A Girl walked into the bar. What a great opening line. Right away it had me asking questions.This is the fourth Patchett novel I have read and one of her earliest. While not as good as Bel Canto or State of Wonder it is still a very enjoyable read.
John Nickel lives in Memphis and is an ex jazz drummer and current bar manager. The girl that walks into his bar is Fay Taft and through her we meet her brother Carl. John over identifies with these two troubled teenagers who have recently and very suddenly lost their father. Perhaps this is because John’s on again, off again, girlfriend Marion has relocated to Miami, thereby separating him from his own young son.
Over time John’s involvement with Fay and Carl takes him down a twisted, dangerous path and he begins to obsess over the imagined life and death of their Father.
This story meets it’s conclusion in a very open ended way so if you are one of those people that want all their questions answered and all the ends tied up, this one will likely frustrate you. As for me I found it to be quite a stunning achievement.