The Bartender’s Cure

Straton’s lethargic debut follows a recent college grad who unexpectedly finds purpose and community as a bartender. Sam Fisher has deferred her lifelong dream of attending Harvard Law after some mental health setbacks. To make ends meet, she takes a job as a bartender at Joe’s Apothecary, a swanky bar in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood that is serious about its cocktail menu. As she falls into the rhythms of bar life and starts dating one of her regulars, she grows increasingly uncertain of her future and must decide if she still wants to become a lawyer or if her bartending gig has become more than a way to pay the bills. Straton begins each chapter with recipes for classic cocktails such as Manhattans, French 75s, and negronis, and the narrative is peppered with asides on bar vocabulary and trivia, including tangents on tipping, cocktail history, and whether it’s “whiskey” or “whisky.” Straton’s descriptions of service industry culture and boozy folklore entertain, but the low stakes make this feel a bit light, while Sam’s constant ambivalence about her relationship and attending law school sap the momentum. The result is less than intoxicating. (June)