... engrossing ... can lead to a certain emotional abstraction, but these stories’ virtues more than compensate. Tuten’s prose is always vital, often dazzling ... neither normative nor predictable, and it bears the firm impress of the soul.
... fifteen scintillating short stories ... reflect his unceasing drive to hone his craft. The work confirms [Tuten's] reputation as a master of the genre at age 86 ... Tuten dazzles like the best of Jhumpa Lahiri, Alice Munro, and George Saunders. Here, with The Bar at Twilight he is at the pinnacle of his craft.
... heady and elegant ... The book can occasionally feel like a miscellany...and a few pieces are charming bagatelles dedicated to, and perhaps written for, artist friends. But if the collection lacks the bravura of Tuten’s remarkable Tintin in the New World (1993), it’s recognizably the work of a gifted, resourceful writer: an old master ... Smart, meditative stories about the art in life and the life in art.
... a heartfelt collection exploring existential quandaries and creative pursuits ... No matter whether Tuten is chronicling the creative or romantic lives of his characters, he renders their struggles with a sense of hope and yearning, committing to sentiment without getting too overwrought. Tuten has long been viewed as a writer’s writer, and this one offers special resonance for his audience.
