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Taft
by
Ann Patchett
John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft -- Fay and Carl's dead father -- and begins to reconstruct the...more
Paperback, 246 pages
Published
March 1st 2003
by Harper Perennial
(first published October 1st 1994)
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A Girl walked into the bar. What a great opening line. Right away it had me asking questions.
This is the fourth Patchett novel I have read and one of her earliest. While not as good as Bel Canto or State of Wonder it is still a very enjoyable read.
John Nickel lives in Memphis and is an ex jazz drummer and current bar manager. The girl that walks into his bar is Fay Taft and through her we meet her brother Carl. John over identifies with these two troubled teenagers who have recently and very su...more
This is the fourth Patchett novel I have read and one of her earliest. While not as good as Bel Canto or State of Wonder it is still a very enjoyable read.
John Nickel lives in Memphis and is an ex jazz drummer and current bar manager. The girl that walks into his bar is Fay Taft and through her we meet her brother Carl. John over identifies with these two troubled teenagers who have recently and very su...more
I did enjoy reading this book, but I cannot resist comparing it to Patchett's later work, Bel Canto , which was a shining example for her. It is for this reason dificult for me to give this novel a 4 star rating, but a 3.5 would be quite adequate.
As one can easily see from the description given about this book, it involves a man named John Nickel. He is an ex-jazz musician, running a barroom. His girlfriend has left him, taking their beloved son. Much of the time, John seems unfocused and in a d...more
As one can easily see from the description given about this book, it involves a man named John Nickel. He is an ex-jazz musician, running a barroom. His girlfriend has left him, taking their beloved son. Much of the time, John seems unfocused and in a d...more
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What a total surprise this book was! I'd never heard of it before stumbling over it at Goodwill. Bel Canto had such beautiful writing (though there were times the slowness drove me a bit batty) that I just had to pick it up.
It was wonderful. A story of a father's love in two families. The characters and relationships rich and satisfying, though I wanted to smack both Fay and CArl at various times for thier thick headed stubborn ways.
A couple of passages grabbed me- because of how Patchett captu...more
It was wonderful. A story of a father's love in two families. The characters and relationships rich and satisfying, though I wanted to smack both Fay and CArl at various times for thier thick headed stubborn ways.
A couple of passages grabbed me- because of how Patchett captu...more
Ann Pratchett has the ability to create characters that are both unusual and believable. Each of her novels I have read have been unique. This description definitely describes Taft. Taft whose young son has moved away with his mother to Florida and Taft misses his son. Without his son to help care for, he is left with the bar he manages. When a young woman name Fay applies for a job at the bar, Taft hires her even though he is unsure whether she is old enough to work there. Her brother, Carl, sh...more
In Taft, Patchett takes on the character of a black man. And does it well, as best as I can tell. In her notes about this book, she says she tried out narration from many different characters' points of view and when she tried John Nickel's it fell into place. She also considers this novel the poor stepchild, the forgotten one, compared to her other books.
It's a remarkable tale, about a young white girl, Fay Taft, who asks to be a waitress at the bar managed by Nickel. He hires her, finds she is...more
It's a remarkable tale, about a young white girl, Fay Taft, who asks to be a waitress at the bar managed by Nickel. He hires her, finds she is...more
Taft by Ann Patchett is a gently written story that I enjoyed immensely.
A girl walked into a bar. This is a provocative opening to the story. It instantly brought up questions. How old? Why did she walk into the bar?
Who is she?
The bar is managed by John Nickles. John is black and had been a jazz musician. He lost his son who had given meaning to his life as the boys mother had before she conceived. When John was finally ok with it the situation was already to late.
John Nickel is frought with d...more
A girl walked into a bar. This is a provocative opening to the story. It instantly brought up questions. How old? Why did she walk into the bar?
Who is she?
The bar is managed by John Nickles. John is black and had been a jazz musician. He lost his son who had given meaning to his life as the boys mother had before she conceived. When John was finally ok with it the situation was already to late.
John Nickel is frought with d...more
Not my favorite Ann Patchett novel. As always, Patchett is skillful in her character development but there were some major faultlines with the plot. A very young-looking 17 year old white girl walks into a blues bar managed by a black middle-aged, former musician. He hires her on the spot. What? Why? She looks too young (and is!) and he's been around the block to know that this can be trouble. Her almost-twin brother, Carl, hangs out with her and looks like trouble but John lets him take up spac...more
I am amused so many are struck by her starting the book with, "A girl walks into a bar." This is clever? This is the start of a joke. It is, of course, a move that changes all the lives within, but nonetheless, I'm not sure I fully connect to the emphasis placed upon it.
Which doesn't mean I think the book itself is a joke. I just think the attention could be turned to the ways in which Patchett examines relationships, particularly that of the father-son and partially that of the mother-daughter....more
Which doesn't mean I think the book itself is a joke. I just think the attention could be turned to the ways in which Patchett examines relationships, particularly that of the father-son and partially that of the mother-daughter....more
Ann Patchett is amazing, she writes so well no matter what voice, or subject, or format. I don't know the American South but reading Taft I felt it like I was in it. It was such an effortless, enjoyable read, I have to put all her books on my to-read list pronto.
