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A review by leighnonymous
Bar None by Tim Lebbon
3.0
(3 1/2)
What a fun and unusual book! I originally picked the book up because of the irresistible premise: after their wine and ale run out, five survivors of an apocalypse risk their lives traveling across ruined civilization in search of the last bar on earth. Although that's pretty funny, the book remained serious throughout, with the exception of several comments from the Irishman. The main character remembers his wife, Ashley, and their life together before the plague, by the type of beer he was drinking; hence, each chapter is titled after a different beer. In addition, the reader understands pretty quickly that Lebbon is a beer aficionado because his descriptions of the drinks sound like they're straight out of a tasting catalog. It's pleasant to think about great tastes that evoke great memories; I'm not the only one to do that (G&Ts, you know you'll always have a place in my heart because of the memories).
The novel is not at all what I was expecting. The plot came out of nowhere. Lebbon veered off into some odd territory but quite a beautiful one. I don't know if he was making a political statement with the last part of the book, but it's great and it makes sense: a people's history is a part of that group of people and should not be forgotten.
As usual, Lebbon leaves some things unexplained; however, they're small things that don't make much difference and could really be explained away if you wanted to find an answer. For instance, the flying things above the city that swoop down and carry things off…what were they? It doesn't matter because they're part of the "new world" that is changing. I would definitely have liked, though, an explanation for why these survivors were survivors and didn't die like the rest of the world. I appreciate his sparse use of description for certain things, like when the red-faced woman appears and "something" happens to her mouth. That reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson; let your mind fill in what scares you. Three and a half stars.
Now I could use a drink…
What a fun and unusual book! I originally picked the book up because of the irresistible premise: after their wine and ale run out, five survivors of an apocalypse risk their lives traveling across ruined civilization in search of the last bar on earth. Although that's pretty funny, the book remained serious throughout, with the exception of several comments from the Irishman. The main character remembers his wife, Ashley, and their life together before the plague, by the type of beer he was drinking; hence, each chapter is titled after a different beer. In addition, the reader understands pretty quickly that Lebbon is a beer aficionado because his descriptions of the drinks sound like they're straight out of a tasting catalog. It's pleasant to think about great tastes that evoke great memories; I'm not the only one to do that (G&Ts, you know you'll always have a place in my heart because of the memories).
The novel is not at all what I was expecting. The plot came out of nowhere. Lebbon veered off into some odd territory but quite a beautiful one. I don't know if he was making a political statement with the last part of the book, but it's great and it makes sense: a people's history is a part of that group of people and should not be forgotten.
As usual, Lebbon leaves some things unexplained; however, they're small things that don't make much difference and could really be explained away if you wanted to find an answer. For instance, the flying things above the city that swoop down and carry things off…what were they? It doesn't matter because they're part of the "new world" that is changing. I would definitely have liked, though, an explanation for why these survivors were survivors and didn't die like the rest of the world. I appreciate his sparse use of description for certain things, like when the red-faced woman appears and "something" happens to her mouth. That reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson; let your mind fill in what scares you. Three and a half stars.
Now I could use a drink…