The Pint Man - by Steve Rushin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A funny and endearing novel about the comforts of a never-ending adolescence and the glories of Guinness.

For Rodney Poole, a friendly and unassuming lover of clever wordplay and television sports of all stripes, Boyle's Irish Pub is a haven of good cheer, pleasantly pointless conversation, elaborate jokes, heated trivia contests, well-poured pints, and familiar faces. The pressures and demands of the outside world hold no sway there- the crowd at Boyle's is his family, and with family all sins are forgiven.

But reality cannot be kept at bay forever, and now Rodney's best friend and partner in inertia, Keith, is getting married and moving to Chicago. Since Rodney has for the most part enjoyed his bachelorhood vicariously through Keith, the prospect of being single, middle-aged, unemployed, and without his pal to while away the nights with is causing Rodney to rethink--or rather, create--his priorities.

When Keith introduces him to the lovely Mairead (rhymes with parade), a cheerful career woman who seems to enjoy his bad puns, ambitionless nature, and love of literature, Rodney can spy an honorable path to grown-up-hood at last. But a series of comic mishaps jeopardize his budding relationship with Mairead, his friendship with Keith, and most serious of all, his place on a barstool in the idyllic world of Boyle's.

Review Quotes

"An exceedingly enjoyable first novel....it's Rushin's narrative voice, guileless, digressive, and ribald, riddled with wordplay and trivia, that makes this such a pleasure.....great company for an evening, with or without a pint at your elbow."--Booklist

"What sets the work apart is Rodney's sharp wit....Rushin emerges as one of the sharpest wits on the scene"--Publishers Weekly

"THE PINT MAN is clever, bracing, and full of laughs. Steve Rushin proves to be a master juggler of words, a mischievous crossword-puzzler run amok."
--Carl Hiaasen, author of The Downhill Lie and Nature Girl

"I had so much fun reading THE PINT MAN. Rushin can do more tricks with words than Houdini with locks. There's nobody in America like him. I would put him up against Ogden Nash-and spot Nash half the alphabet."
--Rick Reilly, author of Who's Your Caddy? and the upcoming Sports From Hell

"Steve Rushin's The Pint Man is a wisecracking, rib-shaking, beer-stained, warm-hearted romp of a novel about a Midtown ne'er-do-well adrift in that elastic period between post-adolescence and manhood. It's the literary equivalent to Happy Hour at some dreamy shambles of an Irish bar: a raucous carnival of laughter, gruff camaraderie, insults, arguments, languishment, romance, more laughter, blurred reflection, big sloppy hugs, and endless rounds of beer. Anyone who's ever fallen head-over-heels in love with a bar will fall just as hard for this book."
--Jonathan Miles, author of Dear American Airlines

"Steve Rushin has written a very funny book that's also unexpectedly deep and poignant. And just so it's clear, I wrote this blurb while completely sober."
--A.J. Jacobs, author of The Know-it All and The Year of Living Biblically

Praise for Steve Rushin

"His work is imaginative, quirky, and insightful..... it is a pleasure to encounter a writer who seeks out the humanity and humor in competition."--Booklist

"One of the most agile essayists around."
- Publishers Weekly

"Riotous"--Esquire

"A real delight"--USA Today

"Rushin can cull a chortle from a cat." -Denver Post

"Rushin's wide-ranging cultural references and casually witty writing style appeal to both insiders and outsiders . . . This is modern literature, wearing broken-in sneakers."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

About the Author

STEVE RUSHIN, the author of the nonfiction books Road Swing and The Caddie Was a Reindeer, wrote a beloved weekly column called Air & Space for Sports Illustrated from 1998 to 2007. He and his wife, Rebecca Lobo, live in Connecticut with their three children.