Rating: 
Summary: Before dismissing the reader from VA...
Review: I thought I was the only one who hated this book, and I suppose I'm glad that I'm not. Anyway, I read this book (or tried anyway) a few months back, and hated it. I hated it for several reasons, but foremost because it seems such a waste. Mr. Gautreaux seems like a fine fellow, a smart guy, a writer of some talent and with something to say. Unfortunately, this ain't the book he's saying anything with. But let's figure out what he is saying. That love and life are like dances? Ah, and my, how those Cajuns love to dance. (Oui, cher!) That everyone needs to grow up? (Oui, cher!) Thanks, Tim for that memo. I've been living in a cave for a number of years and hadn't caught up with those recent developments in the human condition. There are moments and descriptions that feel right, are very bright in fact, but everything else seems as if it were written by someone who sees the world through the gauzy eyes of a romantic. I don't think that's necessarily bad; it's just not the reality I see when I visit Louisiana or when I think about love. Louisiana to me is a poverty-blighted, backward place rife with crooks, crime and rot. But that's from someone who doesn't romanticize poverty for the sake of assuaging the middle class book buyers' sensibilities and making sure the status quo stays status quo. (And as for love--well, yes, it's like a dance. At times a mosh pit, at others a Cajun waltz. Jeez, that's ALL you have to say about love?) Which leads me to my next point. This book is very, very commercial. No hard edges. No rough spots. No shaking any cages. All through this book I could feel the clammy hands of Grisham (who endowed the fellowship Gautreaux had to finish this book) and Oprah (whose readers this book seems intended for) wrapped around the smart satire Gautreaux exhibits in other things of his I've read. This is his first real break, I think, and to me I got the impression that he sacrificed accuracy in order to make this a more commercial book. "Make it more romantic," says Oprah. "No cussin', no killin' and by all means, keep us Baptists happy," says Grisham. Mr. Gautreaux's done both, and his book is all the worse for it. With only four reviews here, I figured I'd leave well enough alone, but I don't want anyone to spend their $12 on a book that's pretty but not pretty good.
Rating: 
Summary: Good writer, Good book
Review: I totally disagree with the Virginia and Texas reviewers. This was a good book. The characters were believable. The plots were interesting and well told. I've actually read the book more than once and liked it better the second time. I like this as well as Mr. Gautreux's short stories and hope he continues to pursue both areas. That said, I think that people who write such mean, vindictive,
jealous-ridden reviews are probably just frustrated writers who can't get published or people too lazy or afraid to try and write a book themselves. Ignore 'em, Mr. Gautreaux, as I'm sure you do. It's what they deserve.
Rating: 
Summary: Please read his short stories instead
Review: I'll be the first to tell you that Tim Gautreaux is an amazingly talented short story writer. Just check out his two collections, Welding with Children and Same Place, Same Things. "Waiting for the Evening News," "The Piano Tuner," "The Pine Oil Writers Conference," "People on the Empty Road," "Easy Pickings," and all the others are incredible. No one does short stories like Tim Gautreaux. He is monumentally talented, but his seemingly boundless talent has its limits. That's where The Next Step in the Dance comes in. If you consulted Webster's for the term "overplotted," surely, a photo of this book would be included. I really didn't know something could be quite so overplotted. I felt like I'd watched years worth of Days or Our Lives or Passions; there were so many gratuitous, over-the-top, and redundant events. It is very much like a soap opera. In my opinion, it could have easily ended when the two main characters returned from California. I think that would have been the ideal point to end the book. But, it drags on for nearly another two hundred pages. What is even more devastating is that one loses interest and sympathy for the characters while being subjected to this lengthy soap opera. (Or at least I did). I'm sure people are going to disagree with me on this, but I think Colette is a self-centered, egotisical, immature, unforgiving jerk who will never be satisfied with anything, and it's very difficult to empathize with her character. I just pity Paul, who is ridiculously stupid to continue to pursue her. Despite the fact that he does very foolish things, it's obvious that he is a good, sincere, honest, and well-meaning person, therefore she isn't worthy of him. The book is really hard to take, as well as Colette's character. I know all of that sounds pretty blunt and relentless, but I'm just trying to be honest. As always, Gautreaux exhibits his uncanny and impressive attention to detail. I don't know anyone who could describe a place or situation better than he does. It's a shame that I don't care about the place or situation. Frankly, I would hope that he never reads this review, because I like him a whole lot, and have endless respect for his other works and for him as a person. But I cannot recommend this book to anyone unless he or she is relentlessly infatuated with Tim Gautreaux or fiction stories about Louisiana. If either of those is true of you, then you'll probably get something out of the book, and you may be capable of looking past its flaws. If not, then you'd be better off buying his short story collections and worshipping them instead.
