Quick Book Reviews Blog

Glorified in books and movies since it was possible, the idea of escaping the comfort and safety of your home and put yourself at risk to aimlessly travel the country (or even the world) has become somewhat a staple of North American culture, as well as many other places on Earth. The idea behind it is to learn about how the world really works, about what it means to survive when left to your own devices, and about how far you can push yourself. Many see it as a major coming-of-age moment, as is the case in Ivan Doig's Last Bust to Wisdom .

The Bartender’s Tale by Ivan Doig starts off fairly quaintly and innocently, as we are taken into the mind of Russel “Rusty” Harry, an old man who yanks us back all the way to the 1960s, when he was but a boy living in a small town in Montana called Gros Ventre (fat belly in French). He and his father, Tom Harry, led a quiet life as the latter spent his time running the bar, one some qualified as the best in Montana (exaggeratingly of course).