title: Not Too Shabby (Barrister Tales From Ed's Breakfast Emporium): Barrister Tales From Ed's Breakfast Emporium
author:  Ken Behar 
description: Every Sunday, Carpenter (the reader never learns his first name) meets fellow attorneys, Delaney, Fish, Morton, Steinberg and Weiskoff for coffee, eggs and a sizable helping of good conversation at the same two tables pushed together near the front window of Eds Breakfast Emporium. Prickly proprietor Ed has dubbed the group of regulars the Barristers, while the men have affectionately adopted the name for their end-of-the-week ritual. Told through a series of vignettes, the novel limns a handful of these breakfasts over the course of five summers as the group discusses politics, the Red Sox and cases on which they have recently toiledwith names judiciously changed, of course. The cases discussed range from heartbreaking ones of broken families without happy endings to more unusual fare, including one involving two Wiccans, a love spell and a restraining order. While the cases may differ, the breakfasts play out with a careful repetitiveness that deliciously captures the routine of everyday life. Weiskoff is always good for an out-of-the-blue comment. Delaney hardly ever fails at steering the conversation back on track. Ed can be relied upon to drop in on the middle of a story, orders in hand, and inject a stinging dose of blue-collar criticism into the white-collar chitchat. Its not hard to imagine running into these aging, overweight and admittedly unextraordinary characters in real life, yet they remain completely absorbing. Between the witty zingers and moments of lightheartedness, the Barristers each struggle with bouts of dissatisfaction, uncertain about their present lot in life, and readers cant help but relate.<br /><br />A poignant, delightful take on morality, friendship, growing older and the legal profession.Kirkus Reviews
zlib_text: Table of Contents
  
  
    
  
  
  Praise
  
  
  ALSO BY CONOR O’CLERY
  
  
  Title Page
  
  
  Acknowledgements
  
  
  PROLOGUE
  
  
    
  
  
  PART ONE - MAKING IT
  
  
  CHAPTER 1 - The Umbrella Boy
  
  
  CHAPTER 2 - The Sandwich Man
  
  
  CHAPTER 3 - Banging the Ring
  
  
  CHAPTER 4 - Cockamamy Flyers
  
  
  CHAPTER 5 - Riding the Tiger
  
  
  CHAPTER 6 - The Perfect Storm
  
  
  CHAPTER 7 - The Sandwich Islands
  
  
  CHAPTER 8 - Hong Kong Crocodiles
  
  
  CHAPTER 9 - Surrounding Japan
  
  
    
  
  
  PART TWO - GOING UNDERGROUND
  
  
  CHAPTER 10 - How Much Is Rich?
  
  
  CHAPTER 11 - Boremuda
  
  
  CHAPTER 12 - Four Guys in a Room
  
  
  CHAPTER 13 - Rich Man, Poor Man
  
  
  CHAPTER 14 - Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
  
  
  CHAPTER 15 - The Luck of the Irish
  
  
  CHAPTER 16 - Leaving Money on the Table
  
  
  CHAPTER 17 - Rich, Ruthless, and Determined
  
  
  CHAPTER 18 - The Wise Man Cometh
  
  
  CHAPTER 19 - Stepping Down
  
  
  CHAPTER 20 - Show Me the Building
  
  
  CHAPTER 21 - Four Guys in a Coffee Shop
  
  
    
  
  
  PART THREE - BREAKING UP
  
  
  CHAPTER 22 - The French Connection
  
  
  CHAPTER 23 - Musical Chairs
  
  
  CHAPTER 24 - Cutt