From the author's website:"In the grand tradition of landmark memoirs, The Tender Bar is suspenseful, wrenching, and achingly funny. A classic American story of self-invention and escape, of the fierce love between a single mother and an only son, it's also a moving portrait of one boy's struggle to become a man, and an unforgettable depiction of how men remain, at heart, lost boys. "
What I think is I need is...is to start reading happier books. I
rrespective of my depressing choice in reading material, this book really touched me. The young boy against all odds, gets into Yale believing he's finally made it only to feel ostracized by the new environment and is constantly pulled back to Manhasset where the familiar faces are drowned in high proof alcohol. It's like an addict finally kicking his habit and being released from rehab full of hopes, dreams and resolve to lead a better life...and then the prejudiced reality of those around him only drive him back to the once place he's been trying to leave behind. Sometimes it's true that no matter how hard you try, you can't get past those in your way...because there are those that are holding you back and those that won't let you in. The realization that sometimes trying and succeeding isn't enough becuase it only leaves you more alone.
Some touching passages from the book:
At different times I'd worried about harboring some dark attraction to failure
Against all odds, my team and I were no longer losers. My new life, my real life, my life as a winner, was under way at last
Though proud of me when I succeeded, the men celebrated me when I failes
...that it was healthy for a young man to distance himself from his mother, but in truth I was distancing myself from unfulfilled promises, from the awful guilt I felt over failint to take care of her
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