Tim Gautreaux's writing is simply amazingly good. His characters are sublimely human, and he has a knack for finding the good in all of them - even those who might be a bit unsavory. He places them in situations that are ordinary and unique at the same time - and in those situations he finds ways to reveal things to us that allow us to learn more about ourselves. The characters learn about themselves as well, and this is a treasure to observe. The stories here deal with joy and sorrow and all of the areas in between. The people here are struggling to come to grips with their own families, with their work, with the people around them - and with the world in which they live.

In the title piece, a man attempts to assert more of a guiding influence on his grandchildren, and in the process winds up changing several aspects of his own life as well. His trials in striving to accomplish a task given him by his wife, while sitting with his grandchildren at the same time, is presented with some of the most genuine humor I've read in a while - but it's a gentle humor, and it never belittles the characters or the situation (and this finely-tuned humor is used to good effect in several of these stories, even the more 'serious' ones.

'Misuse of light' is a moving portrait of a man who works in a camera shop learning about the lives of his customers through the small areas where their lives intersect with his. When someone sells a camera to his shop and he finds a roll of film in it, he develops it in order to get a glimpse into other lives. Opening this door can, as he learns, have jarring effects - on him as well as on the lives he enters. When he uncovers information that causes pain to the young woman who has sold him the camera, rather than abandoning his 'study', he probes a bit further in order to get to a level in this past wherein she can find a bit of peace. It's something that makes the character endearing - it's a story to restore faith. Another story dealing with faith it 'Good for the soul', in which a parish priest with a bit of a drinking problem, attempting to do a good deed (against his better judgment), runs afoul of both the law and his community.

'Easy pickings' details a rather inept thief's attempt to take advantage of a solitary elderly woman - rather than being a cakewalk, he finds that he's definitely bitten off more than he can chew. There's a great deal of the above-mentioned gentle humor in this tale - and Gautreaux delivers it with tender respect, never ridiculing his characters. 'The piano tuner' is, like 'Misuse of light', a finely-crafted work in which one character sets out to help another cope with the world - and does so with no expectations of any sort of reward. It's a good example of how those among us who are a little 'different' can find their niche - and a gentle lesson in showing such folks more tolerance.

'Resistance' is another case of one human helping another - in this instance, an elderly man, a widower, sees a need and fills it. The little girl who lives next door is very obviously the victim of an abusive, drunk father. When the neighbor learns that her parents are unable/unwilling to help her with her science project, he takes on the task himself - and the light he creates shines not only into her dark life, but also into his own.

'Sorry blood' and 'Sunset in heaven' both deal with aspects of growing old. In the former, an Alzheimer's patient is victimized by one of the lowest low-lifes you're liable to meet (and hope that you don't). In the latter, the plight of an old man similarly afflicted opens the eyes of a middle-aged man to the possibilities in his own life.

'Rodeo parole' is a frightening, surreal look at a desperate attempt by prisoners to be viewed in a more favorable light by the parole board - by making themselves sitting targets for a bull enraged by repeated electric shocks from prison guards. Its few pages explode with action.

My two favorites in this collection are 'Dancing with the one-armed gal' and 'The Pine Oil Writers Conference'. In the former, a man on the run from (or is it 'to') himself meets a woman hitchhiker as he travels west from Louisiana. They're both looking for something - and neither is sure just what, although they think they know - and the 'answers' they find aren't the ones they expect. It makes for a very interesting and revealing encounter - both for the characters and the reader. 'The Pine Oil Writers Conference' is, for me, the gem of this book. Gautreaux has created the classic 'riddle wrapped in an enigma' with this story - an aspiring writer (a minister) attends the conference, hoping to find out if writing fiction is 'the thing he does best'. The short excerpt included in this story produced by the character for a conference workshop is so well written than it made me sorry there wasn't more of it.

