4 out of 5 stars

The Shoe Box Waltz by Kathleen Patrick is an enthralling novel that at times wraps its arms around to comfort the reader and at other times hits the reader with raw emotions. This book continues to showcase Patrick’s ability to observe the human condition and represent it in poetic language that leaves the reader knowing exactly what the characters are going through along their lifelong journeys.

With The Shoe Box Waltz, Patrick has built upon some of her short stories from her collection Anxieties in the Wilderness. Throughout the novel, the reader follows the members of the Daneli family, mostly the daughters Cora and Caitlyn, as they journey through love, broken hearts, bruised bodies, adventures, relationships with friends, and so much more to find what they both desperately seek: their true selves. And as the story is told from different characters’ perspectives, the reader gets a little closer to what it means to brave when all seems lost.

The novel starts with Cora’s adventures traveling through Europe as a young woman, and all the excitement that entails. She meets Nancy who opens Cora’s eyes to a different side of the world and educates her about art history, the performing arts, and taking chances. As travel companions, Cora and Nancy experience many of the ups and downs that plague two people who don’t know each other well but who have agreed to what hopefully is safety in numbers. They talk, cry, laugh, get frustrated with each other, squabble, apologize, and plan the next leg of their trip. Cora’s dream of traveling to Greece is suddenly put in peril as the young women go on one last Italian adventure, this time on sea. What happens on the boat will haunt Cora and Nancy for the rest of their lives.

The second part of the novel speaks to Caitlyn’s state of mind as she works through her latest revelation of what love means to her and how she defines herself through her relationship with Greg. This takes place years after Cora’s European travels, but the ghosts of the past have not left Cora in peace. At one time, the sisters had been very close. They played and laughed together and provided solace to each other throughout a somewhat turbulent childhood. They grew apart after Cora left for college, and had never been able to repair what they thought was broken between them. The reader grows attached to the sisters, understanding each one’s plight and the distance those plights create between siblings once so close.

In The Shoe Box Waltz, Patrick does what she does best: she creates an environment of empathy for her characters that brings the readers a little closer to the truth of the human condition. This novel might offer some triggers for some readers regarding violence and different forms of abuse.

I received this book as an ARC. This review is honest and voluntary.