内容説明
Welcome to the Vinyl Cafe. Motto: "We May Not Be Big, But We're Small". Introducing Dave, owner of a downtown Toronto record store and his wife, Morley, and chronicling their valiant attempts to rise to the challenges of modern life. In these hymns to common foibles and absurdities, nothing ever quite goes according to plan. A sleepover for ten small boys ends abruptly after an inadvertent screening of 'The Night of the Zombies'; a family holiday is interrupted by a surprising feline discovery under the bonnet of the car; a balding guinea pig runs up a vet's bill for $563.30; and, preparations for Christmas dinner unexpectedly involve an electric blanket, a hair dryer, a bottle of scotch and a hotel bill. Along the way, Dave and Morley battle to maintain perspective on the idiosyncrasies of elderly parents, teenage children, friends, neighbours, and unannounced guests.
From Publishers Weekly
Colloquial, interlocking stories chronicle the ups and downs of a suburban Toronto couple in this warm-hearted latest by Canadian author and broadcast personality McLean (Stories from the Vinyl Café). "Holland" considers the courtship and marriage of Dave, the owner of the eponymous record store, and his wife, Morley; early differences in perspective (she thinks eating raw onions is gross; he can't stand those frou-frou chive snippets in his eggs) lead them to a spontaneous skating trip to Holland to cement their romance. "Sourdough" concerns what happens when a neighbor asks Dave to baby-sit the starter for his precious sourdough bread; the sweet, charming "Burd" charts the consequences of Dave's decision to feed an unlikely avian visitor. Dave's daughter and niece enter the picture in subsequent stories, and McLean includes funny scenes about holiday dinners and road trips as well as poignant thoughts about the inevitable failing of Dave and Morley's parents. McLean's natural flair for storytelling helps overcome the limitations of the Lake Wobegonesque conceit, and while he reaches for overly cute, contrived humor in several entries, the overall package is highly enjoyable.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。
