An irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family and the deep-fried, beer-battered, cream cheese-frosted love that feeds them all—from the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses
“Laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply resonant to our times. I was so happy to be in the Sullivan family’s Chicago bar, caught in the swirl of three generations of grudges, love affairs and fraught personal decisions.”
—Ann Napolitano, best-selling author of Dear Edward
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?
Outrageously funny and wickedly astute, Marrying the Ketchups is a delicious confection by one of our most beloved authors.
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Genre: General Fiction
“Laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply resonant to our times. I was so happy to be in the Sullivan family’s Chicago bar, caught in the swirl of three generations of grudges, love affairs and fraught personal decisions.”
—Ann Napolitano, best-selling author of Dear Edward
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?
Outrageously funny and wickedly astute, Marrying the Ketchups is a delicious confection by one of our most beloved authors.
.
Genre: General Fiction
Praise for this book
"Marrying the Ketchups mercilessly (and hilariously) skewers the indignities of modern romance, the absurdities of family life, the tribalism of the American Midwest. Jennifer Close's fourth book is a rare feat--a genuinely funny comic novel that is cutting but never cruel, with the ambition to explore the impact of contemporary political tumult on everyday life." - Rumaan Alam
"I love the Sullivans--in fact, I want to be a Sullivan. I want to laugh with them and cry with them and share greasy plates of food with them at long family dinners. Marrying the Ketchups is Jennifer Close at her best: a smart, funny, bighearted novel that proves the remarkable power of family (and French fries) to heal us during truly bewildering times." - Grant Ginder
"Marrying the Ketchups is funny and melancholy and astoundingly smart all at the same time. Jennifer Close is like the most skillful of jewelers, tap-tap-tapping perfect sentences--each one quickly hit and left to resonate. My first thought upon finishing was: I wish, I wish, I wish I could write like Jennifer Close." - Katherine Heiny
"This novel is laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply resonant to our times. I was so happy to be in the Sullivan family's Chicago bar, caught in the swirl of three generations of grudges, love affairs and fraught personal decisions. Jennifer Close has written a smart, hilarious book that I was delighted to escape into." - Ann Napolitano
"I love the Sullivans--in fact, I want to be a Sullivan. I want to laugh with them and cry with them and share greasy plates of food with them at long family dinners. Marrying the Ketchups is Jennifer Close at her best: a smart, funny, bighearted novel that proves the remarkable power of family (and French fries) to heal us during truly bewildering times." - Grant Ginder
"Marrying the Ketchups is funny and melancholy and astoundingly smart all at the same time. Jennifer Close is like the most skillful of jewelers, tap-tap-tapping perfect sentences--each one quickly hit and left to resonate. My first thought upon finishing was: I wish, I wish, I wish I could write like Jennifer Close." - Katherine Heiny
"This novel is laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply resonant to our times. I was so happy to be in the Sullivan family's Chicago bar, caught in the swirl of three generations of grudges, love affairs and fraught personal decisions. Jennifer Close has written a smart, hilarious book that I was delighted to escape into." - Ann Napolitano
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