cover image The Pint Man

The Pint Man

Steve Rushin, . . Doubleday, $24.95 (259pp) ISBN 978-0-385-52992-1

The first novel from former Sports Illustrated columnist Rushin joins other works of pub fiction, yet it's the wordplay—not the alcohol consumption—that drives the novel. Rodney Poole is unemployed, spends much of his time at New York bar Boyle's, and has had only one serious girlfriend. Change is in the air as Rodney's best friend prepares to move to Chicago and Rodney meets a woman named Mairead (who appears to actually like him); even his prospects of finding a job are looking up. It's not a plot-heavy novel, with much of its suspense revolving around a mysteriously disappearing and reappearing U-Haul truck and the question of whether two bullies schooled by Rodney will show up at Boyle's again. What sets the work apart is Rodney's sharp wit. Praised for is “verbal ambidexterity,” Rodney loves wordplay as much as he loves beer, as is amply demonstrated in his wooing of Mairead. The banter is funny enough to make the reader look past the novel's defects, and Rushin emerges as one of the sharpest wits on the scene. (Feb.)