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Iron Shoes
Kay Sorenson is stuck. She is forty years old and still trying -- and failing -- to please her glamorous, willful, and indifferent parents. She abandoned a promising music career, settled into a loveless marriage, became a careless mother, and began to drink, smoke, and daydream too much. But when her mother dies, Kay is left without her lifelong crutch and is finally forced to take her first tentative steps toward becoming the woman she wants to be.
- GenresFiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2000
3 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Molly Giles
29 books28 followersMolly Giles’ newest collection of short stories, Wife With Knife, recently won the Leap Frog Fiction Contest and will be published in October of 2021. She has published four previous prize winning collections of stories: Rough Translations, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the Boston Globe Award, and the the Bay Area Book Reviewers’ Award; Creek Walk, which won the Small Press Best Fiction Award, the California Commonwealth Silver Medal for Fiction, and was a New York Times Notable Book; Bothered, which won the Split Oak Press Flash Fiction Award and All the Wrong Places, which won the Spokane Prize for Fiction. She has also published a novel, Iron Shoes, and an ebook of stories, Three for the Road. Her work has been included in numerous anthologies including the O.Henry and Pushcart Prize (twice) and she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Marin Arts Council, and the Arkansas Arts Council.
Molly has taught fiction writing at San Francisco State University, University of Hawaii in Manoa, San Jose State University, the National University of Ireland at Galway, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and at numerous writing conferences, including The Community of Writers and Naropa. She has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Book Reviewing, been awarded residences at MacDowell, Yadoo, and The House of Literature in Paros, Greece, and has edited many published writers, including Amy Tan.
Molly has taught fiction writing at San Francisco State University, University of Hawaii in Manoa, San Jose State University, the National University of Ireland at Galway, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and at numerous writing conferences, including The Community of Writers and Naropa. She has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Book Reviewing, been awarded residences at MacDowell, Yadoo, and The House of Literature in Paros, Greece, and has edited many published writers, including Amy Tan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 30, 2011
A fine work, as far as it went. Perhaps one of the best I've read on the subject of how a parent, damaged by poor nurturing, can spend his/her life haunting the elder generation hungry for what they've missed, all the while exposing their own child to more damage from the same lousy parents plus neglect from themselves. Yes, that's a mouthful. And it's the subject of many a Joyce Carol Oates tale plus a handful of others cropped up in the last 15yrs.
As far as it goes, that is. This writer (according to her note at end) has worked hard to pare the novel down. What is here is JUST RIGHT. Every time you think you've got a bead on that awful grandma, that rotten dad, the character turns around and shows you another layer. This is more than good writing.. it's wisdom! And all done practically by sleight of hand, minus the multigenerational saga one might think were required. I direct you to the grandpa's history in particular-- just a few deft touches, & it's all that's needed.
But-- for example-- the author seems to think (per her note) that she's addressed incest. Um, not exactly. Yes, it's probably in there as the perfect motivation for the grandma character, but aside from a few delicate echoes here & there we have no story material on this. You cut too much, Molly!
Much great stuff here on loss, and pain/illness as well, if you can bear it. And Giles helps you bear it with loads of dark humor, much of it possessed by the indomitable ill person herself!
Can't wait to read more by this author.
As far as it goes, that is. This writer (according to her note at end) has worked hard to pare the novel down. What is here is JUST RIGHT. Every time you think you've got a bead on that awful grandma, that rotten dad, the character turns around and shows you another layer. This is more than good writing.. it's wisdom! And all done practically by sleight of hand, minus the multigenerational saga one might think were required. I direct you to the grandpa's history in particular-- just a few deft touches, & it's all that's needed.
But-- for example-- the author seems to think (per her note) that she's addressed incest. Um, not exactly. Yes, it's probably in there as the perfect motivation for the grandma character, but aside from a few delicate echoes here & there we have no story material on this. You cut too much, Molly!
Much great stuff here on loss, and pain/illness as well, if you can bear it. And Giles helps you bear it with loads of dark humor, much of it possessed by the indomitable ill person herself!
Can't wait to read more by this author.
July 6, 2018
A friend recommended this book to me. A friend I trust and respect. She really enjoyed it.
While reading Iron Shoes, I was reminded that reading is such a personal endeavor, that we each bring something different to the experience, that time and place can have a huge effect on it.
That said, I have to say that I didn't like this book. It really bothered me. I found it terribly disturbing and not at all funny. To me it felt cruel, sarcastic, and the family was so dysfunctional, it was uncomfortable to read about. I wanted to get violent actually and slap each character silly. Everyone was so self-centered and yet self-pitying. From the parents, to the siblings, to the priest, to Kay's girlfriend. Grow-up, I wanted to shout.
Yikes. Well, I can't say the book didn't get a reaction from me!
While reading Iron Shoes, I was reminded that reading is such a personal endeavor, that we each bring something different to the experience, that time and place can have a huge effect on it.
That said, I have to say that I didn't like this book. It really bothered me. I found it terribly disturbing and not at all funny. To me it felt cruel, sarcastic, and the family was so dysfunctional, it was uncomfortable to read about. I wanted to get violent actually and slap each character silly. Everyone was so self-centered and yet self-pitying. From the parents, to the siblings, to the priest, to Kay's girlfriend. Grow-up, I wanted to shout.
Yikes. Well, I can't say the book didn't get a reaction from me!
May 26, 2008
Molly Giles was our author-in-residence during my last MFA semester and her warmth and wit and, yes, somewhat gruesome worldview are all encompassed in this surprising and funny and imaginative novel. She can turn a phrase like few other writers writing today. Highly recommended.
October 22, 2007
Her short story "Pie Dance" is one of my all-time favorites. I marvel at how well crafted it is - and how it took me somewhere else, each time I read it.
Whether I hyped my expectations too high or something else - I was not as jazzed by her first novel - a bit too bleak for where I am right now - but maybe I'd enjoy it another time.
In the meantime, get your hands on her short story "Pie Dance." Definitely not meh!
Whether I hyped my expectations too high or something else - I was not as jazzed by her first novel - a bit too bleak for where I am right now - but maybe I'd enjoy it another time.
In the meantime, get your hands on her short story "Pie Dance." Definitely not meh!
January 31, 2010
One of the best books I've read in the last year. I LOVE her writing - inspires me to pick up a pen.
February 21, 2014
Interesting family dynamics and always a challenging mother/daughter relationship. Enjoyed it.
February 27, 2025
I love Molly Giles' writing style so much. She is my most worthwhile writer find of 2024!
She talks a lot in the brief author's note and her latest memoir, Life Span, about how long and tedious it was to complete this novel. You can sense her struggle in the earlier pages, as I think she was not only challenged by the tone of the story, but it took her a while to find the center of this novel.
This novel is NOT about incest, as she claims. I found an interview with her about the book that talks about spinning the Oedipus Complex myth and having it be about a daughter obsessed with her father (and killing her mother in the process). The novel is less successful with this element, but overall she paints a complex picture of a woman who is deeply stuck and suffers from profound insecurity stemming from her relationship with both parents.
As always, Giles' wit and snark is on full display here. She has a tremendous voice and many of her sentences are beautifully crafted without coming off as too lofty. I found myself falling for protagonist Kay and begged her to find her way. You root for her and you also want to slap her! A fine balance Giles creates here.
I had a big problem with Ida, Kay's mother. She's mean, frankly, and emotionally abusive to Kay (not to mention physically, which is referenced in the backstory) and everyone just thinks the world of her. I didn't get it. I saw a manipulative, fragile, and wounded woman who loved to pick on her daughter, whom her father never protected. I felt that Giles let her off the hook and we never really got a catharsis moment between Kay and her mother (or after her death).
Overall, this is a charming and heartbreaking book. A swift read, though I was frustrated in the middle when we switched over to father Francis' POV, as I felt it was too quick.
She talks a lot in the brief author's note and her latest memoir, Life Span, about how long and tedious it was to complete this novel. You can sense her struggle in the earlier pages, as I think she was not only challenged by the tone of the story, but it took her a while to find the center of this novel.
This novel is NOT about incest, as she claims. I found an interview with her about the book that talks about spinning the Oedipus Complex myth and having it be about a daughter obsessed with her father (and killing her mother in the process). The novel is less successful with this element, but overall she paints a complex picture of a woman who is deeply stuck and suffers from profound insecurity stemming from her relationship with both parents.
As always, Giles' wit and snark is on full display here. She has a tremendous voice and many of her sentences are beautifully crafted without coming off as too lofty. I found myself falling for protagonist Kay and begged her to find her way. You root for her and you also want to slap her! A fine balance Giles creates here.
I had a big problem with Ida, Kay's mother. She's mean, frankly, and emotionally abusive to Kay (not to mention physically, which is referenced in the backstory) and everyone just thinks the world of her. I didn't get it. I saw a manipulative, fragile, and wounded woman who loved to pick on her daughter, whom her father never protected. I felt that Giles let her off the hook and we never really got a catharsis moment between Kay and her mother (or after her death).
