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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Really great story and I love the author’s writing style. He really brought all the people and scenes to life.
I enjoyed this memoir, though I thought it bogged down a bit about 3/4 of the way through. It could have been shorter, and probably should have been. I got tired of the angsty "I don't know what to do with my life" aspect of it. But the story did engage me, and I enjoyed the descriptions of the bar denizens.
Reread this wonderful memoir ten? Fifteen years later? I love it more than the first time I read it.
J.R. Moehringer's father was long out of the picture when J.R (short for Junior) was growing up in the early 1970s in Long Island, but he was on the air (via his job as a disc jockey) so young J.R. listens to his absent father whenever possible.
Raised by his wonderful mother and living in his grandfather's home, J.R. still craved father figures. He finds more than one in the bar where his Uncle Charlie works. The best part of this memoir would probably be the cast of colorful men who have names such as Bob the Cop, Cager, Stinky, Colt, Smelly, Jimbo, Fast Eddy, and Bobo who all at some point serve as mentors to young J.R. His mother is also a strong character, but she's not as flamboyant as the bar patrons. It got a little long at the end, but I enjoyed it.
Raised by his wonderful mother and living in his grandfather's home, J.R. still craved father figures. He finds more than one in the bar where his Uncle Charlie works. The best part of this memoir would probably be the cast of colorful men who have names such as Bob the Cop, Cager, Stinky, Colt, Smelly, Jimbo, Fast Eddy, and Bobo who all at some point serve as mentors to young J.R. His mother is also a strong character, but she's not as flamboyant as the bar patrons. It got a little long at the end, but I enjoyed it.
So much praise for this most unreadable book. I really wanted to enjoy it, especially as it was compared to the excellent Liars' Club. Instead, I found myself drowning in overly heavy prose. My only compliment to The Tender Bar is that it is more readable than Angela's Ashes.
Me ha gustado. Hay un trozo a mitad del libro que se me ha hecho un poco más pesado, pero en general muy bien.
The Tender Bar
J.R. Moehringer
I tried, and I tried, and I tried. I’ve had this book on loan for months, and I officially just DNF’d it. I think this book did very well as a movie, but I couldn’t get into the memoir.
No rating because DNF.
J.R. Moehringer
I tried, and I tried, and I tried. I’ve had this book on loan for months, and I officially just DNF’d it. I think this book did very well as a movie, but I couldn’t get into the memoir.
No rating because DNF.
This is a heartfelt, engaging memoir with characters so real you'd swear you were reading fiction. The story of a fatherless boy becoming a man, and the training in manhood he received from the eccentric group of guys at the neighborhood bar. It had me completely invested all the way up to the last chapter or so -- then the ending sort of fizzled for me, so I'm rating it 4 instead of 5 stars. Still, a worthwhile read that I heartily recommend.
Note that it's heavy on adult language.
Note that it's heavy on adult language.
I had never heard of J.R. Moehringer before but I loved to read about his life and the part a Manhasset bar played in his life. Good read.