ACPL Online Book Club discussion

A Horse Walks into a Bar is set over a single evening in a small nightclub. How does the claustrophobic setting of the novel contribute to its overall effect?
Question from the Man Booker Prize Readers' Guide at https://themanbookerprize.com/sites/m...

My take:

As the novel moves along, the amount of tension in the room builds, not only because of the close confines. The author makes it clear the air conditioning could be a lot better. People are drinking, never a good situation when they are angry. It is easy to imagine them physically attacking Dovaleh or customers from the anti-Dovelah camp fighting, in the beginning, with the pro-Dovelah camp. When he is mean to someone, like the medium, you can believe someone will be offended. You know the man in the yellow jacket is going to lose it at some point. Will he be violent? The tight quarters creates the fear any incident will envelop the room and everyone in it.

What do you think?