Dramas & Plays
![Jennifer Close - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B004LV2J3K.jpg)
Marrying the Ketchups: A novel
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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"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.
.
Editorial Reviews
"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, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding and Let's Not Do That Again
"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, best-selling author of Leave the World Behind
"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, best-selling author of Dear Edward
"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, author of Early Morning Riser
"Close (The Hopefuls, 2016) drops readers smack into Oak Park, a leafy Chicago suburb, and lets them hear the hiss of fryers hitting hot oil and catch an ice-cold Old Style sliding across the bar… Close lets each character's unique personality shine. Fans of Tracey Lange's Malibu Rising will fall in love with these maddening, loving, stubborn relatives. Setting nostalgia against progress, tradition against rebirth, Close outlines the cousins' grief and personal growth as they work with, and against, one another."
-Booklist, starred
"[An] amusing, engaging novel about life, death, and the restorative power of a grilled cheese ...
-Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding and Let's Not Do That Again
"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, best-selling author of Leave the World Behind
"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, best-selling author of Dear Edward
"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, author of Early Morning Riser
"Close (The Hopefuls, 2016) drops readers smack into Oak Park, a leafy Chicago suburb, and lets them hear the hiss of fryers hitting hot oil and catch an ice-cold Old Style sliding across the bar… Close lets each character's unique personality shine. Fans of Tracey Lange's Malibu Rising will fall in love with these maddening, loving, stubborn relatives. Setting nostalgia against progress, tradition against rebirth, Close outlines the cousins' grief and personal growth as they work with, and against, one another."
-Booklist, starred
"[An] amusing, engaging novel about life, death, and the restorative power of a grilled cheese ...
Readers Top Reviews
She Treads Softly
Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close is a recommended family drama. The Sullivans are a Chicago restaurant family who are all under crisis. Bud, the patriarch and founder of JP Sullivan’s is thrilled when the Cubs win the world series and then he dies 23 minutes later. Adding to their distress is Trump being elected president, and concern about the family matriarch Rose, who is in an assisted living facility. The novel focuses on Bud's three grandchildren. Gretchen, a lead singer for a 90's cover band is reassessing the direction her life is taking after a breakup and heads home. Her older sister, Jane is sure her husband is having an affair and is questioning her entitled lifestyle and her marriage. Their cousin Teddy is the manager who would like to take over JP Sullivans and is wondering why his ex keeps showing up at the restaurant. Marrying the Ketchups is a very character-driven novel which requires that the characters all be portrayed as realistic and unique individuals, which Close does very well. Readers will be interested in following their lives and will feel invested in what happens to them. The characters all experience growth as they adapt to the changes they encounter along the way. The situations and problems all the characters are experiencing are basically commonplace occurrences. Family dynamics, transitions, and grief all play a large role in the novel. The writing shines in the depiction of the characters. The plot is rather slow paced without a whole lot of drama aside from the normal family interactions. Don't expect a huge twist or surprise. Much of your enjoyment may hinge on how much you enjoy family dramas and, more predominately, how much very polarizing political talk you can accept in a novel. Unless you are writing historical fiction this dates the novel immediately as occurring during a specific time period. There are pros and cons to this and generally I caution an author to keep their ardent personal political/social views to themselves as it diminishes and dates the novel. Other than the immediate division the political aspects take, Marrying the Ketchups is an engaging examination of a family. Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday.
Short Excerpt Teaser
CHAPTER 1
The morning of the Women's March, surrounded by pussy hats and determined women, Gretchen face-planted in the street. It was a fantastic and dramatic fall, the kind people would tell their friends about later. Her jacket caught on one of the metal barricades and (thinking that someone was grabbing her) she screamed, "Help!" and then lurched forward, tripping over the curb and pulling the barricade down on top of her. She landed hard, slamming her hands and knees against the pavement. On the way down, she'd thrown her coffee forward and it landed on the back of a woman's coat-soft, white, and expensive-and from the ground she called up, "I'm so sorry."
The woman didn't exactly smile, but she moved her lips in an upward motion and that was something. Any other time, she would've yelled at Gretchen, but today wasn't the day to fight. Today they were all united against the same thing. They were a mob of positive energy. They were trying to prove there was still good in the world and that meant you had to forgive a stranger for ruining your coat. Gretchen tried to apologize again, but the coffee woman was already gone.
Her friends pulled the barricade off of her, helped her up, and led her to the side of the street. She rooted around in her bag, hoping there was some sort of Handi Wipe in there, but all she found was a Snickers wrapper.
"You really bit it back there," Billy said, laughing. Gretchen glared at him and he shrugged. "Sorry, but you know I think it's funny when people fall."
They stood together in one disheveled clump: Nancy's hair was unbrushed, Billy was wearing a fedora with a neon leopard print, Ben had styled his hair in a faux hawk, and Gretchen had black streaks on her pants from the fall. They were the kind of people you avoided on the subway and the other protestors walking by gave them a wide berth. The coffee woman probably got away as fast as she could.
"I'm fine now," she said to her friends. Her palms and knees burned.
"You're bleeding," Billy said, pointing to her hands.
She wiped her hands on her jeans while Billy, Nancy, and Ben stared at her. They were still on Forty-second and First, hadn't even made it to the starting point. Pink pussy hats streamed by them; clever signs clipped the tops of their heads. "Are we going to do this?" Ben finally asked.
All morning, Nancy claimed she was having a panic attack. She said it again and then added, "I feel like my head is going to fall off my body."
"It's because you drank too much last night," Gretchen explained.
"That doesn't mean it's not happening." Nancy put her right hand on top of her head to make sure it stayed there.
