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The Assault on Tony's by John O'Brien
Book Summary InformationAuthor: John O'Brien Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 1997-12-08 ISBN: 0802135420 Number of pages: 224 Publisher: Grove Press
Book Reviews of The Assault on Tony'sBook Review: Sweet Little Combination Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I've always been a fan of the "end of the world" scenarios. Ranging from Romero's zombie trilogy to anything with nuclear war, and this was a beautiful little twist on it. Told from the point of view of hard core alcoholics. Only work I've read by O'Brien, and I was quite impressed, it's a shame he's not around to keep writing, and expanding his skills. The last paragraph of the book was just perfect. And his sister's afterword is very moving.
Summary of The Assault on Tony'sThe Assault on Tony's is an unapologetic, unsentimental, and at times exuberant examination of the joys and sorrows of intoxication, combining the inimitable unflinching eye and grim wit of John O'Brien, author of Leaving Las Vegas. Barricaded in a bar called Tony's while a riot rages outside, the characters that people The Assault on Tony's are united by their desire to drink to the end, no matter what the consequences. In this stark and darkly humorous novel, social alliances are forged and challenged as each member of this macabre party ignores his fears in favor of keeping his tumbler full to the brim. As time goes on and the liquor supply starts to dwindle, the novel reaches a gritty intensity as it exposes the highs and lows of the human spirit. John O'Brien's first novel, Leaving Las Vegas, which was turned into an Oscar-winning movie, focused on the despair of the alcoholic; so too does this second novel, but with an even darker vision. O'Brien killed himself before he finished it (his sister, Erin, wrote the conclusion from his notes). The book is set in the near future, in Tony's bar, with the world outside consumed in a fury of race violence. While the pressures of that world impinge on the middle-class white barflys at Tony's, their main concern is the supply of booze. Passionate and wrenching.
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