Paradise Dance
Short Stories by
Michael Lee
With an Introduction by James Carroll
"What a good
read!"
—Norman Mailer
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
—Library Journal (starred review)
“In the fading dreams of ordinary men and women, Lee captures the beating heart of a
city…and comes to symbolize much more.”
—Time Out
“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.”
—The
“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.”
—The Metrowest Daily News
"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."
—Kirkus Reviews
“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.”
—Publishers
Weekly
“Lee’s prose is perfect for these extraordinary tales of ordinary, small town
—
"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!"
—Norman Mailer
"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."
—Andre Dubus III
"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!
—Thomas E. Kennedy, author of Drive, Dive, Dance & Fight and The Book
of Angels
“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!”
—Gordon Weaver, Author of Circling
"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."
—Robert Sabbag, Author of Snowblind
and Loaded: A Misadventure on the Marijuana Trail
Michael Lee's humor columns and articles have been published
extensively in Massachusetts newspapers such as The
Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Cape Cod Times. He is a Vietnam veteran, having
served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Khe Sanh. He went on to become a commercial diver in
Miami and started his free lance writing career there, eventually being named editor of
Miami magazine. Since moving to Cape Cod three decades ago, Lee has held a variety of
jobs—teacher, cook, shell fisherman, construction worker, shrimp peeler, humor
editor—each paying less than the last. He holds an MFA in Writing from Emerson
College and is a Senior Editor at The Cape Cod Voice.
Read the Introduction by James Carroll
Available Now-To Buy This Book On Line Click Here
CATEGORY: Fiction
PAGES: 216
TRIM: 6x9
ISBN: 0-9679520-6-9
PRICE: $14.95/ Paperback Original
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