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Blurb

An unlikely and inexplicable event prompts Adrian Lomachenko to quit his high-paying job in the financial district of San Francisco and pursue a career in writing, his long-repressed true calling. Determined to write a novel that examines the nature of unlikely and inexplicable events and how they impact our lives, he relocates to the quaint artistic community of Jacksonville, Oregon, where he will seat himself daily at 6:00 am at the same table in the town's eclectic coffee shop, the Good Bean Café, observe its patrons, engage in conversation, and with a little help from his capricious Muse, Miranda, write a story around a watershed moment in the lives of each of twelve characters, real or imagined, one for each month of the year. The challenge will be to finish each story in the month in which it was begun, and his book within a year. Does he meet his goal? And how does the exploration of unlikely and inexplicable events affect his life going forward?

My Year at the Good Bean Café is a quirky work of metafiction, a story about itself and its own creation, that explores the nature of identity, the process of becoming, the imponderable intelligence of the Universe, and the magic of art in all its manifestations.

What Our Readers Think

Star Rating: 5

'A wonderfully erratic, character-led gem! Highly recommended.' The Wishing Shelf

REVIEW
In many ways, this is the strangest novel I have read (and enjoyed) for many a year. It´s the story of a young man who sits in a cafe - the Good Bean Café – writing a book. But it´s not your run of the mill thriller he´s penning. Oh no – he intends to write a story every month for 12 months focusing on 12 different characters and how ´crazy happenings´ impacted on them.
Now that´s a very different plot!
And, I must say, it´s a compelling read. The author (through the protagonist) is very observant in terms of the characters´ thoughts and feelings. In fact, although every story within the book is skilfully plotted and highly unpredictable, I´d still call this a character-led novel.
All in all, I ´m very happy to recommend this wonderfully erratic book to anybody who enjoys a challenge. Admittedly, I did find the author´s insistence on not using speech marks a bit off-putting but, other than that, this is a charming romp. But, best of all, it´s utterly unpredictable – one second, the protagonist is taking acid and imagining his toy monkey is visiting him, the next second, he´s being given advice by a man with an umbrella who is then hit by a cable car and impaled!
Trust me when I say, you´ll never be bored reading this.

A 'Wishing Shelf' Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk