Good, fun read... especially if you're a "local" at some bar

books:


	• The Tender Bar J. R. Moehringer Hyperion, 2006 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 151 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Raised On Alcohol

Journalist J.R. Moehringer has written a rollicking coming-of-age memoir set on Long Island and centering around a small town version of the TV bar Cheers. The story opens with the author at about age six being raised by his mother and grandmother at his grandparents' house, his golden-voiced and leaden-souled father having disappeared into thin air. Before long he finds that his best childhood friends and father figures are a bunch of bartenders and drunks at the most popular bar in town, Dickens. Once he reaches drinking age, it's hard for J.R. not to become an alcoholic. One of the bartenders is his uncle and the bar's policy is that relatives drink free (but must pay for any drinks they give to others).

Obviously, the young protagonist becomes a successful writer. How he reaches that stage provides two great stories--that of the struggling student and journalist, and that of the rollicking young alcoholic. That you are reading the book removes some of the suspense about the outcome, but Moehringer and a cast of Dickensian characters at both Dickens and his grandparents' house makes the journey very entertaining. If you like Frank McCourt's various memoirs, particularly Angela's Ashes, or if your childhood included alcoholic caretakers (parents or otherwise), you'll love "The Tender Bar".

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Endearing story

The author skillfully tells his story while carefully drawing the reader into his private life. The book is written with honesty and humor and without being overly emotional or dramatic. Although the author tells of his hardships and struggles,he does so in such a way that you see his life as colorful and rich rather than tragic. The story shows that love and nurturing can occur in non-conventional ways and from people you would not normally consider caretakers. This is a story of love and caring and the strength of the human spirit. I highly recommend this book.

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Good, fun read... especially if you're a "local" at some bar

I'm not much for memoirs, but I picked up The Tender Bar on the recommendation of the clerk at a local San Francisco bookstore, and I'm glad I did.

The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer, chronicles the early life of, well... J.R. Moehringer, who grew up in Long Island, New York, alongside his mother, grandparents, several cousins, aunts and his Uncle Charlie, a bartender at the local pub, Publicans. His father, a popular radio disc jockey, was absent much of Moehringer's life, and his absence is the central storyline of The Tender Bar.

With no father figure in his life, Moehringer becomes attached to the bar, Publicans, as well as the many real-life characters that frequent the pub. Each chapter in the book is about one of those characters, and the memoir moves (though slow, at times) chronologically as Moehringer encounters and befriends more and more people.

Though Moehringer details the years he and his mother spend living in Arizona, as well as his collegiate career at Yale, most of the book takes place in and out of the Long Island bar. Due to the fact that most of the events occur in the bar, most of the chapters involve the characters drinking themselves silly, leading to amusing events and/or interesting conversations on work, life, women, the New York Mets and a host of other topics.

For the most part, it's an easy, fun, well-written read that will make you laugh throughout the book. There are some slow parts, and a lot of places in the book where the author is trying to be deep and serious, which can seem forced and unnecessary. But I liked The Tender Bar, and would recommend it as a good "vacation book," especially if you're on some tropical beach (as I was -- in Barbados -- while reading Moehringer's tale).

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"What's your story?"

J.R. Moehringer's "The Tender Bar" chronicles the infatuation a young boy develops for a neighborhood bar, the men that frequent it, and the education it provided. And in doing so, he elicits laughter, compassion, and admiration. To wit, a few underline-worthy excerpts: "The two critical tests of a man's mettle, Sheryl believed, were women and liquor. How you reacted to each, how you managed each, went a long way to determining your manliness quotient" (p.130). And J.R.'s reflection on confidence, "I wondered if self-confidence could be acquired, or if, like fathers and flawless skin, it was just something you were born with" (p.163). Or the distinction between a leer and a look: "Women don't like being leered at, but they love being looked at with delight" (p.258). And, lastly, J.R.'s realization that "the secret of being a good man...was [to] follow the example of one very good woman" (p.346). In short, this is J.R.'s story and it is, if nothing else, a memorable and impressionable one.

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This book is great!

I loved this book! It is always entertaining, at times heartbreakingly poignant, and very difficult to put down.

This book beautifully marries form and content. The book is J.R. Moehringer's autobiographical memoir, spanning from his elementary school years into young adulthood. Much of the book revolves around the hours Moehringer spent in a neighborhood bar on Long Island, trading stories and having friendly but impassioned arguments with the other barroom regulars. As you read the book, you almost feel like you're in the bar listening to the conversation. Each chapter is really a barroom story in itself; you can almost hear Moehringer, lubricated by a few drinks, sharing yet another anecdote from his life history.

Some of the stories Moehringer recounts seem too good to be true. Perhaps, like any good barroom raconteur, Moehringer embellishes a little for dramatic or comic effect. At first I wondered if the stories really were factual. By the end, I decided that I enjoyed the book even more for not being sure.

I don't drink much, have rarely been in bars, and have spent little time on Long Island. Nonetheless, I had no trouble inhabiting Moehringer's world.

I highly recommend this excellent memoir!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The bestselling memoir that captured the hearts of readers and critics nationwide is now available in paperback

In the tradition of This Boy?s Life and The Liar?s Club, J.R. Moehringer?s The Tender Bar is a raucous, poignant, luminously written memoir about a boy striving to become a man, and his romance with a bar. A national bestseller that was named one of the 100 Most Notable Books of 2005 by the New York Times, The Tender Bar will reach an even larger audience in paperback.

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