There’s an enduring charm to nostalgia-driven stories, provided the audience shares some chronological common ground with the source material. After all, who expects a zoomer and a boomer to have the same connection with a narrative set during the Summer of love? But every now and then, a novel transcends its built-in sentiment and connects with readers both young and old. With his debut novel, BAR MAID, Daniel Roberts makes a valiant attempt to do just that, offering a little something for just about everyone.
Set during the late eighties, BAR MAID opens in and around Philadelphia and centers on one Charlie Green, a hard-drinking, soon-to-be college student with far-flung notions of instant love on his mind. Following a summer full of alcohol-fueled hijinks, Charlie crosses paths with a waitress named Paula Henderson. A hopeless romantic, Charlie is immediately smitten, and Paula soon becomes the center of his universe. Unfortunately, the only thing standing between Charlie Green and his one true love is, well, Charlie Green. From the streets of Philly to the backroads of New Hope, Charlie wastes no attempt to self-sabotage his budding relationship. Luckily, Paula Henderson has a high tolerance for Charlie’s antics. But the question driving the third act of this story is just far Paula can be pushed before she’s had enough.
The heart of any novel is its protagonist. To that point, nearly every aspect of Charlie is, for lack of a better word, off-putting. Some readers will likely take offense to Green’s unflattering portrayal of Charlie and the occasionally problematic situations he continues to find himself in. While setting the story in another time and place provides Green with a cushion of context, some of Charlie’s actions (including a wince-inducing plot to coerce a sexual encounter with the aid of champagne) simply can’t be dismissed with a passing refrain of ‘boys will be boys.’ Regardless of the decade, ignorance and misogyny make for a rather unpleasant combination when so blatantly on display. Obviously, BAR MAID is a work of fiction, and there’s a mile-wide line between depicting and condoning. Still, Charlie’s complete lack of any measurable growth only adds to the sting accompanying the novel’s abrupt ending. Charlie’s only saving grace comes by way of his age. After all, who among us hasn’t clumsily misstepped while lost in the throes of a teenage romance?
The above notwithstanding, BAR MAID is a superbly written novel. Daniel Robert writes with a sense of confidence rarely found in a debut work. Be it his masterful use of imagery or the dark, satirical tinge coating nearly every line of dialogue, there’s a consistent and undeniable level of quality on display from cover to cover. Sure, there are some aspects of Charlie’s personality (namely, his brash attitude and nihilistic streak) that bear a passing resemblance to Holden Caulfield, but BAR MAID is hardly a transplanted retread. In fact, the only thing barring comparisons to other modern-day masterpieces (like Rooney’s Normal People or Chbosky’s Perks of Being a Wallflower) is Green’s overreliance on a rather unlikable protagonist.
A bold, occasionally-brazen debut, Daniel Roberts’ BAR MAID is marked by superb writing, tangible atmosphere, and a protagonist that readers will want to love, but probably hate.
~James Weiskittel for IndieReader