Damascus

Starred review from August 15, 2011
Browbeaten characters belly up to a San Francisco saloon in Mohr’s third novel, rife with themes of humanity, passion, and determined resilience. Damascus, a seedy Mission District dive bar (where “every interchange was a con, every night, a pitiful costume party”), is the home away from home for a ragtag troupe of oddballs headlined by cancer patient “No Eyebrows”; hand-job hooker Irene, aka “Shambles”; the numbingly insecure bar owner, Owen, of an unfortunate birth mark who dresses as Santa; and local artist Syl, best friend to Owen’s lesbian niece, Daphne. Syl is debuting her controversial painting installation of 12 dead soldiers at Damascus, much to the furyof injured Iraq war veteran Byron Settles, who, over the course of the story, conspires to destroy both the artwork and the bar. More impressive, however, is the coupling of Shambles and No Eyebrows. Her growing affection for the rapidly deteriorating cancer victim makes for an unlikely yet intense pairing that Mohr (Termite Parade) lovingly develops with unfettered affection. It’s the story line that carries the rest of the book. Not all the circumstances gel; a street scene confrontation with Owen and the father of a little girl who comments that Owen looks like Adolf Hitler feels contrived as does the overwritten hostage scene and firestorm at Damascus, but this accom-plished effort demonstrates Mohr’s rich, resonant prose, authentically rendered settings, and deft characterization.

Starred review from October 1, 2011

Mohr's new novel (after Termite Parade), set in San Francisco's Mission District, tells two related stories. One is of Owen, the 60-year-old owner of the Damascus bar, and the other is about No Eyebrows, named for his distinctive facial trait, who meets a woman named Shambles in Owen's bar. No Eyebrows, who has fled his wife and child to spare them the trauma of his impending death from lung cancer, escapes from his problems by drinking and paying Shambles for hand jobs. Unexpectedly, their relationship morphs into real understanding. Meanwhile, Owen fights the good fight for freedom of expression, is betrayed by a seeming friend, and loses the bar in a frightening way. Has this reviewer mentioned that Owen spends most of the story in a Santa suit? VERDICT Improbable though it sounds, the novel has real impact. Reading like a cross between Harry Crews and Armistead Maupin, it has a wacky authenticity and demonstrates the preciousness of life. For immediate consumption by fans of gritty reality; an outstanding achievement.--Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.