The Last Cafe

Rating:
Summary: Laughs served up at THE LAST CAFE
Review: 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.