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mimima's review against another edition
4.0
I found the pacing to be a bit odd in this novel - the event on the back of the book doesn't even happen until well after halfway. Having said that, it is a quiet, slow tale that is well done and kept my interest, pacing issues aside.
astuenkel's review against another edition
4.0
I love the characters and the dialogue. The author does a really good of making the setting come alive. I can picture everything and it's not too wordy.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
5.0
No one can turn the mundane to magic better than Ivan Doig, and the proof is in THE BARTENDER'S TALE. This is the fourth Doig novel I've read, and it may just be my favorite. Pull up a barstool, order a Select beer, and prepare to be enchanted.
Russell "Rusty" Harry is our narrator, an old man who takes us back to the summer of 1960 in the fictional town of Gros Ventre, Montana. Rusty was twelve that summer, and he and his father Tom had been living together in splendid bachelorhood for six years. They ate tomato soup for breakfast, fished for rainbow trout with chicken guts for bait, and kept the customers happy at the Medicine Lodge, where Tom Harry was known as the best bartender in Montana.
Twelve going on thirteen is an age of wonder. We're still young enough to enjoy childish pleasures, but old enough to begin snooping around in the adult world, collecting information the grown-ups have withheld from us all our lives. For Rusty, that adolescent excitement is heightened by the arrival of several eye-opening outsiders as the summer progresses.
Delano Robertson is a young man obsessed with regional vernacular. He shows up in Gros Ventre with his Gab Lab, ready to record the Missing Voices of the old-timers. His enthusiasm and good nature help him weather the embarrassing moments of initiation into Montana life.
Zoe Constantine moves into town from Butte when her parents take over the local diner. She and Rusty become co-conspirators as only twelve-year-olds can do. They spend the summer polishing their acting skills and eavesdropping on the Medicine Lodge patrons through a hidden vent.
Most disturbing of all, Proxy Shannon purrs on in from Reno driving a bright red Cadillac, with her grown daughter Francine in tow. Is Francine Tom's love child and Rusty's half-sister? And while we're on the subject of parenthood, why won't Tom tell Rusty who his mother was? Vague answers will no longer satisfy Rusty.
Quirky and complex characters, playful dialogue, and small-town shenanigans carry us through that summer of 1960 in the shadow of Glacier National Park. Adjust your gears to allow for a slower pace, and give yourself the time to fall in love.
The end of the story is not sad, but I cried when I finished. I had spent almost three weeks with these characters as my companions, and I didn't want to leave them. That's the sorcery of Ivan Doig. He invites us into his imaginary world and makes us feel so welcome that we would gladly trade our real lives for the chance to be one of his characters.
Russell "Rusty" Harry is our narrator, an old man who takes us back to the summer of 1960 in the fictional town of Gros Ventre, Montana. Rusty was twelve that summer, and he and his father Tom had been living together in splendid bachelorhood for six years. They ate tomato soup for breakfast, fished for rainbow trout with chicken guts for bait, and kept the customers happy at the Medicine Lodge, where Tom Harry was known as the best bartender in Montana.
Twelve going on thirteen is an age of wonder. We're still young enough to enjoy childish pleasures, but old enough to begin snooping around in the adult world, collecting information the grown-ups have withheld from us all our lives. For Rusty, that adolescent excitement is heightened by the arrival of several eye-opening outsiders as the summer progresses.
Delano Robertson is a young man obsessed with regional vernacular. He shows up in Gros Ventre with his Gab Lab, ready to record the Missing Voices of the old-timers. His enthusiasm and good nature help him weather the embarrassing moments of initiation into Montana life.
Zoe Constantine moves into town from Butte when her parents take over the local diner. She and Rusty become co-conspirators as only twelve-year-olds can do. They spend the summer polishing their acting skills and eavesdropping on the Medicine Lodge patrons through a hidden vent.
Most disturbing of all, Proxy Shannon purrs on in from Reno driving a bright red Cadillac, with her grown daughter Francine in tow. Is Francine Tom's love child and Rusty's half-sister? And while we're on the subject of parenthood, why won't Tom tell Rusty who his mother was? Vague answers will no longer satisfy Rusty.
Quirky and complex characters, playful dialogue, and small-town shenanigans carry us through that summer of 1960 in the shadow of Glacier National Park. Adjust your gears to allow for a slower pace, and give yourself the time to fall in love.
The end of the story is not sad, but I cried when I finished. I had spent almost three weeks with these characters as my companions, and I didn't want to leave them. That's the sorcery of Ivan Doig. He invites us into his imaginary world and makes us feel so welcome that we would gladly trade our real lives for the chance to be one of his characters.
annwampler's review against another edition
4.0
I debated between 4 and 5 stars for this one. I loved the characters, but at times felt like it was just a little too slow.
simsarah79's review against another edition
4.0
A good read most definitely. It wasn't faced paced though. Neither was life during the fifties and 1960 when the bulk of the book took place in the mid west. This was my first Doig and I'm confident it won't be my last, a copy of the Whistling Season is on my to do list.
