Stories included in “Vinyl Cafe Unplugged”: – Arthur – Galway – The Fly – Christmas Presents – Harrison Ford’s Toes – Dorothy – The Last Kind Word Blues – The Bare Truth – Susan is Serious – Odd Jobs – The Razor’s Edge – Morley’s Christmas Pageant – Figs – Love Never EndsIf you read many of Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe short stories in one sitting, the characters become increasingly real and rounded, and a clear picture of their town, friends, family and habits emerges. You can also see how McLean’s style has changed over the past twelve years. It has become looser, perhaps more philosophical, occasionally more sentimental. Notwithstanding all that, his technique has remained form perfect. McLean has said that his stories are as close as dammit to his actual life, and if that is the case, you can see the life stages that he has gone through – children grow up, the dog gets old and dies, he feels age creeping up on him. But in 2000, he was still sharp, witty and perky.“Arthur” is a fine observation of an endearing, potato-stealing dog, and “Galway”, of an almost- toilet-trained, belligerent cat. They are hilarious – there has to be readers out there who have tried in vain to train their pets, and have given up because Cesar Milan wasn’t available. All thoughts of “calm, assertive pack leaders” went straight out the window with these creatures. “Galway was standing on the window ledge flicking her tail at the moon. Jim and Brenda looked at the cat and then back at each other. Still they hadn’t said a word. It was Jim, who comes from the Annapolis Valley, who spoke first. ‘Nice night,’ he said.” Dave, the main character in most of the stories, has a couple of hangups, one of them being obsessive thoughts that get him into very entertaining difficulties (like in “Fly”), and the state of his feet (“Harrison Ford’s Toes”). McLean also drops regular references to bands and musicians into the stories – Dave does, after all, own a record store – and Geechie Wiley in “The Last Kind Word Blues” tempted me to Google the song – as a result, I’ve discovered many artists of whom I’d never heard until I’d read Stuart McLean. Perhaps intention was so share his sense of nostalgia.”The Bare Truth” is so skin-crawlingly discomforting, I literally had to skip pages to get through it. I know that is the kind of terribly awkward social situation people get into, but in it, McLean’s usually entertaining situational comedy slipped over into cringe comedy in the style of “Good God” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”.”Figs” is probably the most tender of the stories, about Dave’s ageing neighbours, Eugene and Maria. Dave worries about whether they can cope by themselves in their old age – like all children do about their parents, and he considers the enduring nature of love, which is also the subject of ”Love Never Ends”. In this, the last story in the book, he writes about the small but significant things people do when they have loved each other a long time, like keeping a chocolate bar in the bedside drawer as a make-peace snack so they wouldn’t go to sleep mad at each other. McLean has a very keen eye for the minutiae of daily life and relationships, and is able to elevate them into profound philosophical arguments. He does so very plainly, simply and elegantly. He specialises in the laconic one-liner, often only a few words, but words that make highly satisfying endings. Top
I just got it in the mail! I haven't looked him up on youtube but I will for sure. Thank you so much for recommending this, it has brought me so much pleasure reading them. My favorite is the one where Dave releases all the frogs at Sam's school. So sweet.
What do You think about Vinyl Cafe Unplugged (2015)?
I had not heard of Stuart McLean until a couple of years ago when the owner of the second hand record store I frequent occasionally gave me a complementary CD as a bonus with my purchase. It was supposed to be a two CD set but one was missing, so he gave it to me free. The CD was called Vinyl Cafe Odd Jobs by Stuart McLean. McLean is a humorist and raconteur with a weekly radio show Sundays on the CBC. I popped the CD into the car player on my way home and the first bit, Odd Jobs, was the funniest thing I had ever heard. I play it for friends and visitors all the time. It never fails to bring on belly laughs. The Vinyl Cafe books transcribe some of the stories from his radio show to the printed page and they all have the charm and wit and warmth that is Stuart McLean. The stories all revolve around a fictional family that includes Dave, the owner of a second hand record store called the Vinyl Cafe, his wife Morley who manages a local theater group, and their teenage children Sam and Stephanie. They all live in a fictional and unnamed Ontario town. The stories also include their friends and neighbours. This book contains fourteen stories, including Odd Jobs, which is one of the funniest stories you'll ever read. Well worth the read...but if you can get a CD, give it a listen. One of my favorite humorists by far.
—Marco den Ouden
I really enjoyed this book. Though it was only about a family who lived in small town middle of nowhere Canada, the chapters where each about something different, featuring the family in different situations with an assortment cast of new characters. It was like a well written comedy on tv. You have your hub of main characters with guest stars coming in to work around the staple cast. I love families that work well with each other as well, that play off each other.Since every chapter was like a different story (I love books like that!) I couldn't even tell you what it was about. Even though there were more characters then I normally would have liked, since you really didn't have to remember them from chapter to chapter, it was acceptable.Grade: C+
—Rebecca
Number three in the Vinyl Café series.This edition of fourteen wonderful funny stories continues to chronicle the chaotic lives of Dave, Morley, Sam and Stephanie, a family living in Toronto. Included in this edition are their experiences as they try to renovate a bathroom, wonder about Sam's knitting habit, toilet train the cat Galway and knock the dog down a few notches in the household pecking order.These stories were all originally presented on CBC radio but do well in print as well.Winner of The Stephen Leacock Award for Humour.Mclean is a great story teller and this is simply a real fun read.
—Paula Dembeck
