I thoroughly enjoyed Moehringer's tale of growing up in and around the most famous bar in Manhasset, Long Island. Bar life is not a life I know or understand well, so, for me, it was an interesting glimpse into another world. I also found Moehringer a likeable bundle of neuroses (perhaps because of the handsome photo on the inside of the book jacket? Yes, I know that's shallow. I prefer to think it's because he's clever, self-deprecating, and witty. And cute).

Moehringer's story is often heartbreaking, but it has some incredibly funny moments, and the men who serve as his surrogate fathers come off as wise and caring, though they were also, to a man, alcoholics.

His writing is clear and precise, as one would expect from a Pulitzer-winning journalist. Easy to read, and if not entirely factual, it at least has the ring of truth.

As memoirs go, this has been one of my favorites.

JennyO's thoughts on the book made it sound too intriguing to let slip through my fingers. More after I read it....

After reading the first couple of pages, I was worried The Tender Bar would not be my cup of tea. I usually don't like memoirs about boys and men. Typically these tales center too much on sexual exploits and violent episodes for my liking.

But as I read along, I grew to love The Tender Bar more and more. J.R. longed for his AWOL father and sought out surrogate dads wherever he went. He was most successful in finding pseudo-dadness at the neighborhood bar. There were some sexual exploits and lots of violence and acres and acres of heavy drinking, but all of these felt like a genuine part of J.R.'s growing up experience, not a bragfest. This is a book I'd never have read, left on my own, but I'm happy I did.

From the book:

"Every book is a miracle," Bill said. "Every book represents a moment when someone sat quietly---and that quiet is part of the miracle, make no mistake---and tried to tell the rest of us a story." Bud could talk ceaselessly about the hope of books, the promise of books. He said it was no accident that a book opened just like a door.

"Then it's decided," Bud said. He rose from his stool and came toward me, sniffing his fist, adjusting his Buddy Holly glasses. "You must do everything that frightens you, JR. Everything. I'm not talking about risking your life, but everything else. Think about fear, decide right now how you're going to deal with fear, because fear is going to be the great issue of your life, I promise you. Fear will be the fuel for all your success, and the root cause of all your failures, and the underlying dilemma in every story you tell yourself about yourself. And the only chance you'll have against fear? Follow it. Steer by it. Don't think of fear as the villain. Think of fear as your guide, your pathfinder---your Natty Bumppo."

I loved Bill and Bud. What great advice. Not words I'd have read in a book with female main characters, I think.

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RELEASE NOTES:

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