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Later, at the Bar: A Novel in Stories
by Rebecca Barry
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9781416535249 |
Only 1 left in stock at $8.95!
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Lucy's Tavern is the best kind of small-town bar. It has a good jukebox, a bartender with a generous pour, and it's always open, even in terrible weather. In the raw and beautiful country that makes up Rebecca Barry's fictional landscape, Lucy's is where everyone ends up, whether they mean to or not.
There's the tipsy advice columnist who has a hard time following her own advice, the ex-con who falls for the same woman over and over again, and the soup-maker who tries to drink and cook his way out of romantic despair. Theirs are the kinds of stories about love and life that unfold late in the evening, when people finally share their secret hopes and frailties, because they know you will forgive them, or maybe make out with them for a little while. In this rich and engaging debut, each central character suffers a sobering moment of clarity in which the beauty and sadness of life is revealed. But the character does not cry or mend his ways. Instead he tips back his hat, lights another unfiltered cigarette, and heads across the floor to ask someone to dance.
A poignant exploration of the sometimes tender, sometimes deeply funny ways people try to connect, Later, at the Bar is as warm and inviting as a good shot of whiskey on a cold winter night.
Review:
"The 10 linked stories of Barry's first-rate debut capture the idiosyncrasies of an upstate New York backwater where social life revolves around Lucy's Tavern, founded by the late Lucy Beech, who 'loved live music and dancing and understood people who liked longing more than they did love.' There, a limited pool of regulars drinks nightly, has the kind of revolving recreational sex that creates complications for decades, and ruins its children: 'You watch a kid like Ruby Plumadore, whose clothes never fit and who smells like cigarettes... get off the bus and... subtly gird herself to walk into her front door.' There's Harlin Wilder and his twin brother, Cyrus, who are in and out of work, hung up on ex-wives and waiting for the next woman to roll into their lives when they're not drinking or getting into fights. Linda Hartley, an advice columnist for adolescent mag Sugar and Spice and for Woman Today, battles her own demons; while Harlin's ex-, Grace Meyers, still has good things to say about him. The situations are familiar, but Barry gets down to the grit of her characters and captures the plangency of a local bar that serves as de facto communal household." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"Rebecca Barry's debut is a sheer delight. These stories are delicate, smart, touching, and hilarious, and they move through the life of a small town the way life moves through us. Barry is a wonderful writer, graceful, quick, and compassionate." Roxana Robinson, author of A Perfect Stranger and Other Stories
Review:
"Later, at the Bar is funny, fast and addictive. It is an intoxicating book, beginning to end....Read this book." Danielle Trussoni, New York Times Book Review
Review:
"There is a kind of magic that happens at the right bar, with the right people, at the right time of night. A certain song comes on the jukebox, the bartender starts to sing, and two people wobble off their stools, lean into each other, and begin to sway. For a moment, it feels like the center of the world. Later, At the Bar is seasoned with characters who live for this kind of magic; who love hard and drink harder. Rebecca Barry skillfully weaves together their stories as if she is making her way through a room full of friends, then finds you a seat at the bar, leans over, and spills all of their secrets. They are full of heartache and hope, and you will want to stay with them, until everyone puts down their drinks and starts to dance." Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers
Review:
"Barry's remarkably natural, charming, and wise novel-in-stories is perfect for fiction lovers whose reading time is tight." Booklist
Review:
"Lots of nice observations are slipped into this quick read." Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review:
"The pages drift by easily but also unremarkably, and by the end you may find yourself echoing Peggy Lee's jukebox classic as you wonder, is that all there is?" Los Angeles Times
Review:
"As if the Bukowski corpus was watered-down for television." Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Rebecca Barry lives in Trumansburg, New York, with her husband and two sons. Her nonfiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Seventeen, Real Simple, Details, Hallmark, and The Best American Travel Writing 2003. Her fiction has appeared in Ploughshares, One Story, Tin House, Ecotone, The Mid-American Review, and Best New American Voices 2005.
Table of Contents
Lucy's Last Hurrah
Men Shoot Things to Kill Them
Snow Fever
Newspaper Clipping
Love Him, Petaluma
Grace
Not Much Is New Here
How to Save a Wounded Bird
Instructions for a Substitute Bus Driver
Eye. Arm. Leg. Heart.
Men Shoot Things to Kill Them
Snow Fever
Newspaper Clipping
Love Him, Petaluma
Grace
Not Much Is New Here
How to Save a Wounded Bird
Instructions for a Substitute Bus Driver
Eye. Arm. Leg. Heart.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
-
moon, July 5, 2007 (view all comments by moon)
It takes a very good writer to really carry one "novel" idea through her stories....Barry has done that....I want to go to that bar and watch the people from a back booth!
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asominski, June 30, 2007 (view all comments by asominski)
If I put out a summer list, well I should say if anyone was interested in my summer reading list other than myself, 'Later, at the Bar' would be at the top! I read this book over a period of one day and considered it a good day. It was entertaining, thought provoking and interesting, which is all it takes to make me like a book. The characters are believable, they made me think and hope that my neighbors and neighborhood bar should be so interesting. I look forward to all Rebecca Barry's future endeavors.
View all 2 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9781416535249
- Subtitle:
- A Novel in Stories
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Simon & Schuster
- Subject:
- Literary
- Subject:
- Short Stories (single author)
- Subject:
- New york (state)
- Subject:
- Bars (Drinking establishments)
- Subject:
- Stories (single author)
- Edition Description:
- Trade paper
- Publication Date:
- May 2007
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Grade Level:
- General/trade
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 224
- Dimensions:
- 7.27x5.32x.89 in. .58 lbs.