"We could go to a diner," Billy said. He took out a cigarette and lit it, making no effort to blow the smoke away from Gretchen's face.
The night before, they'd played a show in the Village at a small bar that didn't pay much but always gave them plenty of free drinks. The crowd was mostly NYU students, which made them drink more than they should've. Singing at twenty-year-olds would do that to you. Still. They had to go to the march. They were already there. They'd woken up early and made signs that said Nasty Women Make Herstory and My Pussy Grabs Back. They were ready to resist. But Gretchen's knee was throbbing, it was chilly outside, and a diner grilled cheese sounded amazing.
They stood there, staring at one another, playing a game of lazy chicken and waiting for someone to make a decision. "You're bleeding," Billy said again. "And look at all these people. No one is going to miss us."
They ended up walking uptown and away from the crowds, their signs by their sides as they wove around the people going in the right direction. They were fish going upstream. They were salmon swimming away from history.
Gretchen would never tell anyone why she missed the march. How could she ever explain it? "Oh," she would say, "my friends and I tried to go, but one of them was too hungover to stand there and I'd just wiped out on the street and everyone else thought a diner seemed more pleasant than fighting for women's rights. Yes, that's right, we're grown adults. Yes, we're thirty-three years old."
They were all in a band together. A '90s cover band called Donna Martin Graduates that was wildly popular in the tri-state area. She and Nancy started out performing as a duo when they were still at NYU, Nancy playing the guitar while Gretchen sang all of their old favorites from junior high and high school-Britney Spears and Oasis and TLC and Alanis Morissette. They developed a loyal following at a local bar where they played each Wednesday, and that following kept growing.
They'd tapped into something-people nostalgic for the soundtrack o...
The morning of the Women's March, surrounded by pussy hats and determined women, Gretchen face-planted in the street. It was a fantastic and dramatic fall, the kind people would tell their friends about later. Her jacket caught on one of the metal barricades and (thinking that someone was grabbing her) she screamed, "Help!" and then lurched forward, tripping over the curb and pulling the barricade down on top of her. She landed hard, slamming her hands and knees against the pavement. On the way down, she'd thrown her coffee forward and it landed on the back of a woman's coat-soft, white, and expensive-and from the ground she called up, "I'm so sorry."
The woman didn't exactly smile, but she moved her lips in an upward motion and that was something. Any other time, she would've yelled at Gretchen, but today wasn't the day to fight. Today they were all united against the same thing. They were a mob of positive energy. They were trying to prove there was still good in the world and that meant you had to forgive a stranger for ruining your coat. Gretchen tried to apologize again, but the coffee woman was already gone.
Her friends pulled the barricade off of her, helped her up, and led her to the side of the street. She rooted around in her bag, hoping there was some sort of Handi Wipe in there, but all she found was a Snickers wrapper.
"You really bit it back there," Billy said, laughing. Gretchen glared at him and he shrugged. "Sorry, but you know I think it's funny when people fall."
They stood together in one disheveled clump: Nancy's hair was unbrushed, Billy was wearing a fedora with a neon leopard print, Ben had styled his hair in a faux hawk, and Gretchen had black streaks on her pants from the fall. They were the kind of people you avoided on the subway and the other protestors walking by gave them a wide berth. The coffee woman probably got away as fast as she could.
"I'm fine now," she said to her friends. Her palms and knees burned.
"You're bleeding," Billy said, pointing to her hands.
She wiped her hands on her jeans while Billy, Nancy, and Ben stared at her. They were still on Forty-second and First, hadn't even made it to the starting point. Pink pussy hats streamed by them; clever signs clipped the tops of their heads. "Are we going to do this?" Ben finally asked.
All morning, Nancy claimed she was having a panic attack. She said it again and then added, "I feel like my head is going to fall off my body."
"It's because you drank too much last night," Gretchen explained.
"That doesn't mean it's not happening." Nancy put her right hand on top of her head to make sure it stayed there.
"We could go to a diner," Billy said. He took out a cigarette and lit it, making no effort to blow the smoke away from Gretchen's face.
The night before, they'd played a show in the Village at a small bar that didn't pay much but always gave them plenty of free drinks. The crowd was mostly NYU students, which made them drink more than they should've. Singing at twenty-year-olds would do that to you. Still. They had to go to the march. They were already there. They'd woken up early and made signs that said Nasty Women Make Herstory and My Pussy Grabs Back. They were ready to resist. But Gretchen's knee was throbbing, it was chilly outside, and a diner grilled cheese sounded amazing.
They stood there, staring at one another, playing a game of lazy chicken and waiting for someone to make a decision. "You're bleeding," Billy said again. "And look at all these people. No one is going to miss us."
They ended up walking uptown and away from the crowds, their signs by their sides as they wove around the people going in the right direction. They were fish going upstream. They were salmon swimming away from history.
Gretchen would never tell anyone why she missed the march. How could she ever explain it? "Oh," she would say, "my friends and I tried to go, but one of them was too hungover to stand there and I'd just wiped out on the street and everyone else thought a diner seemed more pleasant than fighting for women's rights. Yes, that's right, we're grown adults. Yes, we're thirty-three years old."
They were all in a band together. A '90s cover band called Donna Martin Graduates that was wildly popular in the tri-state area. She and Nancy started out performing as a duo when they were still at NYU, Nancy playing the guitar while Gretchen sang all of their old favorites from junior high and high school-Britney Spears and Oasis and TLC and Alanis Morissette. They developed a loyal following at a local bar where they played each Wednesday, and that following kept growing.
They'd tapped into something-people nostalgic for the soundtrack o...
