A Town with Half the Lights On by Page Getz - Book Review

Publication Date: 22nd Apr 2025

Genre: General Fiction 

3 Stars 

One Liner: Interesting but drags on forever! 

Goodnight, Kansas

People don’t move to goodnight when everything in their lives is going well. No wonder the entry of Chef Sid Solvang and his family creates curiosity. Sid may not want to cook again ever, but he also doesn’t want to stay in his wife’s childhood hometown. He would find a way to go back to Brooklyn. However, with the local May Day Diner under the threat of being torn down, the citizens will have to work together to save their town. 

The story comes in a series of clippings, diary entries, notes, emails, etc. 

My Thoughts: 

This was an interesting premise, and the epistolary format tempted me. With emails, handwritten notes, journal entries, text messages, and newspaper reports, there is enough variety to mix and match the presentation. 

The book starts with the Solvang family entering Goodnight, a remote town in Kansas that relies on the tire factory to provide livelihood and keep the place alive. Right here, you can guess what’s coming. 

Of course, there are other items on the checklist – small-town bigotry & bigheartedness, family feud, secrets, Christian zealousness, capitalism/ communism/ socialism drama, conspiracy theories, odd-one-out, down-on-the-luck guy saving a town, spunky teenagers, etc. 

While there’s no denying the scattered bits of humor and entertainment, as a package, the book feels underwhelming, like a collection of social topics one has to tick off a list. 

My favorite character is Disco, hands down. No one else can take her place at the top. She made the book a lot more enjoyable. Also, whatever emotions I felt were limited to her. 

I didn’t expect the book to be so slow. By the time I reached 30%, I was tired and like I had read more than half the book, only to realize otherwise. The middle dragged even more. By the last 30%, I was more than ready to skim and finish it as soon as possible. It’s not really hard to guess most of the twists and reveals. They were very much apparent. 

At the end, there’s an interview with the author. Here, she says she could ‘describe a raindrop for three pages’ but... I think this answers why the book feels heavier than it is. It is bloated. Also, the voices aren’t always distinct, and we have many since everyone communicates through emails or notes. 

The ending is open and more like a slice-of-life story, so we don’t get answers to all the questions. This is a bit annoying after having to read so much. I’d have preferred a rounded ending with a little more development, at least for my favorite character. She deserves it! 

There are a few quirky or experimental recipes mentioned, and quite a bit of food given, as it is one of the central themes. I don’t care for the other experiments, but tamosa… well, it sounds interesting, though I won’t be first in line to taste it. 

To summarize, A Town with Half the Lights On sounds intriguing but doesn’t actually present anything new. It’s a decent read if you enjoy such themes, but the writing style can be a hit or a miss. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley