\u201cThanksgiving is not just about gratitude,\u201d the author writes in the book\u2019s opening lines, continuing, \u201cIt\u2019s about gravy, grudges, [and] group texts gone wrong.\u201d With a chapter dedicated to each state (plus Washington, D.C.), Okine offers readers 51 short stories poking fun at America\u2019s \u201cmost chaotic, carb-loaded, emotionally layered holiday.\u201d None of the stories are longer that three to five pages\u2014readers are dropped directly into dining rooms, living rooms, and outdoor turkey friers with little in terms of scene-setting, character development, or plot. The volume gently satirizes Thanksgiving culture and offers lighthearted commentary on regional absurdities; the material comes from personal experiences and anecdotes shared with the author by friends around the country. The opening story, set in Alabama, features a no-nonsense grandma who tells her sons to \u201cbehave, or eat in the truck,\u201d a secret family sweet tea recipe, and the dramatic revelation that this year\u2019s biscuits came from a can (\u201ca culinary felony\u201d). Minnesota\u2019s chapter, alternately, highlights a \u201chotdish buffet\u201d that includes a \u201ccontroversial\u201d tuna noodle casserole and a Jell-O salad made \u201cwith suspended grapes, marshmallows, and trauma.\u201d The hypercritical Aunt Rhonda in Maryland\u2019s chapter declares, in response to a plate of flavorless deviled eggs, that \u201cIf it ain\u2019t got Old Bay, it ain\u2019t got my attention,\u201d and Alaska\u2019s main character, the edgy Cousin Todd, describes a half-thawed pumpkin pie as \u201ca metaphor for modern civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n
As reflected in the vignettes described above, the book leans heavily into the stereotypes that plague each state. In Kentucky\u2019s chapter, for example, Thanksgiving \u201ccomes fried, filled, and a little unfiltered\u201d (this piece features a bourbon-fueled conversation about a recent family wedding held at a Bass Pro Shop where the bride wore a camouflage wedding dress). Unsurprisingly, Idaho\u2019s story revolves around a family dispute regarding potatoes (\u201cTater Tension\u201d), Wisconsin\u2019s includes a healthy assortment of beer, cheese, and brats, and the District of Columbia chapter revels in the art of diplomacy with a \u201cSide of Scandal.\u201d While the stories are somewhat lazy in their grasping at low-hanging comedic fruits, the anthology is never malicious in its consideration of America\u2019s cultural quirks; the author openly admits that the stories are \u201cexaggerated, and lovingly fictionalized.\u201d Because the book covers all 50 states, the stories can be repetitive at times, as they all are essentially variations on the same handful of tropes: a food faux pas, a generational misunderstanding, an idiosyncratic family member, or a snide remark that blossoms into an extended argument. The brevity of each chapter similarly means that the characters are often inflated versions of a familiar assortment of feisty, sassy, jocular, emo, or eccentric relatives. The author of multiple satirical books on state-by-state peculiarities (on topics that span from grocery stores to pets), Okine has a firm grasp on the cultural specifics that divide Americans. Belying the book\u2019s satirical approach to the uniquely American holiday, the author poignantly reminds readers that even though they may not always get along with family, Thanksgiving is \u201cabout showing up\u2026Ready to love people who drive you nuts.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThanksgiving is not just about gratitude,\u201d the author writes in the book\u2019s opening lines, continuing, \u201cIt\u2019s about gravy, grudges, [and] group texts gone wrong.\u201d With a chapter dedicated to each state (plus Washington, D.C.), Okine offers readers 51 short stories poking fun at America\u2019s \u201cmost chaotic, carb-loaded, emotionally layered holiday.\u201d None of the stories are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}