Review of Bar Maid
Posted: 01 Jan 2022, 13:23
[Following is a volunteer review of "Bar Maid" by Daniel Roberts.]
Charlie Green, an 18 year old boy from New York City, is starting his freshman year of college with two objectives: drink a lot of alcohol and fall in love with a light-eyed girl. While practicing his first objective at a bar called the Sansom Street Oyster House, he meets a light-eyed, wild-haired, and free-spirited bar maid by the name of Paula. Throughout the novel, Charlie and Paula navigate young love, spiteful exes, and facing adulthood in late 1980s Pennsylvania.
Bar Maid is a witty, sarcastic, and hopeful novel following primarily Charlie’s perspective, although we do periodically see most of the other character’s perspectives as well. In my opinion, the humor truly carries the novel and adds a likable aspect that the novel would lack without it. The author’s intelligence and wit is clearly displayed through his writing and gives the novel an edge that I found endearing.
Despite the novel’s humor, I felt that the characters were difficult to like or even understand due to the lack of depth they were given. I was never truly able to figure Charlie out; which the author could have easily done on purpose because of Charlie’s age and spontaneity but I’m not sure if his audience would pick up on it. Many times throughout the novel, Paula’s characteristics and personality seemed to just say that she is an attractive woman; is quite flighty; and has dated lots of men. Most of the characters felt very shallow and almost like strangers throughout the entire book. There were also random obscure references to music, movies, and literature that felt to me as if the author periodically remembered that the novel was set in the late 1980s and needed to remind the reader of that fact as well.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. With more focus on developing the characters and their personalities, I truly think this novel could have been great. As I mentioned earlier in my review, the humor and wit really saved the book for me and a deeper characterization of everyone in the novel could’ve elevated the entire book to a new height. I believe this novel to have been professionally edited, as I did not find any errors throughout my reading.
I would recommend Bar Maid to adults who enjoy books that make them laugh and want romance that isn’t so sweet that it’ll make your teeth hurt. There is vulgar profanity, some sexual content, and heavy consumption of alcohol throughout the novel that steers my recommendation towards adults.
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Bar Maid
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Charlie Green, an 18 year old boy from New York City, is starting his freshman year of college with two objectives: drink a lot of alcohol and fall in love with a light-eyed girl. While practicing his first objective at a bar called the Sansom Street Oyster House, he meets a light-eyed, wild-haired, and free-spirited bar maid by the name of Paula. Throughout the novel, Charlie and Paula navigate young love, spiteful exes, and facing adulthood in late 1980s Pennsylvania.
Bar Maid is a witty, sarcastic, and hopeful novel following primarily Charlie’s perspective, although we do periodically see most of the other character’s perspectives as well. In my opinion, the humor truly carries the novel and adds a likable aspect that the novel would lack without it. The author’s intelligence and wit is clearly displayed through his writing and gives the novel an edge that I found endearing.
Despite the novel’s humor, I felt that the characters were difficult to like or even understand due to the lack of depth they were given. I was never truly able to figure Charlie out; which the author could have easily done on purpose because of Charlie’s age and spontaneity but I’m not sure if his audience would pick up on it. Many times throughout the novel, Paula’s characteristics and personality seemed to just say that she is an attractive woman; is quite flighty; and has dated lots of men. Most of the characters felt very shallow and almost like strangers throughout the entire book. There were also random obscure references to music, movies, and literature that felt to me as if the author periodically remembered that the novel was set in the late 1980s and needed to remind the reader of that fact as well.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. With more focus on developing the characters and their personalities, I truly think this novel could have been great. As I mentioned earlier in my review, the humor and wit really saved the book for me and a deeper characterization of everyone in the novel could’ve elevated the entire book to a new height. I believe this novel to have been professionally edited, as I did not find any errors throughout my reading.
I would recommend Bar Maid to adults who enjoy books that make them laugh and want romance that isn’t so sweet that it’ll make your teeth hurt. There is vulgar profanity, some sexual content, and heavy consumption of alcohol throughout the novel that steers my recommendation towards adults.
******
Bar Maid
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon