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120 of 122 found the following review helpful:
 Moehringer has captured "beauty" in his memoir about ruddy-faced, blue-collar barkeeps and hangers-on. Not to be missed! Mar 02, 2006
By Jessica Lux
This is one of those books that paralyzes the reviewer in its beauty. What can I say to convince you to read this book? Ideally, I'd just highlight every single line and make you read it.
It is nearly impossible to pin down one theme Moehringer's memoir is about: Fatherless boys? Working class moms trying to make ends meet? The search for a father figure in a crowd of bartenders? The genesis of a journalist, of a writer? The life of a blue-collar Yalie? Determining one's purpose in life? An intense character study of men in a bar? The rebellion of a son against his mom's intense love and support? Society's love affair with alcohol? In the end, this memoir is all of this and so much more, told in marvelous prose.
The author biography in the back jacket flap reveals that Moehringer is a Pulitzer Prize winner and national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. These facts will help buoy the reader when our author is failing out of Yale, failing at life, or struggling to get promoted beyond his hard-won copyboy position at the New York Times. Moehringer searches for purpose, reason, motivations, and positive reinforcement (other than from his mother). He especially struggles with his unpublished novel, which he worked on for close to a decade (and which I suspect became the basis for his memoir, since the novel was reportedly largely autobiographical).
This is one of those books one needs to own, for the underlining of critical passages and literary references to review again later. Be prepared to get intimate with the tough, ruddy-faced bartenders and barkeeps of Publicans (especially Uncle Charlie, who I have known in another body in my own life), and to put Steve's bar on the list of places to visit before you die.
49 of 50 found the following review helpful:
A poignant, heartfelt, and absorbing read Sep 13, 2005
By Bookreporter
Take one part CHARMING BILLY, a dash of Frank McCourt, add a shot of "Cheers," serve straight up, and you'll have the charming concoction that is THE TENDER BAR. J.R. Moehringer fondly reflects on his youth, however misspent, within the cooling shadows of the town's local bar.
In Manhasset, the place to go was Dickens (later renamed Publicans) on Plandome Road. Like the pubs of old, it was the place to celebrate, commiserate and pontificate. Sooner or later, everyone wound up at its door, thanks largely to its kind and commanding owner, Steve. In the mid-seventies, J.R. Moehringer was an adolescent badly in need of a father figure. His dedicated mother worked as many as three jobs to keep them on their feet. His grandparents were concerned but somewhat distant; his grandfather was downright abusive to everyone except little J.R., who was so named after his father, a radio disc jockey who has little to do with his son. Moehringer listens to his late-night radio broadcasts and refers to him only as "The Voice," a far away, unknowable being who flits in and out of his young son's life only briefly.
When he and his mother move to Arizona for better prospects and to be near their cousins, he finds himself lonelier than ever. His mother decides to send him back to his grandparents in Manhasset for the summer, and soon he gets his first taste of life around the bar. His Uncle Charlie, at his mother's request, starts taking little J.R. with him on excursions to the beach and to ball games, all of which culminate with a visit to "the Bar."
Finally, he finds what he has been looking for --- a family, albeit an unconventional one. Who wouldn't want to glean all he can from guys named Bobo, Joey D. and Colt? At long last, Moehringer feels as if he belongs somewhere; rather than bemoan his absent father, he finds many other men --- and in essence, the bar itself --- who step into the role of father for him.
Poignant and heartfelt, with just the right amount of sentimentality, THE TENDER BAR is an absorbing read that goes down nice and easy. Moehringer skillfully recreates life at the local bar and the colorful characters inside as a sort of celebration, almost memorializing a part of American life that doesn't exist the way it used to --- a sort of modern-day A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE for the 20th/21st century, while also serving as a homage to the powerful love between a mother and son, struggling to get by but still managing to enjoy a "Happy Hour" now and then.
--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller
71 of 78 found the following review helpful:
'Hall of Fame' Bartender says "Wow!" Aug 19, 2005
By Mark Pollman
Just finished reading 'The Tender Bar'.
"Wow" is not a strong enough word for this insight into humanity.
Maybe because of my friendship with McGraw, my growing up in taverns in southern Illinois, my over thirty years of international bartending and my over 5,000 Beverage/Literature library I might be a little more inclined to like this work that uses a drinking establishment as a vehicle to tell a story of growing up.
Moehringer reminds me of Pete Hamil, Art Buchwald and Malichi McCourt but with a more modern honesty for putting his gonads and family disruptions on the bar for all to see. Hopefully in another book my long list of questions about what happened to the great folks in his story will be answered.
Boy, did this old St. Louis bartender identify with Uncle Charlie.
If you are in the liquor industry or have ever been associated with saloons you will have one of your best reads in many, many years.
Thanks J.R., I'm waiting for your next books.
26 of 26 found the following review helpful:
an independent perspective Sep 01, 2005
By C. Vivian
Unlike two other reviewers, I don't know the author, the bar, the characters or the town. But I did bring up a boy (teenaged now) as a single mom so I guess that's my big connection. I LOVED this book. Mr. Moehringer has written about his family and friends in a way that just rings true. Having read many of the painful memoirs so popular in recent years, I found The Tender Bar refreshing in it's honesty, simplicity and most of all in it's humor. No families are normal, all families give you something, we all must rise above and find our own way, just like JR has.
26 of 27 found the following review helpful:
Genius. Oct 09, 2005
By Galen
I can't remember the last time I was so spellbound by a book. No one could talk to me while I was reading it--and I took my time finishing, because I didn't want it to end. It's sad, it's funny, it introduces characters I will never forget. It's both gorgeously written and page-turning. I can't pick a favorite scene--Bill and Budd, the agoraphobic booksellers? The father-son breakfast? The mad chase on Camelback Mountain? Mr. Salty? And the Epilogue blew me away. Read it and make everyone you know do the same.
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