Later, at the Bar by Rebecca Barry (2007)
Contemporary Fiction, 189 pages
Published by Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
Usually I would place a blurb here about the book from it’s cover or jacket. However, inside there’s a description about the book by Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers and The Good Thief. I liked it so much, I’ll quote her instead:
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.
The tavern in Barry’s story was founded by Lucy, who nurtured it because she “loved live music and dancing and understood people who liked longing more than they did love” and in doing so, “it became the center of the community.”
However it is not merely the center: it’s the lynch-pin.
(more…)
