Home from the Vinyl Cafe: A Year of Stories - Stuart McLean

...right note!

Home from the Vinyl Cafe is a compendium of some of the stories first told on the radio and make the translation to printed form pretty well. Each story is pretty much self-contained, which is perfect for reading on the train. They feature Dave, who owns the Vinyl Cafe (motto - "We may not be big, but we're small"), his wife Morley, their children, and various pets, including a balding guinea pig and a neurotic ...
...to explain - or at least to do it justice. Strangely, I want to compare it to TV shows rather than anything literary - this may be related to the fact that I listened to the radio shows it before reading the book. There are certainly hints of nostagia for a rose-tinted childhood a la 'The Wonder Years' and off-beat yarns, reminiscent of 'Northern Exposure'. It answers those questions you always wanted to ask, like how do you unstick your tongue from ... more

Strangely. I first came across the Vinyl Cafe stories via BBC7. Originally broadcast on Canadian radio, the author Stuart McLean has won many comedy awards and lectures on creative writing. He has hosted the CBC radio show for many years and it has become a national favourite, winning many awards.

Stuart has the perfect comedy voice (hints of Emo Philiips) that suits these tales of normal everyday life where something mundane and perfectly innocent always seems to snowball of hand to perfect comedic effect. I have to concede that I have his voice in my head when reading these books, and this may have influenced how much I enjoy them - my wife has never heard the show and is not quite as big a fan of the book as I am, although she still smorts with laughter when reading certain passages that strike the right note!

Home from the Vinyl Cafe is a compendium of some of the stories first told on the radio and make the translation to printed form pretty well. Each story is pretty much self-contained, which is perfect for reading on the train. They feature Dave, who owns the Vinyl Cafe (motto - "We may not be big, but we're small"), his wife Morley, their children, and various pets, including a balding guinea pig and a neurotic dog.

The style is difficult to explain - or at least to do it justice. Strangely, I want to compare it to TV shows rather than anything literary - this may be related to the fact that I listened to the radio shows it before reading the book. There are certainly hints of nostagia for a rose-tinted childhood a la 'The Wonder Years' and off-beat yarns, reminiscent of 'Northern Exposure'. It answers those questions you always wanted to ask, like how do you unstick your tongue from a frozen TV aerial, and what do you do when you forget that you volunteered to buy and cook the Christmas turkey.

Ultimately, this is a great collection of well-observed stories about human nature, set in small-town Canada. Many people will be able to relate to the characters and the situations they get themselves into. The book is divided into sections starting and ending with Christmas, making it a perfect stocking filler. Perfect with mince pies and egg nog - enjoy! 

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