Callahan's Crosstime Saloon

A book about puns, darts, group therapy, and weird happenings at a grungy Irish bar.

Now, I'm not going to rip into the book, but I just couldn't enjoy it at all. I think I'm just too old, and I've been in and out of too many bars over the last decade for any of this bar therapy to make sense. I get that it's repeatedly highlighted that it's so unque, especially at very end of the book, but that doesn't make it any easier to relate to. It's a juvenile, romantic ideal of a kind of sappy Cheers that appeals to anyone lost and lonely, but reality is quite a bit harsher and gruffer.Lu's I've got to admit I hardly recognized any of the beers or other brands mentioned, which have long since disappeared, so that sense of place is severed. On the other hand, there is still some sense of time, especially with the "time traveller's" story.

Worse than that, the stories become extremely formulaic laid end to end. Start with a buzzing good time and a few bad jokes, someone gets serious or throws open the door, long story about heartache, loneliness, and despair, uplifting conclusion and group hug that makes it all better. All Robinson left out is singing kumbaya at the end.

I wasn't as amused or sickened by the puns as most people, They just didn't strike me, some I could see coming and others were just snort-worthy, but the reputation let me down. I was expecting more Jon Stewart. Your attitude toward puns will probably completely influence whether this book is for you.

I would strongly recommend this to any geeky or nerdy teen boy. It's as relevant now as it was 40 years ago, and that period is probably when they most need that message of hope.