Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is the story of the Tull family, so it should come as no surprise to find that “family” is an important theme throughout the novel. By focusing on the lives of three generations of the same family, it is possible to track the way that events of decades past can have ramifications in the future. Beck leaving Pearl, for instance, ultimately compels Luke to run away from home. Throughout, the novel encourages the audience to ask themselves what it is to be a family.

The Tull family is a disjointed, fractured mess. The novel charts the way that these bitter grudges develop over the years, but this was not always the case. Viewed through Pearl’s perspective, there seems to have been a time when the family was happy, though not everything was perfect. The second chapter describes the early marriage of Beck and Pearl and the birth of the three children. Pearl finds joy in the birth of her children, even though her husband is constantly struggling with his work. At this time, she is willing to make the most of the situation, allowing herself to acquiesce to Beck’s demands to move around the country in order to keep the family together.