Rating: 
Summary: Like any good book it left me wanting more.
Review: I picked up the book because I liked the title and the cover (paperback). The characters were interesting and real. These are short stories that can stand alone, however, I grew a little tired of being reintroduced to characters again and again. The beginning stories seemed more disconnected -- the end seemed almost "novel-like". This book makes me want to read more of Ms. Houston's work.
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Summary: we were best friends in another life
Review: i read pam's books and get to relive my own similar adventures
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Summary: Stories about love, family, and the West
Review: I recently received this book as a Secret Santa gift, and began reading it that same day, instantly taken in by Houston's casual, straightforward style. While I wouldn't place it in my list of favorite books, it did inspire me to purchase "Cowboys are My Weakness", which I am reading right now and intend to review as soon as I finish."Waltzing the Cat" is a collection of stories that all revolve around Lucy, who appears to be based heavily on the author herself. In approximately chronological order, the stories describe Lucy's relationship with her family as well as her various attempts at romance with men who are almost right- with emphasis on the "almost". Suddenly, Lucy finds herself the owner of a Colorado ranch left behind by the late grandmother she barely knew. She begins a new life in the Rockies, all the while halfway considering selling the place and moving back to the city. The relationship problems with unsuitable men never seem to disappear, but Lucy seems to find a part of herself at the ranch that was missing before- something approaching happiness and comfort. I did have some problems with this book, problems which became apparent after the first few stories. I was a little confused with the time span that was passing, and the sequence of events within that span. Some stories seem to take place "now", others are obviously flashbacks, but it isn't always clear which is which. Lucy is often friends with one man while she's "seeing" another, and it's not always clear who she's dating, and when. It was also jarring to me to read early on about Lucy's mother's passing, only to find out toward the end of the book that Lucy's friend had died at about the same time- yet the two events and Lucy's grieving processes seem to occur in separate places, in separate times, and in different worlds altogether. Grief does follow its own schedule, and maybe Lucy had to deal with her mother's death before her friend's death could really sink in, but I still found myself constantly flipping back through the book, thinking that I must have read something wrong. In short, this book does have flaws- the other reviews here have probably made that clear already, and I could list a few more glitches that I haven't touched on already, but I would cross over into nit-picking if I did. I did enjoy it anyway, and I'm not at all sorry I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Stories about love, family, and the West
Review: I recently received this book as a Secret Santa gift, and began reading it that same day, instantly taken in by Houston's casual, straightforward style. While I wouldn't place it in my list of favorite books, it did inspire me to purchase "Cowboys are My Weakness", which I am reading right now and intend to review as soon as I finish. "Waltzing the Cat" is a collection of stories that all revolve around Lucy, who appears to be based heavily on the author herself. In approximately chronological order, the stories describe Lucy's relationship with her family as well as her various attempts at romance with men who are almost right- with emphasis on the "almost". Suddenly, Lucy finds herself the owner of a Colorado ranch left behind by the late grandmother she barely knew. She begins a new life in the Rockies, all the while halfway considering selling the place and moving back to the city. The relationship problems with unsuitable men never seem to disappear, but Lucy seems to find a part of herself at the ranch that was missing before- something approaching happiness and comfort. I did have some problems with this book, problems which became apparent after the first few stories. I was a little confused with the time span that was passing, and the sequence of events within that span. Some stories seem to take place "now", others are obviously flashbacks, but it isn't always clear which is which. Lucy is often friends with one man while she's "seeing" another, and it's not always clear who she's dating, and when. It was also jarring to me to read early on about Lucy's mother's passing, only to find out toward the end of the book that Lucy's friend had died at about the same time- yet the two events and Lucy's grieving processes seem to occur in separate places, in separate times, and in different worlds altogether. Grief does follow its own schedule, and maybe Lucy had to deal with her mother's death before her friend's death could really sink in, but I still found myself constantly flipping back through the book, thinking that I must have read something wrong. In short, this book does have flaws- the other reviews here have probably made that clear already, and I could list a few more glitches that I haven't touched on already, but I would cross over into nit-picking if I did. I did enjoy it anyway, and I'm not at all sorry I read it.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not about the failures, it's about the journey.
