By Gianna Toboni
J.R. Moehringer’s The Tender Bar presents a cast of characters so engaging you will want to jump on the next train to Long Island to hang out with them in their favorite pub. This memoir tells about a young boy’s struggle without a father and how a comforting and immensely diverse neighborhood bar takes him in. Growing up in Manhasset, J.R. lives from pay check to pay check, constantly feeling guilty for being unable to support his mother. Through writing this memoir, J.R. Moehringer contacted a number of old friends and got their stories, allowing this grand tale to come alive with the sounds, smells and laughs of Dicken’s – the bar next door. The second I finished this unmatched piece of art, I read every updated bibliography on Moehringer, sent the book home to my family with a post-it reading “READ THIS NOW,” and called a friend to tell him about it; my friend has never read a book in his life, and I called him the following day to hear him mumble “have to call you back, finishing up page 290.” You will cry a lot, laugh even more and want to pick it up again the second you finish it.
Best Book Ever… 5 out of 5