The story is mostly about fatherhood but also touches on jazz and race and relationships in general. The story mostly takes place at a bar in Memphis that John (a black ex-jazz drummer) runs, where he hires a young white waitress named...more
The story is mostly about fatherhood but also touches on jazz and race and relationships in general. The story mostly takes place at a bar in Memphis that John (a black ex-jazz drummer) runs, where he hires a young white waitress named...more
It was good as a story about fathers trying to do what's best for and protect their kids. I read it mostly to find out what happens to the children in the story, hoping that they'll be okay. Two of the kids in the story are seriously struggling after the loss of their father and it was touching to watch the last days of their family as happy through the eyes of their father.
I had difficulty falling in love with the main character (a different father) and a couple of times he seemed to do things...more
I had difficulty falling in love with the main character (a different father) and a couple of times he seemed to do things...more
This is my third Ann Patchett novel (Run and Bel Canto) and each time I totally fall in love with her. She has such enormous love and respect and generosity of spirit for her characters, shown even as bad things happen, that I want... I don't know, like I want to live in one her books. Or have Patchett be my god. Or marry her, Anyway, the plot of Taft: our narrator is Nickel, a thirty-plus, one-time blues drummer, black, bar manager in Memphis with a nine-year-old son who he doesn't see nearly e...more
I picked this book up because I loved Bel Canto and because it's set in Memphis, where I'll be living in a few months. The story is told from the viewpoint of John Nickel, a black man who manages a bar called Muddy's. Once a talented drummer, Nickel has given up his musical dreams in favor of a steady job. He wants to be a good father but the mother of his nine-year-old son has moved to Miami with the boy. When Nickel hires a new waitress, a young white woman from east Tennessee, he begins to im...more
I liked the second half of this book much, much more than the first--the plot got going, and I think Ann Patchett settled into her characters, particularly the departed (and mesmerizing) Taft. In the opening, I thought the main character felt strained. I don't know if that's because Patchett (a young white woman) was struggling to find the voice of Nickel (a middle-aged black man), but I kept encountering these moments where I thought the narrative was trying too hard ("Look! I do know what it's...more
I didn't love this book as much as I loved State of Wonder. To me, Taft felt more than occasionally like a "contemplating your navel" book. It was beautifully written with well-drawn characters, but... I struggled to really relate to the story. And I certainly didn't love the ending. When I heard Ann Patchett speak, she said a difference between commercial fiction and literary fiction was the reader's experience. With commercial fiction, readers all experience it in basically the same way. Liter...more
I would give this 3 1/2 starsif I could.
This is my least favorite of Patchett's books. The pace was slow, the writing not as refined or lyrical as her others. As usual, however, her characters come to life in a way that has stayed with me.
The book begins, "A girl walked into the bar. " I both love that and am annoyed by it.
Patchett has a piece about the book in the reading guide, in which she says, "When people ask me which of my own books I like best, chances are I'm going to say Taft, the sam...more
This is my least favorite of Patchett's books. The pace was slow, the writing not as refined or lyrical as her others. As usual, however, her characters come to life in a way that has stayed with me.
The book begins, "A girl walked into the bar. " I both love that and am annoyed by it.
Patchett has a piece about the book in the reading guide, in which she says, "When people ask me which of my own books I like best, chances are I'm going to say Taft, the sam...more
I liked this book. It's about on the level with Run, another good book. The study of a dysfunctional family looks at a variety of failures by parental figures, but it also looks at the love and commitment that transcends these failures. I love her commitment to writing about things outside of her personal experience. Again, there are probably good books by black authors about similar situations. There are novels written by people from Memphis, but she is trying to learn about others by writing a...more
This was the only book that Ann Patchett has written that I had not read. I believe this is her second book and not one you usually hear about when her name comes up. I have been wanting to read it for some time an was able to get it through my library's interlibrary loans since it was not one my library owned. It is a story of John Nickles, a black former jazz musician who is presently running a bar in Memphis. He is a father whose child has been taken to Miami by his mother. A young white girl...more
May 24, 2010
Ruth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who love a good read; Patchet is incredible
Shelves:
fiction
246 pages. Donated 2010 May.
