At the Diner is only 6 pages, but in those few pages Neil Plakcy shows us two men, father and son, estranged and, without saying anything, trying to find their way back to a relationship.  Told from the son’s—Jerry—point of view I was immediately connected with what he was feeling.  Not only had he lost his mother but his father as well… a father whom he felt he could never satisfy.

My heart went to him totally and I mourned even as he couldn’t, or wouldn’t.

But as the story progresses we see that, by small degrees, Phil is trying to mend the rift between them.  Even seeing through Jerry’s eyes I still got a real feel for his father but, not being invested emotionally the way that Jerry was, I could understand that in his own mostly non-verbal way Phil was trying.

Now this is a story that, even as short as it is, holds a solid wallop that I felt for quite some time. In fact I’ve re-read Neil’s short At the Diner a few times in the time I’ve had it… and I believe that I will continue to do so.

It’s about a journey that most of us have either undertaken or at least understand and tied to family it has the potential to really affect the reader. Beautifully done Mr. Plakcy; it’s no wonder you’re one of my favorite authors.

Kathy K.

Book Description:  “At the Diner” is the story of a young man trying to deal with the relationship he has with his estranged father. Unable to communicate with one another, they start to forge a new bond over meals at the diner where the narrator works. The question becomes: can a mutual love of food overcome a father/son dynamic that’s so badly damaged?

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