Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend [Hardcover]

Robert James Waller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1993

Michael Tillman, a middle-aged economics professor, is happy enough with his life, until he meets Jellie Braden and falls in love. But their relationship is so passionate that Jellie takes flight to Southern India in search of her past, and Michael embarks on an exotic journey to bring her back.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Only little old ladies with blue permed hair need be wary of Waller's second foray into fiction: this time around, his saccharine tale of middle-aged lovers gets to sex scenes right away. When Michael Tillman, an Iowa economics professor with a rebel streak, first lays eyes on his colleague's wife, Jellie Branden, he immediately wonders "how it would feel to grab a big handful of her hair and bend her over the dean's kitchen table." A few pages later--still in the first chapter--he is fantasizing about stripping Jellie naked and flying to the Seychelles. Though it takes a while to consummate their passion, Jellie is an iconoclast too: like Mike, she smokes and wears jeans to faculty parties, and she is pretty good in the sex fantasy department herself. But Jellie has a Dark Secret (no surprise to the reader when it is revealed) and Michael must go tearing off to India to try to locate her when she runs away from Cedar Bend. Waller's attempt at academic satire is a dud, but he renders the Indian settings quite effectively. An encounter with a tiger is just the sort of sentimental flourish that fans of The Bridges of Madison County will get teary-eyed over; and there's even a coy reference to Robert Kincaid to evoke the earlier novel. To the main question--will this book please Waller's fans?--the answer is a resounding Yes. Movie rights to 20th Century Fox; BOMC main selection; QPB alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Michael Tillman, a tenured economics professor enjoying his role of academic maverick, feels an immediate attraction to Jellie Braden when she walks into a dean's reception with her husband. Their common past experiences in India provide a basis for friendship, which develops into a spiritual link; Michael realizes that he has waited a lifetime to meet Jellie. Within a year, their love intensifies, and the affair is consummated. Yet there is much Michael doesn't know about Jellie, and her sudden, unannounced visit to India prompts his quest for the secret of her past. The surreal-man-and-married-woman love affair is reminiscent of the author's current bestseller, The Bridges of Madison County ( LJ 3/1/92), but Waller economically imbues his plot and characters with life's truths in a manner many will find enthralling. Recommended for most collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/93.
- Kimberly Martin, Washington Univ. Law Lib., St. Louis
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; First Editiion First Printing edition (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0434001163
• ISBN-13: 978-0434001163
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,974,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read It Twice, December 9, 2001

By 

S. M Marson (Lumberton, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend (Mass Market Paperback)

I saw Robert Walker interviewed on a Sunday news program immediately following the publication of the now famous THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. His narrative describing the emergence of the novel fascinated me. He spoke as if the characters were somehow inside him crying for their story to be told. I had to read this book. Next thing I knew, BRIDGES made the best sellers list. This was in the early 90's. The book became a common topic of conversation among my friends. In fact, one friend and I spoke of the book a great deal. It is a book to make one think and discuss.

A year or so later, I came across SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND - quite by accident. When I made the connection with THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, I immediately purchased the book, read it, then shared it with my friend with whom I had long discussions about Walker's first novel. Frankly, I liked SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND much better than THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. I remember seeing myself in the main character. This character, Michael Tillman, mesmerized me.

Twelve years later, I was looking for a book on tape to keep me company on a long lonely drive, I bought SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND forgetting that I read the novel 12 years earlier. During the second reading (or listening), I found that I enjoyed the author's writing and his imagery, but didn't find any connection between the main character and me. In fact, I didn't realize that I had read this novel before until I got to the part where Michael Tillman finds Jellie Braden on an Island in India. Reading this book for a second time was a fascinating experience. I continued to enjoy Walker's writing style, but the novel had a much different emotional impact on me. I suspect that my two experiences were the result of the author's crafty skill with the written word.

For those, who read SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND when it first some out, I recommend to read it again. In fact, I think I'll listen to it on my next trip.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars SILLY, March 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend (Mass Market Paperback)

How many short, silly novellas can one author turn out with wafer-thin plots and cliched characters that struggle not to fall into bed with each other, knowing all along that's exactly what they're going to do? This book was almost as bad as Bridges...but not quite. But then, not much could be.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I'm giving this a "2" because..., January 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend (Paperback)

...I already deemed Waller's first novel, "The Drudges of Madison County," the worst book in the solar system. What to say about this one? Well, the dialogue was, as expected, overwrought (is it just me, or would anyone else out there burst out laughing at some of the things Michael says to Jellie while they're knocking booties?). Michael's various shenanigans (taking off before finals, giving his students grades based only on the semester's work, pissing off the dean, making goo-goo eyes at the dean's wife...) would get him fired at my university, darn tootin'. While we're on the subject of universities, raise your hand if you found Pat Sanchez offensive. I mean, how many times am I going to have to read about a Spanish character who has "fought her way up from the barrio?" And why are they all named Sanchez? I don't know a single person with that last name and I live in Los Angeles! Then again, if you want well-drawn, unique characters; a stirring plot; and a subtle yet strong message, maybe you should try reading the label on your package of Kraft Singles. Not only is it a compelling read, but the contents are much more satisfying than this doggerel.