Last Call at Elaine's: A Journey From One Side Of the Bar to the Other

by Brian McDonald

Set in one of the great literary saloons of any generation, McDonald's story expertly weaves his relationship with New York icon, Elaine Kaufman, his struggle to stay clean, and his wild-eyed dreams of becoming a writer.

"…this story is as compelling as the stories of the writers who made Elaine's their home away from home." --Susan Cheever

Brian McDonald has a sharp eye and even a sharper ear for New York after dark." --Frank McCourt

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2008

About the author

Brian McDonald contributes frequently to New York City newspapers, including The New York Times. His first book, My Father's Gun, won critical raves and became the subject of a major History Channel documentary series. McDonald is also the author of Last Call at Elaine's, Indian Summer, and Safe Harbor: A Murder in Nantucket. He lives in Manhattan.

Reviews

[Christina M Rau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hearing stories about the celebs and social and political figures who drank and caroused through the years at Elaine's is a treat. Last Call At Elaine's reveals a lot of inside details about those celebs and also about the woman who ran the business. However, the book is torn between following those stories and following McDonald's own story of sobriety and lackthereof. His own life story intertwines with the stories of Elaine's because he tended bar there, and clearly these two stories should be woven together, but they don't pull together smoothly. They tug at each other, and then the last five chapters or so get to be a bit self-indulgent, glossing over the actual last call and the actual last rock bottom leading to sobriety.

Mixed in also is the author's story of becoming a writer, and this third piece, which again is clearly a part of this interesting life, does not work itself in gracefully. (Plus, he writes about what great editors he had, and so I couldn't help but notice the several typos throughout this particular book). This third theme is what leads to the self-indulgent part, overshadowing what the title of the book promises. Perhaps the subtitle and title should have been flip-flopped.

Dry by Augusten Burroughs is a smoother read if you're looking for tales of getting sober, but if you're looking for Elaine's inside scoop, read this and skim the parts about the author's own rise to writing fame.

[Duke Cullinan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Okay, not *totally* bad, but right off the bat, it comes off as a bit of bait and switch. (I guess I should have paid very strict attention to the full title.) Elaine's in New York was THE literary hangout/hub of Manhattan for decades; I believe one intrinsically expects a bartender's memoir to be lots of stories of the famous patrons. You do get a fair amount of such stories, but in a creeping sensation sort of way you begin to feel this is sooo much more about said bartender. It gets worse as it fully blossoms into the oh-so-typical tale of the addict's travails and quest for sobriety. Mix in lots of angst about his self-centered journey to becoming a writer, and what you end up with is a tedious account of his own narcissism, poisoned further by the developing realization (suspicion?) that he really is fairly talentless after all - save for the ability to ruthlessly mine the personal experiences of himself, family, and acquaintances, while also exploiting the favorable business and educational connections of those around him.

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. The author grew up not far from where I did and I have lived near the (sadly, now former) Elaine's for a number of years. However, the Kindle edition is a complete mess of what appears to be OCR scanning issues. Those aside, I didn't find him to be a likeable narrator and found myself irritated at him more often than not, although I recognize addiction is an ugly beast. I think there were moments I was supposed to be proud of his ingenuity - housing court for one - but it just seemed sad. I was impressed with his ability, while sober, to get two degrees in journalism. I did enjoy the stories of the people who made Elaine's, including Elaine herself. There's are many good books about Elaine's, this one sadly isn't one.

[Jerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is so unfortunate that there were so many errors due to the use of spellcheck instead of a proofreader. One time "tenant" was substituted for "tenet." The articles "a" and "the" were either inserted or missing on many occasions. These and other errors interfered with the enjoyment of the book.

[Dale Stonehouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans of American literary royalty, this book is must reading. Those who are also familiar with New York City and perhaps Elaine's, and/or or its namesake owner, even more so. There is an all-star cast of authors in this account of the author's years working at Elaine's while struggling to find a writing career and battling substance abuse. The writing is good, but seems to be a bit more concerned with hyperbole than may be necessary.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun memoir about Elaine's, the legendary restaurant in New York, and the formidable woman who ran it -- Elaine herself -- who helped enable the writer's transformation from bartender/addict to accomplished writer.

[Dennis Willingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alcoholic works as a bartender, gets sober, finds a job at Elaine's goes to college, becomes a writer, starts drinking again, almost looses it all and gets sober again. A lot going on in Brian's life.