Fiction Addict

Genre: General Fiction

Publisher: Windblown Media

Publication Date: September 25, 2009

Reviewed by Ashley Barrett

Steven Kerner cannot watch his marriage, career and relationship with his daughter fall apart. So he looks elsewhere, to a bar near his childhood home, where he meets Andy Monroe. Andy knows a lot about Steven and Steven leaves the bar feeling very uneasy about this insightful stranger. Later that night, an explosive argument erupts between Steven and his wife, Lindsey. He flees his expensive southern California home and takes refuge in a nearby hotel. While separated from his family, Steven develops a surprising friendship with the mysterious Andy and his Buick Electra. Andy soon introduces him to shrimp cocktail at Bo’s Café, and a group of Christians unlike any he has ever met. Through their conversations, Steven learns God’s grace changed the lives of Andy and the rest of the Thursday deck group at Bo’s Café. They believe grace can transform Steven’s life, too.

Will this odd community help Steven save his marriage? Can Steven receive the grace that can release him from the grip of shame and anger? Bo’s Café provides an original look at how God uses offbeat, unexpected ways and people to rescue the hurting in all facets of society.

Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch collaborated on Bo’s Café. They run an organization called Leadership Catalyst that promotes the type of grace community described in Bo’s Café.

Windblown Media, also published The Shack by William Paul Young. Like The Shack, Bo’s Café alternates between large chunks of description and dialogue. Unfortunately, both books demonstrate poor craftsmanship. The writing of Bo’s Café did not match its excellent message and liberating ideas. The authors used the characters as talking heads to make their points, giving the book a glaze of insincerity.

That said, I would recommend Bo’s Café to readers who weren’t distracted by the less-than-perfect flow of The Shack. Some readers will enjoy the great thoughts on grace, shame and anger in Bo’s Café. Others may struggle with its fragmented and clunky style. I’m willing to try another book by these authors and/or Windblown Media, hoping for better editing in future volumes.