Bar Manchester

by Roger C Roberts

“If only these walls could talk, oh what a story they could tell”

This extraordinary debut is a tale of mystery, suspense, and comedic insight into the world of social commentary. Bar Manchester, a vintage neighborhood dive located in the Old Banking District of downtown Los Angeles, is in the midst of a resurgence due to rapid development and gentrification of the area. As with any longtime establishment, the bar has seen an infinite amount of stories, characters, and events that have transpired, splintered, and branched out from its interior. As a story told in four different parts, three individuals and their livelihoods crisscross and interchange between each other with the bar being its canvas and backdrop. It all starts with the bartender Archie Rhodes, who excels and loves his craft dearly, but the profession is eating away at him as he desperately longs for an exit from the business. Then we have the beautiful but mysterious Castle Gilchrist. Employed by the Monumental Insurance Company, the weight of her job, family, and societal ills will push her to the brink. To round it out, the grand visionary Warren Baako is a struggling but rising community leader and activist who strives for a more prosperous life for himself and his young daughter Angelica. Everything seems to be status quo on the surface, but as the layers of each individual are slowly peeled back and exposed, the world as we know it will change, and Bar Manchester will become its epicenter and ground zero. Expect the unexpected.

Genres: Ebooks

472 pages, Paperback

Published December 22, 2023

About the author

A native of Fresno, California, Roger Chris Roberts is an writer and director who resides in Los Angeles. His twenty plus years of experience in the restaurant and bar industry is the inspiration and backdrop for his first novel, Bar Manchester.

Reviews

[Destiny Cejka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

So I decided to try a new book different from what I usually read, and unfortunately it didn't work out. It wasn't awful, but it just wasn't for me. I really couldn't tell you what this book was about because it took a really weird turn after 100 pages. Yeah it took 100 pages for it to kinda get interesting, it was a really slow read for me. I skimmed over alot of it cause it was too detailed. It could have been shorten greatly and still gotten the point across. It's told in 4 parts with a LA bar being the main background. The first 3 parts are about the bartender and patrons of the joint with the last part being about the bar itself. Where this book got weird and kinda interesting was the science experiments going on and the space exploration happening. I won't spoil anything else, but it got sci-fi ish. Definitely a cool concept but it could have been done better.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told in four parts, the story delves into the characters featured in the book, revealing to readers their motivations and backgrounds as well as how they are relevant to the narrative. The story goes beyond the building of Bar Manchester and reveals the dark side of society. The writing is animated, featuring capital letters and italics regularly. The tenses also change, stating what the current time is in the present tense and then discussing the conversation as if it had happened in the past despite the continuation of time. This makes it jarring to read. This is a character-driven story, focusing more on the interaction and less on the plot.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A multilayered story of stories, different characters and POV. The story of a bar, of the people who are the usual customer and the aread where they are
Not always easy but well done
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reasonably good I kinda enjoyed it! I wonder whether yoh will? Well let’s see. Take a look! And thanks so much for the arc

[Regan Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really surprised me. It began quite mundanely, and then took off like a rollercoaster! Needs some editing- at least in digital format. I enjoyed my time at Bar Manchester.