I've never read anything by Tim Gautreaux before - but you can bet I'll be looking for his other short story collection (SAME PLACE, SAME THINGS) as well as his novel (THE NEXT STEP IN THE DANCE). This little book was a great discovery.

If you get off the interstate and on to the old highways, you can see them. They're the people who live between the suburbs of one great city and the suburbs of the next. Tim Gautreaux invites us to get out of our cars and into the grey-wood houses with a bentwood rocker on the front porch and an Oldsmobile engine hanging from the pecan tree in the side yard. He gives us a sad, funny, sympathetic and ultimately hopeful introduction to his friends. He shows us their fears, their friendships, their courage and their dreams. Take him up on his invitation. You won't regret it.

These short stories are awesome and pure Louisiana: rich, delectable and spicy. My favorite was also 'Good for the Soul' about the well-meaning priest who drank just a wee bit too much....but had a heart of gold. I laughed until I cried in parts of this one. Thanks, Tim, for these superb, uplifting stories. You make us Louisiana natives proud!!!

I enjoyed this volume of Gautreaux's short stories almost as much as WELDING WITH CHILDREN - his writing seems to flow effortlessly from him (but I'm sure it's hard work, as good as it is). As with the stories in that later collection, the author infuses each tale with a gentle humor - even those stories that would be completely morose in the hands of another writer sparkle here and there with an 'inner smile'. Gautreaux never belittles his characters, never makes fun of them - but he allows the humorous aspects of their lives and situations and personalities to shine through whatever darkness fate has chosen to settle around them. This - and his amazing character drawing skills - makes his fiction a joy to read.

The stories here that stood out the most for me are 'Same place, same things', 'The bug man', 'Returnings' and 'Deputy Syd's gift' - and these last two are simply amazing works. They could stand up well alongside the writing of anyone.

Gautreaux has a definite gift - his novel THE NEXT STEP IN THE DANCE is on my table at home, waiting its turn.

I had the privilege of attending a writer's conference in Indiana where the author was an instructor. He was the kind of person one wants to observe, to be around. Funny, smart, very gentlemanly toward his wife and the attendees! His stories in this book reflect Mr. Gautreaux's innate ability to observe people of all sorts. His is a rare talent. Highly recommend this book to readers to enjoy all fiction, especially Southern fiction.

Being of Cajun heritage, I enjoy reading Southern literature, but at its worst, it is a bad mix of standard stereotypes: white trash, hound dogs, trailer parks and bad men and loose women. Gim Gautreaux gets it right! He gently (often humorously) takes a good, long look at Louisiana, and his vision is sharp without getting mired in cliches. The title story is dark and poignant, and its characters are interesting and multi-dimensional. I want to read more of Mr. Gautreaux; his view of the world is just quirky enough to be fascinating, but not so strange that I don't want to visit that place! And besides, I never knew anyone who ever actually wrote about Catahoula!

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.

Tim Gautreaux is a Cajun who happens to also be a gifted writer. He has learned from the best, including Walker Percy. The plot of this novel is relatively common and could be transplanted to many isolated groups of people. However, to really understand the Cajun mindset, what better way is there than being a Cajun? Having lived less than thirty minutes from the town in the story, I feel the environment in this work. The characters are believable. The sub-plots are true to life. This novel offers Cajuns their greatest weapon against non-native representation of their culture: self-representation in well-written form. Reading it will help one understand a interesting group of Americans.

While browsing through the new-fiction shelf at my local library, I stumbled across a familiar name...Tim Gautreaux. He was one of my college professors at SLU in Hammond, Louisiana, so I checked out the book and spent two wonderful nights "going home". Having been raised in the most southeastern part of Louisiana, and being the only daughter of a 100% certified cajun man born and raised in southeastern Louisiana, this book paints the picture of cajun Louisiana with glorious highs and lows. The struggle for life, love and self-esteem from the two main characters had me laughing, crying and feeling homesick all at the same time. Well done, Dr. Gautreaux!