What we have here is a very knowledgeable and experienced writer who handles the characters of man and son in a way that makes you long for the old times before everything went all Facebook on us and Reality TV took over using your "swuft" imagination.
Tom Harry is a bartender like no other. He plays his part perfectly and owns the Medicine Lodge in a small town of two bars and he knows how to keep his customers happy. They run from the ornery sheephearders to editors of the paper and five times divorced women. His son, Rusty, comes into Tom's life at age 6 and what the reader witnesses is how a six year old processes what it means to live with a bachelor of a man who might not know all there is to know about having a kid.
Fast forward 6 years where most of the story takes place, that of the summer where Rusty is 12 and a girl named Zoe comes into his life as the best gift summer could offer as the two hide out in the bars back room to spy on the place.
A woman, Proxie comes into Tom's life and we find out they had a fling way back when that produced a daughter. This daughter, 21 year old Francine, is to help Tom out with the bar- he was about to sell the place. And then there's Dell. A hoot of a historian in the making.
There are a few minor twists but nothing too crazy. The novel definitely has a 50's sitcom feel. It's swell and has a few "ess of a bee's" in it. I liked the descriptions of the land and I'm always a sucker for narratives told through the eyes of a precocious kid.
Doig is good. Real good. I do have to admit it was a little bit slow at times but I think that's because so many books these days have spoiled us with "riveting text" each outdoing the next with crazy plot turns and over the top situations. Sometimes you just want a plain cup of coffee, no syrups or foaming milk or fancy names. Just coffee.
amdame1's review against another edition
4.0
I hadn't read anything by Doig before, but a friend recommended this one and I'm glad I picked it up. It's the tale of a young boy who is sent to live with relatives out of state while still a baby. His dad is single and tends bar and didn't feel he could responsibly care for such a young child. At the age of 6, however, his dad comes to claim him and brings him home. For the next 6 years he is raised at "the joint" as his dad calls it; they spend little time at home. At the age of 12, in 1960, a new girl moves to town and that year is one of enormous change, growth, and disturbing events.
Things that seem predictable take unexpected twists, the characters have quite a bit of depth and development. Well done and well written.
Things that seem predictable take unexpected twists, the characters have quite a bit of depth and development. Well done and well written.
robinhigdon's review
5.0
wonderfully written sweet and tender coming of age story. the writing was so good i could visualize the characters and setting and I felt i was living in the 60's in montana! plus if you are a language lover, there is the added attraction of a wealth of slang and lingo from that time and place that was hilarious! a book i wasn't too excited about at first, but fell in love with.
wildflower37's review
4.0
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I love this author's writing. It is clear that he crafted his characters with great affection and his settings with a deep respect for their history and power.
Rusty is 12 years old; a sweet boy who wants to do the right thing. At first, his desire to please his father, Tom, is in order to not be returned to the home of his unwelcoming aunt and cousins. But, as he observes Tom, it is clear that he acts out of love and respect for Tom and their way of life, not wanting it to change.
But, of course change is on the way...several strangers come to town that enhance - and confuse - their family situation. Rusty immediately befriends his new neighbor Zoe and they spend a magical summer listening to the town's stories and perfecting their acting. Others join the picture - a sound archivist from back east, and a new sister. Each person adds a layer of hope and confusion for young Rusty.
He observes his "famous" bartender father, Tom, and simultaneously admires and respects him while worrying about him. When finances and natural disaster threaten the bar, and Tom's place in it, Rusty works to keep things from changing. But change is inevitable at this time of life, as the country moves through the early 1960's.
This beautiful, rich story about stories makes me want to spend time with the mountains and small towns of the west. Take a visit by reading this book. ( )
I love this author's writing. It is clear that he crafted his characters with great affection and his settings with a deep respect for their history and power.
Rusty is 12 years old; a sweet boy who wants to do the right thing. At first, his desire to please his father, Tom, is in order to not be returned to the home of his unwelcoming aunt and cousins. But, as he observes Tom, it is clear that he acts out of love and respect for Tom and their way of life, not wanting it to change.
But, of course change is on the way...several strangers come to town that enhance - and confuse - their family situation. Rusty immediately befriends his new neighbor Zoe and they spend a magical summer listening to the town's stories and perfecting their acting. Others join the picture - a sound archivist from back east, and a new sister. Each person adds a layer of hope and confusion for young Rusty.
He observes his "famous" bartender father, Tom, and simultaneously admires and respects him while worrying about him. When finances and natural disaster threaten the bar, and Tom's place in it, Rusty works to keep things from changing. But change is inevitable at this time of life, as the country moves through the early 1960's.
This beautiful, rich story about stories makes me want to spend time with the mountains and small towns of the west. Take a visit by reading this book. ( )
mudder17's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audio book and much of the story felt like oral history to me. The main character is a very engaging 12 year old boy (though this story is told many years after the fact) and I found myself very interested in all the happenings of the boy's life that year when he was 12. I found myself wishing I could visit Montana to take in all the beauty of the place. The ending was quite satisfying as well.