Rating: 
Summary: So, it's got a few elements of the tall tale...
Review: Maybe that's what others mean by "overplotted." I'll take a well-written, overplotted book any day over a novel where uninteresting people gaze at their bellybuttons and nothing happens. And though plenty happens in this novel, it is still a character-driven work, with two very realistic, flawed characters (and Colette had better be flawed or she'd be in danger of being Wonder Woman!) and a boatload of memorable supporting characters. The descriptions sparkle, and you get a real sense of the author's love for the place and the people.
Rating:
Summary: I am pained by this book
Review: Oh, Boy. What tree died for this work. I just don't get it. I agree with Texas and Virginia. Can not recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book with fascinating local color!
Review: Taking place in a small Louisiana town, the author writes so well, you can see the characters, surroundings and events with incredible clarity. I loved it. A love story with laughter intermingled. It is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Dance through Louisiana Life
Review: The best book I have read in a long time, and the best book I have ever read about Louisiana. The author keeps the reader in suspense and when the two main characters seem to overcome one problem, another crops up just like in real life. Dance through Louisiana and life with this novel set in Louisiana. This book should be made into a movie. I can just picture it. Suspense and picturesquire details put you in the middle of a world of water as the search is on for Paul. Colette learns a lesson about true love and what is really important in real life. The glamour of California could not compare to the swamps and mud of Louisiana, where life had real meaning for Colette. A book you won't want to put down until the end, so don't miss it!!! I have written two Louisiana books, but they don't begin to compare!! Barbara J. Robinson
Rating:
Summary: Dance through Louisiana Life
Review: The best book I have read in a long time, and the best book I have ever read about Louisiana. The author keeps the reader in suspense and when the two main characters seem to overcome one problem, another crops up just like in real life. Dance through Louisiana and life with this novel set in Louisiana. This book should be made into a movie. I can just picture it. Suspense and picturesquire details put you in the middle of a world of water as the search is on for Paul. Colette learns a lesson about true love and what is really important in real life. The glamour of California could not compare to the swamps and mud of Louisiana, where life had real meaning for Colette. A book you won't want to put down until the end, so don't miss it!!! I have written two Louisiana books, but they don't begin to compare!! Barbara J. Robinson
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: This book is replete with small town blue collar America. It is a wonderful look at the values held by folks just scraping by in a hard-hitting (literally), hard-dancing hard-living area.
The novel gives a look at a young - in age and maturity - couple living deep in the bayou. Starting during the oil boom, it continues ionto the bust. The couple starts together for a very short time, breaks up, head west separately, return home separately and end up together. Throughout this odyssey, they both grow at different paces and for different reasons. They both come of age through some very hard times.
Mr. Gautreaux's is very good. The story moves well carrying the reader along on a relentless dance of the two characters' lives. Dancing is throughout the book - in reality and metaphorically. Better than his writing is Mr. Gautreaux's depiction of his characters. They are given depth that makes them realistic. They both have foibles that make them believable and they both have the inconsistencies of youth trying to reach their dreams and adults who find their dreams were not what they thought they were.
A great homage to family roots and small towns, this book is entertaining as well as thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Wouldn't even make a BAD made-for-TV movie !!
Review: This is a horrible book - bad plot, bad characters, bad story, bad language. It is not even worth the paper it is printed on. It wouldn't even make a BAD made-for-TV movie !!
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