Review: I think that a lot of reviewers missed the boat on thisbook. So many focused more on Lucy's knack for entering into lousyrelationships than on the real meaning of the stories in this collection: that after years of making bad choices, she is finally coming into her own and accepting herself as a single woman. Believe me, in a society where you are considered a freak if you're a single woman over age 30, that's no mean feat and Houston really understands this. Yes, Lucy feels sorry for herself. Yes, she dates jerks again and again. Well, guess what? So do we all at some point, but one has to go through this in order to learn all the necessary lessons and eventually find the right person. I think the character of Lucy is a very realistic portrayal of a person searching for love, finding what she thinks is love, and being disappointed. I love the advice that Lucy's friend Ellie gives her about men (paraphrased): "Find a place where the ground feels like goodness under your feet, snap the right picture, and a man will walk into it." The best part about this is that at the end of the book, Lucy realizes that SHE can be the one walking into the picture. Having been through similar experiences myself in my thirties, this was a very uplifting and satisfying conclusion. I recommend this book to anyone, but understand that if you've never been in Lucy's shoes it may not resonate for you as it did for me and for the other reviewers who've been there.
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Summary: Is this the same Pam Houston who wrote Cowboys...?
Review: I was pretty unhappy with this book. I read it BEFORE I read Cowboys, and almost skipped reading anything else by this author. I was appalled by the fact that she uses REAL NAMES of people who live in Creede Colorado. Even if they did give permission, it made me feel that all the characters in the book were real and if I were one of the ex-boyfriends, I'd be very upset! A photographer?? Please, the story is so autobiographical it's ridiculous!!! Can she not come up with anything any more creative than her own life? This book reads like the author has writer's block and was simply trying to pump something out to keep her publishers happy. The only redeeming parts of the book are the descriptions of wilderness outings. In that area, Houston shines, and that's where she focused her writing in Cowboys....I hope she goes back to writing stories like that, because I was very dissapointed in an author I've heard so many good things about
Rating:
Summary: Are we reading the same book?
Review: I'm puzzled by the reviewers that swooned over "Cowboys are my Weakness" and hate this current title.
"Cowboys," written by Houston in her late 20s, are stories by someone who's just found her voice and is trying it out. They are light stories, but Houston is hiding her feelings behind the adventures themselves.
In "Waltzing the Cat," the author is ten years older with a lot of introspection (and apparently good psychotherapy) under her belt. We still get some of the amazing adventures, but we also get to see Houston develop emotionall, through her alter ego/main character Lucy. It's more about how these adventures affect her, what memories they dredge up, what she learns from them. Houston's style has evolved into an unusual mix between the classic "women's confessional" and terse, Hemmingway-ish Western stories. It works, and it works beautifully.
You must understand that THIS BOOK IS NOT A NOVEL, but a set of related short stories that occur only roughly in chronological order, NOT chapters. Other reviewers found the book "disjointed," I myself did not. Because they are separate stories, I didn't find it odd that the character felt differently, even contradictory, about things at different time and in different stories.
I read all three of Houston's books over the weekend, and I can highly recommend all of them, but to me, "Waltzing the Cat" was the best of the three, just nosing out her nonfictional essay collection "A Little More About Me," which in turn just nosed out "Cowboys are my Weakness."
Rating: 
Summary: Don't look for cowboys, there are none here
Review: It would be more of a disappointment to read Houston's second collection of stories and discover that it was just like the first -- though the first, "Cowboys are My Weakness" is so very good. It's been a few years, Houston is older, and it seems more introspective, less dreamy. I expected to snuggle down and devour this book as I did the first but, in fact, this book caused me to put it down several times, step away from it, let her words and images sink in. Lucy, the protagonist throughout the book, is lost, scared, scarred, and just a general mess. I ended up pulling for her sad dog more than Lucy or any other character. I wonder what Houston's got planned for number 3 but I hope it has a large dose of wild water, starry skies, rugged men, and strong women because I surely missed all those things this go around.
Rating:
Summary: Don't look for cowboys, there are none here
Review: It would be more of a disappointment to read Houston's second collection of stories and discover that it was just like the first -- though the first, "Cowboys are My Weakness" is so very good. It's been a few years, Houston is older, and it seems more introspective, less dreamy. I expected to snuggle down and devour this book as I did the first but, in fact, this book caused me to put it down several times, step away from it, let her words and images sink in. Lucy, the protagonist throughout the book, is lost, scared, scarred, and just a general mess. I ended up pulling for her sad dog more than Lucy or any other character. I wonder what Houston's got planned for number 3 but I hope it has a large dose of wild water, starry skies, rugged men, and strong women because I surely missed all those things this go around.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid but disappointing.
Review: Like many other reviewers, "Cowboys" is one of my most tattered collections on my bookshelf. I have giving "Cowboys" as presents many times, and recommended it countless others. I was eager to see how Houston had grown in the few years since "Cowboys" was published, and was disappointed to find she hadn't. "Waltzing the Cat" reads like a volume of B-side tunes. They all work, but none of them had the sparkle, wit or insight that I saw in "Cowboys." It's possible that I expected too much from Houston-- after all, don't they say the second book always falls short of expectations? Quite possibly she needs to write less from her life and more from her heart.
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