Set in 1950s Louisiana, Mandy Mikulencak’s beautifully written and emotionally moving novel evokes both The Help and Dead Man Walking with the story of an unforgettable woman whose quest to provide meals for death row prisoners leads her into the secrets of her own past.Many children have grown up in the shadow of Louisiana’s Greenmount State Penitentiary. Most of them—sons and daughters of … them—sons and daughters of corrections officers and staff—left the place as soon as they could. Yet Ginny Polk chose to come back to work as a prison cook. She knows the harsh reality of life within those walls—the cries of men being beaten, the lines of shuffling inmates chained together. Yet she has never seen them as monsters, not even the ones sentenced to execution. That’s why, among her duties, Ginny has taken on a special responsibility: preparing their last meals.
Pot roast or red beans and rice, coconut cake with seven-minute frosting or pork neck stew . . . whatever the men ask for Ginny prepares, even meeting with their heartbroken relatives to get each recipe just right. It’s her way of honoring their humanity, showing some compassion in their final hours. The prison board frowns upon the ritual, as does Roscoe Simms, Greenmount’s Warden. Her daddy’s best friend before he was murdered, Roscoe has always watched out for Ginny, and their friendship has evolved into something deep and unexpected. But when Ginny stumbles upon information about the man executed for killing her father, it leads to a series of dark and painful revelations.
Truth, justice, mercy—none of these are as simple as Ginny once believed. And the most shocking crimes may not be the ones committed out of anger or greed, but the sacrifices we make for love.
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I loved this book. Exploring and understanding the relationships the likable main character had with her mother, her boyfriend (also father’s best friend) and her best friend and coworker Dot made for a book I found difficult to put down.
I thought this book would be about the last suppers prepared for the prisoners on death row, when in fact, that played a small part in the book. It was more about the relationships between Miriam, her mother, and Roscoe and what happened on the night that Miriam’s father had been killed.
The book prodded along with bits of information pried loose periodically throughout the story, but was quite a bit of fluff between the real issues of what it was all about. I thought it was very easy to figure out early on by the actions of the characters who was really responsible for Miriam’s father’s death, but the author dragged it out to a full length book.
I didn’t think the characters had much depth to them. They were like players on a screen that we don’t know anything about until the last few pages of the book. It would have been a much better book if we were given more background information on the main characters earlier on in the story. It certainly would have made it a much more interesting read.
An interesting topic. Well written.
Slow, slow , boring.
Such a powerful story of men condemned to death in a Louisiana prison and the woman preparing their last supper.
This is special because of the topic– all about a woman who prepares the last meals for the men on death row.
Lost interest and stopped reading.
Not very good. Did not even finish it.
This is an interesting book about a woman working in a Louisiana penitentiary. Interesting premise and likeable character development. I had the privilege of touring this penitentiary a few years ago and met the current warden. Warden Caine. In real life this is Angola prison.
Recommend this book.
The story grew and grew even though many elements were predictable. The story surpassed its few flaws.
No happily ever after here….Ginny and Roscoe are strongly descriptive characters who though they love each other deeply, both have deeply buried painful pasts that will not permit lifelong love. The time and place they exist in, deep south, living and working in the only penitentiary with a functioning death-row electric chair. Ginny is strongly moved emotionally to provide the death-row inmates a “last supper” based on the inmate’s request. This was not done in that time and place. She also involves herself in the events of the jail which she has no place and which cause more trouble and heartbreak for everyone involved. The book leads the reader into the cruel and nasty world of the penal system, the Klan, race relations, love, hate and at the end a listing of recipes cooked in the prison kitchen by a woman who wishes to bring a bit of humanity into the life of men who are about to lose those lives.
This is a must read for anyone that was touched by the humanity shown by people who walked the last few days with condemned prisoners in “The Green Mile” or “Dead Man Walking”.
This easy to read book is by far one of my recent favorites.
The Last Suppers by Mandy Mikulencak
Dark, twisted, emotionally challenging this is a story of people caught up in life…and death.
The setting of this story is Greenmount Penitentiary in Louisiana – a fictitious place brought to life through the excellent writing of the author.
The period of time ranges from the late 1920’s through the early 1960’s.
The issues/topics included are many and each one seems to impact another much as dominoes falling one after another. Family, abuse, lies, KKK, race, friendship, love, belonging, death, trauma, psychological issues, giving, caring, pain…and so much more.
The main characters are Roscoe Simms – warden and Ginny Polk – penitentiary head cook.
Peripheral/supporting characters include: Dot (cook’s assistant), Miriam (Ginny’s mother), Joe (Ginny’s father) various guards at the penitentiary and the prisoners being executed and the families of those prisoners.
The blurb for this book gives an idea of what the book might be about but the story is so much more than the blurb. The gradual unfolding of the backstories makes each character bigger and more complex than first expected with each page read and left me pondering and wishing that for most things could have been radically different while also explaining why the story needed to progress as it did.
I am still pondering and thinking and wishing that the characters had things easier BUT I am also thankful to have met and become acquainted with each one of them as they will remain with me for quite some time. This is a book that will not disappear from my mind quickly. It will stick and in sticking do what I like a book to do…make me care and share and think and grow.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books-A John Scognamiglio Book for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars