The Restaurant at the End of the World

by Kenneth Womack

It is the morning of September 11th, 2001. Michael Jordan’s possible return to the NBA dominates the news, New York City’s mayoral primary is in full swing, and high atop the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the staff of Windows on the World prepares for the chaos of their daily routine at the nation’s most lucrative restaurant.

From cooks and housekeepers to food runners and managers, they share a myriad of stories about their challenges and frustrations, their hopes and dreams. While a hostess finds herself in the midst of a desperate search for a mysterious guest, a banquet captain confronts his memories about a colleague who died in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Meanwhile, a waiter tries to divert himself from his lingering regrets about having left his wife in bed on what would have been his day off. All the while, the assistant general manager finds herself at the mercy of flood and fire, not to mention a host of kitchen pranks and office high jinks.

An extensively researched book based upon the actual people who worked at Windows on the World, The Restaurant at the End of the World will appeal to anyone who has suffered the sudden throes of human tragedy—the loss of a loved one, who, seemingly moments before, was vividly living out their aspirations.

Genres: Historical Fiction

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2012

About the author

Kenneth Womack is a world-renowned authority on the Beatles and their enduring cultural influence. His latest book project involves a two-volume, full-length biography devoted to famed Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

Womack's Beatles-related books include Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), and The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four (2014).

Womack is also the author of four novels, including John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010), The Restaurant at the End of the World (2012), Playing the Angel (2013), and I Am Lemonade Lucy! (2019).

Reviews

[Suji · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

The first thing that caught my eye was the cover: unique and simple.

The beginning of this book held so much promise I thought I was going to love this book but I didn't. Each chapter is short and told by the POV of a worker in the Windows restaurant in one of the Twin Towers. It's not in the typical format readers are use to but is read more like a diary or a journal a person keeps through the book, the POV of the person is mostly thinking and reminiscing.

What was good about this book is that it has a variety of different POVs from different religions, ethnicity, gender, and social standing.

What was not that great is that there is no plot .

If you enjoy books that are like journals in which you relive what that person is thinking and how their background affects them,than you will enjoy this book.

[Joshua]

Skyscrapers have always fascinated me, and I feel fortunate to have had the chance to tour the World Trade Center in May of 2001. However, I never made it to Windows on the World, the restaurant situated on the top two floors of the North tower. This book is a fictional account of the many people who were working in the restaurant on that tragic day of the attacks in September 2001. Each person gets a chapter in the book, and as the story unfolds, you realize how each employee was connected to one another and their situation and goals in life. The concept of the book may sound a bit macabre, but none of the story really involves the attack itself. Rather, you come top understand the personal element regarding just one portion of the great loss that occurred on that infamous day in New York City.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book through a first-read giveaway.

This was a wonderful collection of vignettes, inspired by the employees of Windows of the World who perished in 9/11. I especially appreciated the Epilogue in which he gives additional information on the characters he introduced. Discovering that Christine, the GM, continued to lead and comfort all those trapped on top of the building was concurrently heart-breaking and inspiring.

I would certainly recommend this to others.

[Holly Vickrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought I would have a hard time keeping up with the numerous characters and I was wondering how it would all play out in the end. I loved the depths of the characters. There were multiple themes through the book that I also appreciated -- the immigrants and different backgrounds that came together "like family", and also different characters as builders.

[Conny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a first read winner of this book, and it feels strange to say how much I enjoyed it, when at the same time it brings back such sad memories of 9/11 for me. The book is a historical fantasy of what the lives of some of the people that ultimately were trapped on top of the World Trade Center might have been like before the impact. I often wondered about this myself, so I am glad that Kenneth Womack wrote a book about it. I came away from the read with the sense that I really need to enjoy life more, the good and even the not so good moments because you just never know when it all could be gone.