Bar Nights by Dave Matthes
“Bar Nights”, the first volume of the “The Mire Man Trilogy”, is a story revolving around Arlo, a man who’s just turned 39. Fed up with the way his life has turned out thus far, he leaves his cheating wife, out of control preteen slut daughter and her “fiance”, his unbearably demeaning job, and hits…
“Bar Nights”, the first volume of the “The Mire Man Trilogy”, is a story revolving around Arlo, a man who’s just turned 39. Fed up with the way his life has turned out thus far, he leaves his cheating wife, out of control preteen slut daughter and her “fiance”, his unbearably demeaning job, and hits the highway. It isn’t long before his car dies on him, and he’s forced to take shelter in the only place available at the time: the for-rent room above a dive bar, named “Purgatory”, positioned seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Convincing the owner to let him work off his rent, he spends his days drinking and care-taking the bar, running odd jobs for his boss, and spends his nights tucked away in his room drunkenly passing out to the sounds of whoever is playing the music downstairs…until one night he ventures out into the storm eternally encapsulating his world. And their paths unexpectedly converge. The meeting sets in motion a relentless and remoresless onslaught of emotions, bringing Arlo to the absolute breaking point of insanity and introducing him to a realization that redefines why he ended up at “Purgatory” to begin with. “Bar Nights” is author Dave Matthes’ seventh novel, and is a spiritual sequel/epilogue to his first two works of literature, “The Slut Always Rides Shotgun” and “The Passive Aggressors”.
” Thoroughly Enjoyed It”
Five Star Review on Amazon By Veronica
Bar Nights: The Mire Man Triology Book 1, by Dave Matthes, is an excellent debut novel to this collection. It contains elements of intrigue, drama, and a bit of tragedy as well. This is not an uplifting story by any means; in fact, Its quite sad. However, the characters are extremely interesting, and the storyline just sucks you right in. I couldnt seem to put this one down and by the end, I was wishing Book 2 would be released already.
Main character Arlo has had enough. He walks in to find his wife sleeping with another man, and is pretty much fed up with the way his life is turning out. He decides he needs an escape, so he abandons his wife, out of control teenaged daughter and her fiance, and his job all behind and hits the road. Shortly after leaving, his car dies on him, leaving him stranded without many options. He decides to stay in a room for rent above a dive bar called Purgatory, and things start to get interesting. He takes a job working in the bar in order to pay off his rent. One night, he wanders off into the night and gets hit by many realizations; one of which, why he ended up in a place called Purgatory.
I dont want to give too much away, but It gets pretty intense after that. Matthes does an excellent job with this novel, and I commend him greatly. I truly cant wait for Book 2 of this trilogy to be released.
About the Author
Born in South Jersey in the Summer of ’86. Living everywhere else. Like most self-proclaimed authors, Matthes generally focuses his writing on matters and subjects that he either enjoys or forces him to question in a style that is influenced by a strong desire to be different. Matthes don’t always write for the sole purpose of entertainment; mostly, especially with “The Slut Always Rides Shotgun”, and “The Passive Aggressors”, his writing consists of very upfront and brutally, and at times disgustingly honest insight. He writes because he has to, because it’s the canvas to his soul, and the palette to his subconscious. Matthes has written everything from scattered forms of poetry, to songs, to non-fiction and fiction novels. His first completed novel, “The Slut Always Rides Shotgun”, a narrative/ journal of his life, has generally run Underground in its level of world-wide recognition. Since releasing his aforementioned “journal”, it’s inspired the writing of the sequel “The Passive Aggressors”, and a third, completely unrelated work of fiction, “In This House, We Lived, and We Died”. Matthes is also the author of the novel “Sleepeth Not, the Bastard” and two collections of poetry/ philosophy titled “The Kaleidoscope Syndrome: An Anthology” and “Wanderlust and the Whiskey Bottle Parallel”. His newest work “Bar Nights” is the first in the planned “The Mire Man Trilogy”.