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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
The biggest problem with The Tender Bar is that the most interesting thing about it isn't the author, it's the people he knows.
Essentially, Moehringer is an average american male with the all-too typical father figure problems. With no father figure around, he basically grows up in a bar, where several men act as role-models (like Erica Jong said, it takes several men to make one good one!). The most interesting, touching, humorous parts of the book are those that focus around the men of the bar and introduce us to their lives. If the book had centered around only them, it would've been fantastic. Instead, Moehringer takes the self-centered approach and tries to explain why he grew up in the bar and the effect it had on his life - when he got older he had trouble with women and became an alcoholic. Surprise, surprise! I originally picked this up because of the journalistic aspect, but what he writes about being a journalist and working at the Times isn't especially interesting.
Definitely a worthwhile read, though, particularly if you're interested in the bar community, or the antics of middle-aged men.
Essentially, Moehringer is an average american male with the all-too typical father figure problems. With no father figure around, he basically grows up in a bar, where several men act as role-models (like Erica Jong said, it takes several men to make one good one!). The most interesting, touching, humorous parts of the book are those that focus around the men of the bar and introduce us to their lives. If the book had centered around only them, it would've been fantastic. Instead, Moehringer takes the self-centered approach and tries to explain why he grew up in the bar and the effect it had on his life - when he got older he had trouble with women and became an alcoholic. Surprise, surprise! I originally picked this up because of the journalistic aspect, but what he writes about being a journalist and working at the Times isn't especially interesting.
Definitely a worthwhile read, though, particularly if you're interested in the bar community, or the antics of middle-aged men.
July 2016 book club selection.
A 400+ page book about a boy and a bar. I read the whole thing because I love J.R. Moehringer's voice. Some of the stories are funny, most are poignant, it got pretty depressing at the end but by then I was committed. I didn't laugh, I didn't cry but there was something there that made me finish it.
A 400+ page book about a boy and a bar. I read the whole thing because I love J.R. Moehringer's voice. Some of the stories are funny, most are poignant, it got pretty depressing at the end but by then I was committed. I didn't laugh, I didn't cry but there was something there that made me finish it.
For some reason, I've tried to read this at least twice before and failed, but this time i succeeded and enjoyed the book. It's very neatly written -- in some ways for me, too neatly, with things tied up and emotional moments sometimes sped by, perhaps more telling than showing. But I loved how it captured a time, place and culture, with a relatively clear-eyed look at family problems, drinking and alcoholism, loneliness and disappointed dreams.
I only made it halfway through this book. It fell victim to summer reading meaning it was not interesting enough to read on vacation. I was slow to get into after that and then when it finally got a little more interesting it was time to return to the librAry and start my next book club book.
Started slow, ended slow. Read on the recommendations of friends. Didn't enjoy it.
A lovely story of a boy searching for lessons about manhood, a working class narrative--nicely written.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
This should be the gold standard for memoirs! It might also help that JR has a background in drinking, storytelling, and a love of words - the prose is lyrical.
funny
reflective
fast-paced