a family meal at JP Sullivan’s.

When we first meet them, several members of the Sullivan family find themselves at a crossroads in their lives, be it a failed career, a crumbling marriage, or confusing heartbreak. Throw in three impossible events—the sudden death of their grandfather, the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, and the outcome of the 2016 presidential election—and they’re left questioning everything they thought they knew. They all retreat to the old-school Irish restaurant their grandfather opened in Chicago decades ago, where his presence still looms large. JP Sullivan’s has always been the center of their family universe, but it’s difficult for these cousins to figure out their next steps while also nursing grudges and generational conflicts in such close quarters.

Marrying the Ketchups is crisp and funny, and will have you craving the comfort of home and family and good food. I loved this novel, and it has already become a go-to recommendation for me!

Here are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan’s, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear.

Take Gretchen for example, lead singer for a ‘90s cover band who has been flirting with fame for a decade but is beginning to wonder if she’s too old to be chasing a childish dream. Or Jane, Gretchen’s older sister, who is starting to suspect that her fitness-obsessed husband who hides the screen of his phone isn’t always “working late.” And then there’s Teddy, their steadfast, unfailingly good cousin, nursing heartbreak and confusion because the guy who dumped him keeps showing up for lunch at JP Sullivan’s where Teddy is the manager. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways—and the bartender at JP Sullivan’s makes such strong cocktails?