Giles' stories are subtle, bizarre, and believably human. Her versatility comes through beautifully in this collection, though the consistency of her literary ethos is striking. Deliciously comic and tragic.

I started this book a couple of evenings ago and was so excited, talking about it in work the next day, how wonderful it was! Somehow over the next couple of reading sessions I started losing my enthusiasm for the story. Ida was a pip indeed! Kay was a bit pathetic but I still had hope for her. Her father, Francis, was despicable, her husband Neal was an irritating, uninteresting whimp. Thankfully, she had her friend Zabeth, who was an absolute hoot! These characters were all so enjoyable at first, but as the story progressed it seemed to drag and become bland, I can't quite put my finger on it. I do see great talent here and would like to read some of Ms. Giles' short stories. Perhaps this book would've been better as a short story and there just wasn't enough material here to keep my interest peaked?! In any case, not a bad read at all, it "grabbed" me initially, but let go somewhere in the middle.

Molly Giles is an excellent SHORT story writer , and after reading her previous story collections ( Rough Translations and Creek Walk), I really looked forward to this first novel. WRONG. Iron Shoes is a s-t-r-e-c-h-e-d out short story and should be, at most,a short novel within a short story collection. The pace is slow, like a snails ,or even slower at times. I question the need for the inclusion of some characters ,who just take up space on the page , and are not needed for the thin storyline.

Kay Sorenson,age 40,has problems...most that have been around for a long long time such as her prissy second husband,not interested father,and lack of self-worth ( OH MY ,we could see this coming)as manifested in a tiny job,tiny house, and tiny life driven by unresolved guilt, unwarrented fear and the need for,in my opinion , a kick-start to the rear. Ida, her Drama Queen mother, is the reason I kept reading this book. I wanted to know about what outrageous , self-centered (but with true DQ style ) thing she would say or do next.Ida was the only character with ( some irony here)some LIFE in her! Kay needs to GROW UP, and I felt cheated that it took 239 pages for her to take a few toddler's steps toward this goal.

Get Molly Giles short story collections--- even in hardback , but I would advise waiting for the paperback of Iron Shoes, if you are still determined to read it!

Molly Giles's new work of fiction, "Iron Shoes" has everything that a complex and engrossing novel needs. You have a worthy main character in Kay and you certainly feel a strong connection with her life. You can't wait to see what happens next and you certainly want the very best for her in what clearly is a difficult situation. She has so much going on, and such a difficult set of circumstances facing her, that you wonder if she'll survive. The reader is treated to a wonderful tale with brilliant writing from an author that I haven't really been familiar with. I certainly think she's a talent and look forward to more of her work. Good read!

I loved the story "Chocolate Footballs." However, for the most part I felt a certain sameness throughout the stories, as though the characters were essentially reapeated, but the names had been changed. I felt a middle-class blandness throughout. Besides the tick in "Chocolate Footballs," nothing memorable happens; no lasting impact. Still, it was a good read and I enjoyed the stories.