"Car Palace" is a memoir of the life of the author and his wife leading up to and including their midlife. I was intrigued since they are both Lithuanian immigrants who grew up in the U.S., and I usually like this type of book. Their story is pretty interesting, but clearly the book becomes a bit random in the telling.
Much of the focus was on the actual business arrangement and building of the "Car Palace", one of the original showrooms for the Lexus brand as they expanded into the United States. Suffice to say, if you don't enjoy reading about the perils of small business, you may not enjoy much of this book. It made me appreciate what the investor and small business person goes through in an attempt to find some small degree of success.
I also enjoyed the author's retelling of his struggles to write and the many workshops and writers that he worked with in his desire to become published. As a reader, I appreciate the work that must go into writing and find the process fascinating. As I read this book, I found that some parts of the book well written and engaging, while other parts seemed off the track and made it much harder to maintain my focus. I guess that's often the way life is in actuality.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I think there is an audience for it. Someone like me, who enjoys the struggles of immigrants and underdogs, as well as people interested in the atmosphere of small business ownership might find it a good read.
I am thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Car Palace is the first work of non-fiction by Lithuanian American novelist, editor, businessman, Gediminas “Ed” Trimakas—he completed his MFA in fiction from the University of Arizona. The Car Palace is an engaging narrative of Ed and his wife Donna’s experience of managing their small business and his negotiations with a major car dealership interested in leasing their commercial property. In addition, Ed explored the themes of literary criticism and his participation in writing workshops as he developed skills as an author, before gaining acceptance to grad school.

Greatly concerned about economic justice in small business, “The Main Street Project” required an abundance of energy, as Ed learned it was necessary to separate his business dealings from his writing. While the focus of the book centered around his highly speculative business interactions with Mr. Bollinger, Ed’s observations of Bollinger’s personal life (and others), his early courtship and marriage to Donna, beginning their life together as Ed worked selling Collier Encyclopedias, Gerber Baby Food, and his decision to join the Army—combined with his interest in books, authors, and literary criticism were written well and really interesting.

The details of Ed and Donna’s life outside the business world were limited, though reading between the lines this family didn't seem emotionally connected or very close. The couple’s children, Andrew and Lisa were mentioned vaguely in passing--with the exception of a dramatic story involving Andrew being detained by the authorities at Sea-Tac International Airport, when a (potential) explosive device leftover from a WWII was found in his belongings. Ed mentioned his deceased parent’s alcoholism, and how he “withheld” keeping his secrets well. This is understandable, also that the “full on confessional mode” (of admired writers like Kathryn Harrison) wasn’t his style of writing. At times, the book was harder to follow, the lack of overall detail or insight, topics and mood of the book jumped around considerably, related facts of one story were added several chapters later. This is an original multi-themed book: with improved structure, organization, and possibly a different editor, this could have been a great read. 3* GOOD. With thanks and appreciation to Rumor House Books via Netgalley for the direct e-copy for the purpose of review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book began with promise. I enjoyed reading about the author's Lithuanian background and his wife's family history. After that, the book went downhill. It was difficult to read. The author rambled, sprinkling his narrative with literary and movie references that didn't enhance the story. Frankly, this book did not hold my interest.

An interesting memoir - a cross between what it means to have a strong marriage, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and be a neophyte involved in what can only be described as a high-stakes, go-for-broke real estate venture. Add to that a son who - through stupid teen-aged behavior - came close to bankrupting everything. My only complaint was that the ending felt much too rushed; almost like he couldn't wait to just wrap everything up and move on. A good read though. And certainly a book I would recommend.

If there is a perfect time to read this book, I'm completely sure, that moment is NOW! 2017 is going to be a tough year.