The Bartender's Tale Audiobook By Ivan Doig cover art

The Bartender's Tale

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The Bartender's Tale

By: Ivan Doig
Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
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About this listen

Audie Award Nominee, Fiction, 2013

Time and again, Ivan Doig has proven himself to be a treasure of American letters. Critical darlings and New York Times best sellers, his novels target the heart of the human experience and never miss the mark.

The Bartender' s Tale stars Tom Harry and his 12-year-old son, Rusty, who live alone and run a bar in a small Montana town in the early 1960s. Their lives are upended when Proxy, a woman from Tom's past, and her beatnik daughter, Francine, breeze into town. Is Francine, as Proxy claims, the unsuspected legacy of her and Tom’s past? Without a doubt she is an unsettling gust of the future, upending every certainty in Rusty’s life and generating a mist of passion and pretense that seems to obscure everyone’s vision but his own.

As Rusty struggles to decipher the oddities of adult behavior and the mysteries build toward a reckoning, Ivan Doig wonderfully captures how the world becomes bigger and the past becomes more complex in the last moments of childhood.

©2012 Ivan Doig (P)2012 Recorded Books
Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Westerns
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What listeners say about The Bartender's Tale

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The Bartender's Tale By Ivan Doig Is A Richly Detailed Coming-of-age Story Set In 1960s Montana. It Follows The Life Of Rusty, A Young Boy Being Raised By His Father, Tom, Who Runs A Local Bar. The Narrative Is Praised For Its Compelling Storytelling, Vividly Drawn Characters, And Heartwarming Depiction Of The Father-son Relationship. Doig's Evocative Descriptions Of The Montana Setting And Its Colorful Locals Are Also Widely Appreciated. However, Some Readers Found The Pacing Too Slow, The Protagonist's Voice Unsophisticated, And The Plot Lacking In Action Or A Climactic Event. Overall, It Is A Poignant Tale That Explores Themes Of Growing Up, Family Bonds, Small-town Dynamics, And The Power Of Oral Histories And Storytelling.
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Fantastic story!

This story really gave me a special feeling, having myself grown up in a small town in Montana at about the same time, the remeninces were in full. High Definition. The narathon was outstanding.

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entertaining and historically interesting

this story both entertained and inspired me to want to visit historic fort peck reservoir

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Captured me!

This is the second book that I have read by Ivan Doig, The Whistling Season being the first one. I am now a big fan of this author. He is an amazing story teller and I will seek out his other books. This story was enchanting and well crafted. Character development is excellent and I get to know and love the people he writes about. Wholesome stories are a welcome addition to my life and this author is a winner on that front!

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Great story read by a great reader

This ranks up there with one of the best books I have listened to on Audible.

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What a gem!

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Characters you won't likely forget. Language that stays with you and you wish you could replicate. Ivan Doig is a wonder.

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Beautifully written and read!

Do not miss this charming coming of age story of a quaint time. Interesting characters with depth and wit.

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Very entertaining as an audio book

Very well acted and an interesting story. I enjoy books about Montana, sheep herding, and good men.

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Wonderful discovery

After listening to and loving The Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig I listened to this one - absolutely loved it. Beautifully written with fully drawn characters I truly grew to care for and a well paced plot, it was a pleasure from start to finish. Highly recommend.

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Awesome!

Just discovered Ivan Diog. Can’t wait to read (listen to) many more! Thank you Audible.

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Love this book. I was age 12 in 1960 too...

Love this book. I was age 12 in 1960 too. One of my all time favorite books. Thank you, Ivan...Mark

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