Delmonico by Daniel Handler

October 15, 2009 bethanyvball12

I found the short story Delmonico by Daniel Handler interesting because of the setting and the narrator. It takes place in a small town bar called “Slow Night.” This is an ironic name for the bar which is normally actually quite busy.   A drunkard observes a bartender and has a very unusual skill at problem solving.  In most stories you don’t have a narrator under the influence of alcohol how is also thinking this sharply and focused. This goes to show this probably isn’t the first time he has drank and probably has some sort of drinking problem. The bar is an escape where he can have his daily drink and get away to clearly think. The bartender’s name was Davis who is attractive, and intelligent and seems to be have seen it all and is full of wisdom. I thought about this and figured any sober person can appear this way to a bar full of drunken people who usually escape to the bar to “find” themselves. Davis and Mr. Jones appear to make the bar there own little world. They treat it as their house or domain and their entertainment is the people who come in and make it different and interesting every night.  people who know Davis respect her but at first look down upon her for her job status. The two men who come into the bar and are discussing the disappearance of one of the man’s wife assume Davis is not smart. They easily dismiss her or don’t acknowledge that she could be of help because she is simple a small town bartender.  Mr Jones and Davis herself trust themselves and their knowledge but are the only people in there who acknowledge this; the reason they sent the men in there.  The two men aren’t the only ones to blame for passing judgment. Davis herself does not like Jeffers because she thinks he has a snobby attitude and is very rich. The story stays suspenseful by having the reader assume Davis does know what happen to his wife but she just won’t tell how she disappeared. In the end, Davis never ends up telling what happen to the wife.

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