Cocktail (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Brian Flanagan is one of today’s culture heroes â€" a sophisticated journeyman bartender who can seduce a waitress while mixing a perfect martini, and simultaneously regale his patrons with his acerbic view of the world. So why is he unemployed, broke and alone? Brian’s odyssey takes him from Manhattan’s fashionable East Side celebrity bars to Fire Island hot spots, from Caribbean resorts to the latest Tribeca in-place, always looking for true love or a hustle, whichever comes first, and usually winding up with neither. The action comes fast, and the repartee comes faster, crackling with the bitter wit of a frustrated romantic. As refreshing as an ice cold beer in a dark saloon, as powerful as a kamikaze cocktail on an empty stomach, Cocktail is a colorful caravan of people engaged in a frantic search for happiness, recorded by a cynical observer â€" Brian Flanagan â€" who against his better judgment repeatedly enters the fray and takes his place as one of modern fiction’s most memorable characters. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 337 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (September 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312146337
• ISBN-13: 978-0312146337
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #941,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Cocktail" by H. Gould, November 9, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Miami Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cocktail (Mass Market Paperback)

Although changed for the movie, the original book, "Cocktail" dipped into the near psychotic ravings of a middle aged bartender who had seen one too many last-calls. Each page is riviting with the colorful dramatization unique to Gould. Having been a world traveled bartender for 10 years now, I was amazed and thrilled to see an incredibly accurate insight into the thrilling yet seedy existance of a part-time job gone career. A must read for anyone who has ever looked at a clever, hot-shot bartender and thought that he had it made. Change the names and list this novel under non-fiction. Two thumbs up from bartenders everywhere!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading for anyone into the bar scene., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cocktail (Mass Market Paperback)

A former bartender myself, I found the book to be very insightful, and humerous as it followed the life of a career bartender trying to make the most out of his situation. This book gives a very truthful look at the life behind the Neon of the bar.

5.0 out of 5 stars For the drunk in all of us..., August 3, 2006

By	T. D. Hedrick (L.A., CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've bought this book many, many times, because I always recommend it and people always keep it. Put the movie out of your mind. This is a gritty, hilarious, tragic story about what it means to make your living poisoning others and spend your spare time poisoning yourself. Redemption is available, but it's not cheap, and maybe not even wanted.