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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jun 2005, 368 pages
Paperback:
May 2006, 368 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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Buoyant and deeply moving, Cover the Butter proves that starting over has nothing to do with age and everything to do with spirit.
Get ready to cheer for Kate Cadogan, a forty-something woman who has
spent her life trying to please her husband, her son, her mother and her
father without a moment’s thought to her own needs. Until one day when a
series of events causes her to slip back in time…
For the first time Kate sees her life clearly—her dreams of becoming a
caterer; the delicate yet combustible relationship she shares with her
mother; and the unflagging support of her two best friends.
Kate finds the courage to make a break and energized by her newfound
freedom, she creates a life all her own.
Buoyant and deeply moving, Cover the Butter proves that starting
over has nothing to do with age and everything to do with spirit.
Prologue 1995
On Sunday, April 16, 1995, I vowed I would never sleep
with my husband, Rodney, again.
It was the day I opened the door to 75 Copper Lane and
swung my luggage onto the tiled floor of the hall. Then I remember
skidding, and landing hard on my rear. As I sat in cat vomit, Velcro
greeted me, waving his string of a tail.
"Bad cat!"
I hoped that was all I would find after my neighbor
Pam had accosted me outside with: "Bad news for you, I'm afraid, Kate.
We had to call the police."
What the hell happened?
"Shit, what happened?"
"A bit noisy in the wee hours. High spirits, that's all.
You're a brave soul, letting Charlie have a party."
Party. Oh damn, yes, the party. Tossing my jacket in
the direction of the washing machine, I headed...
If you enjoyed Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman or Step-Ball-Change, this is likely to be a book for you...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Jeanne Ray, author.
Carrie Kabak's Cover the Butter is an extraordinary novel. It is poignant, sensitive, funny and original, and it fairly sings with life. I felt myself dissolve into it!Carrie Kabak assures us that Cover The Butter is not autobiographical. However, it would seem that she has much in common with her protagonist. Like Kate, she was discouraged from following her artistic talent and desires and instead was directed firmly towards a "real job". She says, "At eighteen, it was time to line up for career advice at school. The Head Teacher studied our exam results. She pointed to each girl, teacher, bank, nurse, teacher, bank, nurse. I was labelled 'teacher' and encouraged to train for a real job.... So I went to Cardiff University to train as a French, English and Art teacher. At college, an English professor pulled me to one side. Why was I teaching, he asked. Why wasn't I ...
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