Customer Reviews

Dance Real Slow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The misapplied metaphor and the meaningless adjective overwhelm this slight book pretending to be a serious examination of love and fathering. But besides the numerous inappopriate and gratuitous modifiers, there is nothing here. The conflict feels grafted on by an author who recognizes the dullness of his tale, the plot surprises would only surprise the comatose, and the predictability of the whole thing left me weary. A book for those who feel rather than think, for the feelings are all good in this. Nice man, nice boy, nice girlfriend. Nice make-believe story line.

Nothing in here approaches real. Nothing is thought out. It is the harmless cotton candy of modern fiction, tastes great (in very limnited quantities) with no content whatsoever.

Though Jaffe's novel is far from perfect (weak writing in parts that sounds contrived, some plot strands that just don't work out), let's dwell on the bright side. He captures quite well the frustrations and joys of parenthood. Even the most patient parent occassionaly feels like smacking his/her child at times. Calvin is a cute 4 year old who becomes enamoured of the Portuguese Man of War that his grandmother sends him in a jar! In one of the funniest scenes in the book, they make a trip to a doctor friend who treats the decaying jellyfish and adds formaldyhide which prolongs the creatures jar life a few more days. The love interest part of the book works, although we never find out much about her, but the scenes when his exwife comes back just don't seem to hang together. There were times that the writing sounded "workshoppy" to me. In short, this novel is worth reading for some poignant moments and sweet scenes, but it has several weaknesses that interfere with the novel as a whole.

Jaffe's story provides a wonderful example of how a thirty-something single father deals with parenthood, while at the same time living through the trials and tribulations of his new found life. Love, loss of love, security, and insecurity are all very important themes within this book. Jaffe provides a wonderful set of characters who play out the problems of life in a small town in Kansas (a slow paced backdrop which allows the reader to put into perspective the interaction which occurs between its complex protagonist and the rest of the characters within the novel). All and all, this story is well thought out, and it is very well portrayed. In terms of writing style, Jaffe has room to improve. Though he shows flashes of briliance, his narrative, many times, appears to be organic and repetitive. Written in the first person, there are a lot of "I's," and there is not a whole lot depth in the description of setting. In conclusion, this book excells in bringing to life the problems of a man trying to become a father, and lacks in literary maturity. Something this good writer will only get better at.

In the tradition of Kramer vs. Kramer by Avery Corman, Dance Real Slow explores the relationship between a father and his 4 year old son after the boy's mother walks out on them. In, at times, heartbreaking clarity, this book describes the life of Gordon and Calvin, set adrift and learning to cope as a twosome instead of a threesome. Managing hard to put his life in order, Gordon a part time lawyer, reflects not only on his marraige to Katie as he goes through the day to day living of rasing a son, but also his own realtionship with his father. Then when Gordon is finally comfortable in his role as a single parent and when Calvin seems to be well adjusted to his situation, Katie returns. Complicating matters further is Gordon's developing realtionship with a new woman.

Although the subject of fathers and sons has been explored by other writers, particularly Russian authors, Jaffe's book prsents this realationship in a somewhat predicatable and contrived manner. But in the end the predicatement had me rooting for the futther sucesses of Calvin and Gordon.

While I enjoyed most of the novel perhaps its my memory of Kramer vs. Kramer, both the book and movie which I read first and enjoed more, that somewhat spoiled this book for me.

The book really had me hooked in the beginning. But the author lost me when he brought "Mom" back into the picture. He didn't seem to know what to do with her and the ending ended up weak and contrite.

Great characters. Such a sensitive portrayal of a respectable man and his unique son. I felt like like I knew the goodness of Jaffe just by reading this book.

I was really anxious to read this book and I really thought it was well written. He had really great character descriptions but I wish he would have developed some of them a little more (there were a few characters I really wanted to get to know better). I was also kind of disappointed with the ending. Otherwise it was a really good book - one of the best I have read in a while.

This was one of the most delicate and touching stories I have ever read. I can't wait for Michael's next book, and I can't wait to see the movie of "Dance Real Slow". It's a shame it won't be on the big screen.

This book is a tiny, delicate, infinitely-faceted gem inlaid in a brooch of finely-etched, perfectly molded iridium reposing in a rare, supple, subtly carved treasure chest carried in a simple, refined, elegant shopping bag. I loved it!

Finding a great book like this is just like finding a beautiful seashell in the vast seashore. I feel the same way when I saw "Late For Dinner", the movie. Lucky I ran into you, just like the Woddy Allen Movie.