John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft—Fay and Carl's dead father—and begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met. But his sympathies for these lost souls soon take him down a twisting path...more
John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft—Fay and Carl's dead father—and begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met. But his sympathies for these lost souls soon take him down a twisting path...more
John Nickel, a former drummer who runs a Memphis bar, gets a little too close to one of his waitresses and her brother, both troubled teens who have lost their father. I am a huge fan of Patchett's and somehow I missed this one, so I went back and read it. Unfortunately, I did not love this as much as some of her other books. Nickel is one of those characters who is continually making questionable judgement calls - it was like a horror movie where you can see what's coming and want to yell at th...more
This is a lovely little read about the parallels of two men who never met and never will. A young black man (John)who runs a bar and is trying to make sense of his life after making sacrifices for love and family and a white man (Taft) who has children young and is working hard to try and make ends meet. When Taft dies suddenly is family is thrown into chaos and his two young children cross paths with John and their lives become entwined, complicated and simple as both men are haunted by the oth...more
Last year I decided that I loved Anne Patchett so much that I loaded all her fiction title that I had not read on to my iPad. This is the last of those books. This is the second work of fiction that she authored but her ability to develop a character was very strong in they book. John Nickel and Taft, the father of Carl and Fay. Nickel constructs the life of Taft as he interacts with Fay a young waitress he hires and is attracted to, and her brother who is a very dark personality.
Like all Anne...more
Like all Anne...more
Patchett is a wonderful writer, and this is an excellent, unique sort of book. She gets deep under the skin of several characters who are not only different from her, the author (the narrator is a black man, John Nickel, a musician who manages a bar) but very different from each other. Some of the characters are imagined by Nickel. The story revolves around two families in Memphis, one white, one black, who meet when Nickel hires a white girl as a waitress for his bar. Themes cover being a paren...more
I have loved reading all of Ann Patchett's books and although this was her second novel, I read it last. The characters were interesting and the story evolved however, in the end, I felt that not all was resolved. Maybe she intended an ending where the reader would think about the characters and surmise what they would do next. I feel left hanging, like I would like to know a little more about what happened to them. Time will tell. Maybe I'll think about this book more than her other ones becaus...more
Probably my least favourite of Ann Patchett's novels, which is to say still incredibly good. Fabulous writing, and the character of John Nickel is well-drawn and engaging. Fay Taft is a little precious -- sweet and vulnerable but tough-as-nails, almost too perfect -- she's the closest to a type that I've ever found in one of Patchett's books. It feels more like a vignette or novelette than a novel. I'm curious as to what made Patchett choose to write a book with a black man as the main character...more
I made the mistake of reading other reviews of this book before I wrote mine, and once again the reviews proved that I never seem to have the same opinion as mainstream America. All of my favorite foods have disappeared from shelves, all of my favorite tv shows are canceled, my favorite Idol singers are panned, and not many people seem to like my favorite books, such as Taft, by Ann Patchett.
It is no secret that I believe Patchett to be a premiere writer of this generation. Her novel, Taft, foll...more
It is no secret that I believe Patchett to be a premiere writer of this generation. Her novel, Taft, foll...more
Starting this novel, I had no idea what it was about, I just knew it would be good because it was written by Ann Patchett. And so it was. I could not put it down. Nickel is an honest, real character. He's one of those characters who has opportunity to do the wrong thing, and you're hoping he'll do the right thing because you like him so much. Also intertwined with Nickel's story, is the story of Taft and his relationship with his children. Fathers and their children is not often written about so...more
I liked Taft, although it wasn't my favorite of Ann Patchett's books. As usual, she starts with a weird premise ... in this case, a thirtysomething bar manager missing his son (who lives with an estranged ex-girlfriend); the bar manager gets all tangled up with the complicated lives of a teenaged brother-sister duo. There wasn't a lot in here I could relate to - the family and romantic relationships were very out-there, and somehow none of the characters won my sympathy.
Bel Canto, Patron Saint...more
Bel Canto, Patron Saint...more
John Nickel, an up and coming blues drummer met a girl, Marion and began seeing each other. Theirs was a fairy tale love story but as time passed, no matter how much love and affection Marion gave to John he found himself being nothing more than cruel towards her. Marion was eighteen and John was twenty-five when Marion happily announced she was pregnant. Throughout her pregnancy Marion clung to John only to be shunned by him. When her water broke she found her way to a phone and called John to...more
Taft is Ann Patchett's second novel out of an oeuvre of six (plus a few non-fiction works). To date, I had read all her other novels; this was my final one to read. If you've followed my previous reviews, you know by now that I love her work, but I have to say this is my least favorite.
Patchett has a formula—that is not a bad thing. She twists the stories so well that it's difficult to lump them into any single category. Patchett likes to throw total strangers into a bowl and see how they mix. I...more
Patchett has a formula—that is not a bad thing. She twists the stories so well that it's difficult to lump them into any single category. Patchett likes to throw total strangers into a bowl and see how they mix. I...more
Taft is not Ann Patchett's strongest work - and even she's admitted that Taft is not the best title for a novel. However, Taft is still a good read. It's a story primarily of fatherhood and loyalty - however misplaced. I've read all of Patchett's books, starting with the non-fiction Truth and Beauty, and think that Patchett is one of the best novelists writing today. She has a gift for language and is poetic without being thick. She also knows how to weave a story. Her characters, even those tha...more
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Ann Patchett is an American author. She received the Orange Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2002 for her novel Bel Canto. Patchett's other novels include The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, and The Magician's Assistant, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and received the Nashville Banner Tennessee Writer of the Year Award in 199...more
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Dec 03, 2012 10:36pm