Review: Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears by Ken Wheaton

"I'm so glad you came," Sonny says after his crying tapers off to a manageable whimper. "Karen-Anne always said one of  'em would have to die to get you back here for something other than Christmas."

Released July 1, 2014
by Open Road Media. 

Katie-Lee Fontenot aka Katherine to her New York friends and co-workers is surfing the web and checking Facebook same as the others in a meeting while some of the managers are discussing something among themselves when the electronic discussion among her co-workers turns to a zoo worker who was trampled by a black rhino down in Louisiana. At first Katie-Lee is going along with the jokes, until she reads the name of the woman hurt, Karen-Anne Castille - her baby sister.

She has made up her mind to go see her when her older sister, Kendra-Sue, tells her to get her butt on down there because now it's a funeral. So, Katie-Lee returns to Louisiana to face her family without the aid of modern medicine (Xanax, Lexapro, etc.).

Katie-Lee is a protagonist well worth reading about. She is 50 years old and single with all that entails. The company she works for is facing lay offs/ staff reductions. She comes across as a pretty real woman dealing with some real modern day problems.

Then we are transported to her family life, which like many a family life is a little weirder than life away from home. It's touching and funny. You feel for her and her siblings. And maybe there's a time or two where you might be tempted to knock heads, but that will pass.

It's a really good story and it's very well written. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

If you are interested in Cajun words and phrases such as those used in the book, Ken Wheaton has written at least 2 blog posts on them. Talkin' Funny: Louisiana Style and Even More Talkin' Funny: Louisiana Style

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Teaser Tuesday - Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears by Ken Wheaton

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 

Should Be Reading.

Rules:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t    give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR    Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser comes from Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears by Ken Wheaton. The novel was released July 1, 2014 by Open Road Media. The scene it comes from, Katie-Lee aka Katherine is in a business meeting just before she finds out her sister was trampled by a rhinoceros. 

Then, from the depths of my stomach -loud enough so that the room falls silent for just a moment and eyes turn my way - whale song. WORRNHH? A short burst. A question, maybe. Then REEERNNNNNN, as if there are two of them in there, and the second answering the first. 
     "Something I ate," I say, shrugging as if it's no big deal.

So, what's your teaser this week?