This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could.
The Next Step in the Dance is one of those novels that inexplicably – to me, anyway – went out of print in the UK for some time. I’m pleased to say that it’s been rescued by Fox, Finch and Tepper, a tiny publisher set up by my lovely local indie bookshop, Mr B’s, and has been reissued sporting a rather fetching jacket.
Set in Louisiana, Tim Gautreaux’ debut is a love story, and a very stormy one at that. Paul Thibodeaux loves nothing more than to go dancing on a Saturday night, happy to return to his job as a mechanic on Monday morning. He adores his smart, beautiful wife, Colette, but she wants more than smalltown gossip and a rundown dance hall for entertainment. Frustrated by Paul’s lack of ambition and tendency to stray, Colette takes herself off to California, swiftly followed by a bereft Paul who then follows her back again.
Doesn’t sound much, I know, but what lifts this book far above a run-of-the-mill domestic novel 
is Gautreaux’ vibrant descriptions of the Louisiana landscape and culture. He writes with wit, insight and a compassionate, clear-eyed view of human nature. You don’t have to make your way to Mr B’s to buy a copy – it’s available online – but should you be passing I recommend a visit.
What about you, any blasts from the past you’d like to share?
You can find more posts like this here.
I like novels where perhaps nothing much happens, that are about the small, quiet lives people lead and their relationships. This sounds very much like that kind of book.
Agree with Ali… sometimes the best stories are the everyday lives of ordinary folk but the authors manage to evoke an extraordinary sensitivity, from often common circumstances or emotions etc form a unique approach. This does sound like one of those books.
It is, and it’s very evopcative of its setting which I also find attractive in fiction.
Likewise… always a fan when the writer sees the setting as an integral character
Absolutely. I much prefer character-driven novels to plot.
I absolutely loved that book. Now avoiding my Monday morning work desk to ferret about on my bookshelves for it!
Isn’t it great? It made me want to get on to the next plane to the Bayou!
Another fascinating post, Susan. You have a real flair for sniffing out quirky and surprising books. Seldom do you write a post that isn’t utterly intriguing!
That’s lovely to hear, Paula. Thank you!
I’ve not heard of this author but this sounds very appealing, not least because I’ve just finished a Carson McCullers novel & am in the mood for more southern tales!
This one will take you straight back to the South! It has such a strong sense of place.