Customer Reviews

The Last Cafe

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3 star:		(1)
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A group of eccentric travelers are stranded by a killer blizzard at a small cafe in the middle of nowhere for two memorable days in this delightfully funny and touching novel by Kevin Cahill.

Narrating the events at THE LAST CAFE is Morton Poom, the town's local famous poet who fancies himself a mystery writer (and a very bad one at that). Poom introduces us to the strangers who seek refuge from the storm, among them the wealthy and snobbish Victor Spoils and his gin-swilling wife, Muffin; a sweet English Scholar, Linda Love; and a grimy biker only known as The Thief.

Among the locals are Myrna Zeligman, the elderly, chain-smoking cafe owner; Raoul Goldblum, Myrna's Jewish-Mexican cook; Elsa, the Last Cafe's overweight and nosey waitress; Carl G. 'Bud' Moore Jr. II, a gas pump attendant with some damaged gray matter; Sheriff Bill Fish, the one-eyed lawman with an itchy trigger finger; Quiet Dave, enigmatic owner of Dave's Guns and Gifts (who hasn't uttered a word in twenty years); Ivon Poom, Morton's grumpy father; and Bob The Dog, a gentle Doberman who carries on deeply philosophical discussions with the narrator Poom.

Cahill's quickly paced style is peppered with witty and hilarious dialogue that briskly leads the plot through each character's life story, and intertwines new relationships that grow through the passing hours. We learn about life and its many crossroads, as the Last Cafe slowly transforms into a metaphor for a stopping point where important decisions must be made before one can continue the journey of life.

THE LAST CAFE will make you both laugh and cry as Cahill's wonderful characters reveal their fragile yet durable spirit.

The fantastic characters and funny dialogue set the pace for this overly long tale of strangers stranded by a storm in a small cafe. Small towns and the local cafe are favorites and this interesting assortment keeps you reading through the asides and repeats of thoughts with the irritating "I told you this."
Bob, the dog is priceless and should make a second curtain call in another story. He has a better grip on reality than the strangers who meld in an elastic theme for two days until the storm passes.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Some books need to be read more than once. The Last Cafe is deeper than the snow piled up outside. Try staccato dialogue that shifts from stream-of-consciousness to hard reality, and back; fleshed-out metaphorical characters, a dog who quotes Shakespeare, and an unreliable narrator with a penchant for re-shaping reality to suit the moment. Witty, touching, sometimes sad, and often hilarious, this may be on the surface a tale of stranded travelers waiting out a blizzard, but if you read twice you'll find more. Much more. It's not for the TV crowd, because you have to think while you're reading. These days, that's a challenge for most.