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A review by nikkihb
Last Call in the City of Bridges by Salvatore Pane
3.0
This book was so up and down, it's almost hard to rate.
I love books about Pittsburgh. Authors who are from, or who have lived in Pittsburgh, have a tendency to write novels that are love stories to their city. And this is no exception. I don't live in Pittsburgh, but it is one of my favorite cities ever, and I'm a sucker for a good story set in the 'Burgh. I got this, because it sounded like it would be kind of similar to Mysteries of Pittsburgh, one of my all-time favorites.
That said, Last Call started off incredibly slow and painfully. It takes until nearly halfway through to even begin to like the main character, Michael. But once you get into the groove of accepting Michael as someone who is legitimately running from something in his past, rather than a whiny millennial, he's much easier to like (and sometimes - despite being over a decade younger than me - even to relate to.) The millennial thing is a little overplayed; so much ironic self-awareness and a little too strong on the technological references.
The supporting cast are all strong. Oz the unstable academic, Sloan the girl who's just a friend and her fiance, the serial cheater, Noah, Ivy the cute girl Michael falls for who is inexplicable religiousness is a total mystery to Michael and to the reader. I think the problem with the book is that the protagonist is really the weakest link.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for a twenty-something coming-of-age story, though it wouldn't be on the top of my list, it certainly wouldn't be at the bottom either.
I love books about Pittsburgh. Authors who are from, or who have lived in Pittsburgh, have a tendency to write novels that are love stories to their city. And this is no exception. I don't live in Pittsburgh, but it is one of my favorite cities ever, and I'm a sucker for a good story set in the 'Burgh. I got this, because it sounded like it would be kind of similar to Mysteries of Pittsburgh, one of my all-time favorites.
That said, Last Call started off incredibly slow and painfully. It takes until nearly halfway through to even begin to like the main character, Michael. But once you get into the groove of accepting Michael as someone who is legitimately running from something in his past, rather than a whiny millennial, he's much easier to like (and sometimes - despite being over a decade younger than me - even to relate to.) The millennial thing is a little overplayed; so much ironic self-awareness and a little too strong on the technological references.
The supporting cast are all strong. Oz the unstable academic, Sloan the girl who's just a friend and her fiance, the serial cheater, Noah, Ivy the cute girl Michael falls for who is inexplicable religiousness is a total mystery to Michael and to the reader. I think the problem with the book is that the protagonist is really the weakest link.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for a twenty-something coming-of-age story, though it wouldn't be on the top of my list, it certainly wouldn't be at the bottom either.