| Paradise Dance
Short Stories by Michael Lee
"What a good read!"
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| Michael Lee is a New England literary treasure—and
until now, a secret. An original voice from the working-class outskirts
of Boston, Lee’s standing-room-only readings have been delighting
audiences for twenty years. Leapfrog is proud to be the first to
collect his poignant and hilarious stories. In this moving and often
quite humorous debut collection, Mike Lee enters the territory of
Richard Russo and Russell Banks, the New England of forgotten mill
towns and abandoned hopes, of people with few illusions trying to
put their losses behind them. A late bloomer, much like the characters
in these stories, Lee has performed and polished his stories in
backwater Boston-area bars and coffee houses for over twenty years.
Drawing praise from acknowledged writing masters as well as budding
stars, Lee’s stories touch all generations, and all social
classes, with their rendering of lives down but not out; of self-declared
failures—writing teachers, Nam vets, hopelessly clumsy teenage
athletes, widows of unfaithful politicians—who nonetheless
try and try again. In the words of National Book Award winner James
Carroll, “What is eternity, Lee asks, but standing under a
fly ball, waiting for the ambulance, thinking of what to engrave
on a tombstone, regretting a marriage, asking for a date, hoping
for the Red Sox? And what is the ordinary world when observed
with feeling, wisdom, generosity, and, yes, love—if not paradise
after all?” Indeed, what is Paradise Dance but the overdue
introduction of a wise and tender new voice.
“Until this debut, Lee had been New England’s best-kept
literary secret. Leapfrog is to be commended for revealing this
strong new voice to American literature. Strongly recommended.” “In the fading dreams of ordinary men and women, Lee captures
the beating heart of a city…and comes to symbolize much
more.” “Well-honed short stories that sparkle with a sweetness
and salty tang, Lee’s aging warriors have few illusions
and plenty of regrets but they also have remarkable insight, often
expressed with sarcastic wit.” “Mixing sly humor with a gritty refusal to roll over, Lee’s
stories make us hold our breath and root for life’s little
miracles.” "A varied and accomplished debut collection from a longtime
live storyteller. Breadth rules here but more often than not these
are stories of people running from mistakes, recent or ancient.
Lee's voice fits perfectly...Solid work from a writer who should
have been recognized long ago." “Following in the stylistic footsteps of Andre Dubus and
Raymond Carver, Lee makes an impressive debut, offering a heady
blend of compassion, razor sharp wit, and well-honed story-telling
skills.” “Lee’s prose is perfect for these extraordinary tales
of ordinary, small town Massachusetts.” "In Lee's hands, would-be failures are redeemed by human
contact and surprising kindness [which is] part of the magic of
Lee's storytelling." "Michael Lee's short stories have a rare quality. They are
tough, hard-bitten, and surprisingly sensitive to the nuances
that motivate behavior in people we assume too quickly are without
nuance. What a good read!" "In Michael Lee's stunningly crafted stories, we find people
who suffer few illusions as to how they've lost their way, people
on the cusp of making peace with all that will never be, yet who
still yearn for one good kiss, one true triumph, one moment of
lasting grace. Lee's vision is full of compassion, forgiveness,
and hope, but is also unsparing in its veracity made all the more
symphonic with humor: a tender humor that does not mask the wounds
here, but tends to them. This is an important and memorable collection." "Viet vets, failed musicians, waitresses, office workers,
mediocre professors, middle managers, bartenders, fathers and
sons: Michael Lee’s Paradise Dance is a world peopled by
adult men and their women who are having a hard time of it, but
who will not lay down and die and who cling for dear life to that
which holds them up, their sense of humor and a few fleeting moments
of love. These are guys who stand up and square off with life
even when they know they can’t win, hard-boiled ne’er-do-wells
indefatigably cracking wise in the teeth of it all. And their
stories are equal parts sadness and belly laugh. A trace of Raymond
Carver mixed with Damon Runyon and Dave Barry, Lee fulfills the
time-honored ingredient for a good read: make ‘em laugh,
make ‘em weep! “Mike Lee's stories provide a literary feast! They're gritty,
but unafraid of the risks of sentiment, and leavened with wit.
Here's a range of characters to delight in, all of them flawed,
but courageously human. And his milieu, Albright, Massachusetts,
a mill town in decline, is a world-in-small, one this reader came
to know as if he had lived there himself. And the title story
alone is worth the price of this collection. What a fine
gathering of fictions, craft and heart and style—bravo!” "I've always admired Lee for his fast ball. His breaking
stuff never sucked either. But not until the publication of Paradise
Dance did I get a look at his change-up. It's an education watching
him work. And a thrill to see him throwing in the majors. To him
and to all who have yet to read him: Welcome to the show."
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