Reviews

The Bartender's Tale by Ivan Doig

lbeckett's review against another edition

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5.0

Coming of age story with a deep sense of place. Loved it all the way through!

caseyjones241's review against another edition

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3.0

Decent story that's probably worth a read. The main character is hard for me to like. Full of odd anxiety throughout the story and a bit of a bratty little kid. Characters beyond that are good although not that complex. I read through till the end which says something. I'm not afraid to stop reading if I feel that a book is not entertaining and wasting my time.

smrankin5's review against another edition

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4.0

Doig is the consummate story teller. I love learning about a place in a time while reading a great story. Well worth it!

sonia_reppe's review against another edition

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5.0

Rusty is 12 in the summer of 1960. He helps his dad, the bartender, clean up at the lounge. Some new people come into Rusty's life that summer: a girl his age with whom he becomes friends; an enthusiastic young archivist who is researching the town; and a woman from his dad's past and her daughter. It is told from the voice of future Rusty, looking back on that summer. Nostalgic, leisurely paced, well-drawn characters.

mrsleighmath's review against another edition

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2.0

Slow to start, but the last 100 or 150 pages tell a good story that I would've read more of.

bev1958's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved the book!!

rglossner's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed this coming of age tale, set in rural Montana in 1960. The characters were unforgettable, especially the bartender himself, Tom Harry, the narrator's father.

katylang's review against another edition

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5.0

I liked it a lot - beautifully written. I felt like I was there in Gros Ventre. It reminded me of [a:John Irving|3075|John Irving|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1257375547p2/3075.jpg].

kdferrin's review against another edition

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4.0

If you haven’t read any other books by [a:Ivan Doig|70540|Ivan Doig|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1247171564p2/70540.jpg] I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one but for those of you who have read all his other books reading this one is like spending time with an old friend. I was a little worried for a bit that he was heading down the path that he did with[b:Ride With Me Mariah Montana|165432|Ride With Me, Mariah Montana|Ivan Doig|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347505992s/165432.jpg|775674] but he pulled it back and kept the story telling to what was needed to drive the plot instead of letting the stories take over.

charireads's review against another edition

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5.0

I listened to this book and it was incredible. Not only does Ivan Doig do a great job telling a story and developing characters, but the narrator is absolutely incredible. He made the whole thing so much more enjoyable! So sad that it's over.