Book Review: Revenge of the Vinyl Cafe ~ by Stuart McLean

I had a dream the other night. In that dream I went in to the local video store to look for some comedy tapes. I know they were on the back wall. When I got to the back wall - it was just a wall. No shelves, definitely no comedy!

It’s been several months since I’ve done a book review, so it’s way past time that I did. Revenge of the Vinyl Cafe was the first book for this year’s book club. The Vinyl Cafe fills that blank back wall. 

The Revenge of the Vinyl Cafe is a compilation of eighteen short stories written and told by Stuart McLean. Dave was raised in Big Narrows and is the lead character in a vast array of Vinyl Cafe stories. Stories when Dave was young in Big Narrows, stories when Dave was married and a dad in Toronto, where he runs a store known as the Vinyl Cafe. Stories of Dave and Morley, Kenny Wong of Wong’s Scottish Meat Pies, Sam and Stephanie - Dave and Morley’s children - and Arthur their dog. These are only some of the characters that people Stuart McLean’s stories. I listened to Stuart McLean tell each of these stories on the Saturday morning CBC radio episodes of the Vinyl Cafe. To read them for myself was to hear his voice, his gentle modulation of tones, with just the right touch of humour throughout. I find I don’t need a visit to a video store to find comedy. Stuart, through his characters and with so much humour shares beautiful perspectives of family life in an ordinary neighbourhood. Stuart McLean, Canada’s most well known story teller and beloved by many CBC listeners, died at the young age of 68, February 15, 2017. Thank you, Stuart McLean. You are missed greatly.

“It is not said enough, so I’ll say it again: the world 

is a good place, full of good people, and when we 

act out of that, when we act out of hope, 

and optimism, and faith in our fellow humans, 

we act out of our best selves, and we are capable of 

doing great things, and of contributing to the greater good.”

~ Stuart McLean, humourist and storyteller

Title:  The Revenge of the Vinyl Cafe

Author:  Stuart McLean

Publisher:  The Penguin Group Canada

Publication Date: First Published in 2012

Format:  Hard Cover

ISBN: 978-0-670-06474-8

Type:  Fiction