Sidewalk Dancing: A Novel in Stories

by Letitia L. Moffitt

"Sidewalk Dancing is a careful exploration of a diverse family's dynamics told with" the subtle wrist bends and brush strokes of a perpetual outsider. Multiple narratives told by a gifted multi-ethnic artist create a beautifully crooked mosaic. Miranda McGee, the daughter of shy, pragmatic Grace Chao and globetrotting dreamer George McGee, feels like a social pariah. She is a factory original, not bound to one land, nor one people. Miranda knows she doesn't entirely belong anywhere.

She doesn't understand how her parents ever married, how they picked up and moved to Oahu. How, despite their cultural differences, they could start a new life, build a house, raise a child, and run a popular local diner.

Miranda may feel like an outcast in Hawaii or New York, but it is her alienation from her family environment and her own identity that makes her realize that some people feel like outsiders no matter where they are, and this alone may be the one thing her family members have in common.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2013

About the author

Letitia L. Moffitt was born and raised in Hawaii, and somehow ended up in rural Illinois. Her novels include Sidewalk Dancing (Atticus Books 2013), Trace and Vibe/Sync (Cantraip Press 2015 and 2016). Her memoir, Bird People, was published by Cantraip Press in 2019. In her spare time she runs marathons and ultramarathons and takes care of a lot of animals, including three beautiful, high-maintenance macaws.

Reviews

[Bonnie Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like small books, just as I like small movies. Not small in import or impact, but small in tone and size. As I picked up Sidewalk Dancing, I liked the feel of it in my hands, just like my beloved Loeb Classics volumes. Yet, the small size of the book belies its effect. Moffitt draws us into an intimate world of family relationships, friends gained and lost, and cultures dancing with one another, one step forward, two steps back. The book reminds me of some of my favorite films, short on gimmicks, but long on humanity. Despite my fondness for small books, I did not want this one to end.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this little book through the goodreads giveaway, and found it was an enjoyable read, if a bit glum at times. It had a weighty feel to it, at least to me, with some fairly heavy topics being discussed--identity, family, death and life.

I think what I liked best was just how easy it was to be pulled along with the stories, to actually identify with the characters. Moffitt created stories where I think anyone could identify with each character's struggles, confusions, identity questions. It was excellent to be pulled along for the ride rather than told struggles--I felt each character's issues as though they were my own. I liked the ending, too, and how brief it was--it seemed to echo the concept well.

Overall this was a good book and I'll probably be thinking about it for a while.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sidewalk Dancing is comprised of a string of vaguely chronological vignettes from the lives of the McGee family. Some focus on a single character, others on several. Some are told in first person, others in third, and one — successfully, I was pleased to discover — in second.

I was rather entranced by Moffitt’s gentle writing. Reading her prose is like slipping into warm bathwater: easy, comforting, delightful, relaxing. She expresses amazing depth with only a few words. She wanders around the private landscapes of her characters just enough to bring them vividly to life but not so much that her reader gets lost. In a gesture, a sigh, a turn of phrase, she spins the fabric of their relationships. Nothing flashy. No pyrotechnics. But impressive, once you realize what’s going on.

Full review is posted on Erin Reads.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel I should preface my review by saying Letitia Moffitt was one of my college professors, so I may be biased.

Sidewalk Dancing works on two levels, both as a novel and as a collection of short stories. It's a book that lends itself both to reading all in one sitting or, as I did, taking your time to really enjoy each section separately. The writing is wonderfully detailed and slips easily between characters as well as first and third person narration. The characters and stories are also strong and memorable. I was able to put the book down at the end of one section and pick up the next a month later without missing a beat. Highly recommended.

[Tye Jiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that each story was intricately different but they were able to stand alone and still work as a collection.

This is my first time reading from this author. I would recommend this book. It was a great, steady flowing read.

[Catherine Dent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letitia Moffitt wrote a book that merges family and self, adopting different voices and perspectives with ventriloquistic skill. I loved this book and taught it to a room full of undergraduate non-English majors who loved it too.

[etherealfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

My paperback

[Melanie Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review at Grab the Lapels!

Here is an excerpt: Moffitt’s book forces readers to consider what is the truth–and just beyond white lies and truth bending–but what it means to let people down over and over again when you thought you were thinking big, thinking differently. In a sense, Moffitt’s Sidewalk Dancing makes creativity seem like the enemy, which I found both perplexing and, to some degree, realistic. George’s starfish house is poorly designed, his boat that he builds sinks, his bid for mayor fails, and no one really knows why he brought his young family to Hawaii (on a whim, perhaps?). George is both inspiring and a danger.

[Mary Maddox · Rating 5 out of 5]

In elegant and seemingly effortless prose Letitia Moffitt tells the story of Miranda McGee, daughter of a Chinese mother and American father who meet and live in Hawaii. Grace is a despairing pragmatist; George is an idealistic dreamer. Caught between these opposites, Miranda grows up uncertain who she is. The stories chart her journey of self-discovery. It's an ancient theme, and it has persisted for a reason. The journey is one that everyone capable of thought must make.

[Jeff Kohmstedt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sidewalk Dancing is a story of contrasts about familial relationships, written from the uniquely “other” perspective, of outsiders looking in on their own lives.