Review of Bar Maid
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Claire2004
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Review of Bar Maid
[Following is a volunteer review of "Bar Maid" by Daniel Roberts.]
The first days of university. A new place, new people, a new start. Charlie Green has always dreamt of meeting a girl with light blue eyes on his first day of college to fall in love with. So when he first meets Paula, the beautiful barmaid at the Sansom Street Oyster House, he believes it is meant to be. What follows is an adventure as Charlie tries to win Paula’s heart and everything that follows.
Bar Maid contains a lot of unlikeable characters. The main character Charlie Green is a narcissist, misogynist and he is terribly selfish. He hurts every girl he comes into contact with and he never feels bad. Most of the time he doesn’t accept that it is his fault, that he is making the wrong decisions. At least he realizes at the end that he used to ruin everything, but he has not changed at all. He is still an unhappy cheater. I wished he would have left Paula alone at the end. He did not deserve her and she should’ve enjoyed the life she build without him. Paula is an insecure, naive girl. The other characters often describe her as incredibly smart and different, but she consistently makes horrible dumb decisions. The characters could’ve been very complex, but this book only touches on their surfaces, which is why all the characters just seem dull and unrealistic.
The book is categorized as a romance and a coming-of-age novel. This is not a romantic story. It’s about a guy who obsesses over a naive girl and corrupts her. He cheats on her and other women. What part of it was romantic? The fact that he fell for her the minute he laid eyes on her? That he says he would die for her shortly after they meet? Or was it the part when he said she overreacted after he cheated on her for the second time? I also wouldn’t classify it as a coming-of-age novel. Charlie doesn’t undergo big changes. He acts and thinks like a little child at the start and still does at the end. After the death of his mother, he seems to shift towards a more adult state, but he ruins this again before the end of the book when he uses Monica Miller as a placeholder for Paula.
Daniel Roberts does have a pleasing way of writing. I also liked the references to pop culture at the time. Even if the characters were horrible, the writing made the book somewhat readable. And there were no noticeable mistakes.
I honestly would not recommend this book to anyone. I don’t agree with the misogynistic views expressed in it and I fear that a guy is going to read this book and think that it is a romantic story, a normal way to treat a girl. Therefore, I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars.
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Bar Maid
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The first days of university. A new place, new people, a new start. Charlie Green has always dreamt of meeting a girl with light blue eyes on his first day of college to fall in love with. So when he first meets Paula, the beautiful barmaid at the Sansom Street Oyster House, he believes it is meant to be. What follows is an adventure as Charlie tries to win Paula’s heart and everything that follows.
Bar Maid contains a lot of unlikeable characters. The main character Charlie Green is a narcissist, misogynist and he is terribly selfish. He hurts every girl he comes into contact with and he never feels bad. Most of the time he doesn’t accept that it is his fault, that he is making the wrong decisions. At least he realizes at the end that he used to ruin everything, but he has not changed at all. He is still an unhappy cheater. I wished he would have left Paula alone at the end. He did not deserve her and she should’ve enjoyed the life she build without him. Paula is an insecure, naive girl. The other characters often describe her as incredibly smart and different, but she consistently makes horrible dumb decisions. The characters could’ve been very complex, but this book only touches on their surfaces, which is why all the characters just seem dull and unrealistic.
The book is categorized as a romance and a coming-of-age novel. This is not a romantic story. It’s about a guy who obsesses over a naive girl and corrupts her. He cheats on her and other women. What part of it was romantic? The fact that he fell for her the minute he laid eyes on her? That he says he would die for her shortly after they meet? Or was it the part when he said she overreacted after he cheated on her for the second time? I also wouldn’t classify it as a coming-of-age novel. Charlie doesn’t undergo big changes. He acts and thinks like a little child at the start and still does at the end. After the death of his mother, he seems to shift towards a more adult state, but he ruins this again before the end of the book when he uses Monica Miller as a placeholder for Paula.
Daniel Roberts does have a pleasing way of writing. I also liked the references to pop culture at the time. Even if the characters were horrible, the writing made the book somewhat readable. And there were no noticeable mistakes.
I honestly would not recommend this book to anyone. I don’t agree with the misogynistic views expressed in it and I fear that a guy is going to read this book and think that it is a romantic story, a normal way to treat a girl. Therefore, I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars.
******
Bar Maid
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Phobia Relief by Kalliope Barlis