Overall, this is a charming and heartbreaking book. A swift read, though I was frustrated in the middle when we switched over to father Francis' POV, as I felt it was too quick.
September 1, 2022
When you start with your protagonist visiting her mother in the hospital after the mother’s second leg amputation and the mom is seeing blue horses, a novel gets your attention. Iron Shoes keeps it all the way as we ride with the daughter, Kay, and her parents, Ida and Francis, through the end of Ida’s life and what happens afterward. In addition to the difficulties of caregiving, Kay and her parents are all alcoholics, Kay may be losing her job at the library, and her marriage to Neal is falling apart. Oh, and she’s also a concert pianist, but that is not going well either. It’s an entertaining book, pleasantly quirky, but it’s also frustrating because Giles never tells us where it’s taking place or how old Kay’s son Nicky is. At times, he seems about 6, other times about 12. There are too many names of people I cannot keep straight. But I did stay up late reading the book to the end, including the author’s bio and the readers’ guide, so it got my attention.
April 15, 2021
This book was a treasure I found hidden on my shelf for years! Molly Giles is so adept at tragi-comedy dealing with family, siblings, marriage, parenting and friends. One of the best I have read during COVID. Made me laugh and wince at the same time.
September 8, 2021
DNF. Too dreary and depressing. Everyone was mean to one another, especially the dad. I read the bit about how he used to make Kay hit herself and the other cruelties he inflicted on her as a child. It just disgusted me.
April 5, 2021
Stopped reading 1/2 way through. Found it dry depressing and the style did not make it worth my time to complete it.
March 7, 2025
Read Iron Shoes before the the Home for Unwed Husbands
October 2, 2014
A grown women named Kay Sorenson, once an aspiring concert pianist, has not come out from under the shadow of her parent's expectations and lack of affection. Kay is forever still seeking their approval. She is an alcoholic, unhappily married with one child, working as a clerk in a small public library and considering a career in library science. Her mother Ida is a larger than life charismatic, mean, nacisstic person who has undergone two leg amputations. Even from her wheelchair, she dictates Kay's life. Kay's father is a moody man who frequently goes into hiding, plus he drinks too much. This was a compelling literary, deeply psychological read, but is one of those books you hesitate to recommend. It is clearly not for everybody....
December 11, 2007
This book was very dark and it depressed me every time I picked it up to read. And yet for some reason, I continued to read until the end. It is a lot about relationships and paints a realistic and less than perfect view, but there is a dark spin on it that didn't sit well with me. If there was one thing I did like, it was that the main character, despite her imperfections, was loving her parents and her spouse the best way she knew how. It wasn't idyllic and certainly felt unhealthy at times, but she did keep trying.
May 28, 2007
This book is about how detrimental settling for things in life is and I love the sarcasm that the main character has throughout the story. It takes some of the most awkward and almost disturbing situations and spins it to make it relate-able through humor.
February 28, 2008
Fortunately I didn't relate to the extremely dysfunctional family, alcoholism and drugs in this book but the premise of forgiveness and finding yourself was fairly interesting. Wouldn't recommend this book, I kind of thought it was ok.
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February 6, 2009Line by line, IRON SHOES is hilarious, even while each of those sharply-drawn lines deepens the characterization in unexpected ways. Kay seems like someone any of us might know, but her unexpected actions, reaction and observations remind us that we never know anyone as well as we think.
May 29, 2014
I stuck it out but never enjoyed this book. I kept hoping it would get better. None of the characters were likable. The story goes nowhere. I will try to find a copy of her short story that was recommended by another reviewer. Sorry, it wasn't my cup of tea.
February 7, 2016
Not one of my favorites. Main character, Kay, is not very likable. Her mother dies and she (Kay) has a dysfunctional relationship with her father. She leaves her husband and goes to AA and decides to go to library school.
January 22, 2008
This book had potential but failed to live up to it. It was, at least, readable, although it took me a week or more to finish as it wasn't well paced.
January 4, 2009
The main character was quite pathetic!
October 16, 2011
The 2-star sums it up: it was ok.
July 7, 2011
I read the first few pages and was bored so gave up on it.
August 30, 2011
A prickly portrait of difficult relationships between an adult child and parents - but lyrically written and hard to forget.
January 7, 2013
Can't say I really, really like it, can say it's one that is memorable and that I'd read again.
March 17, 2016
Reminds me of Anne Lamott.
May 4, 2016
Dark and well-written, but I forgot half of it just a day later so not memorable for me.
December 28, 2008
Read on Pine Island over Thanksgiving weekend.
December 24, 2013
Surprising how old Giles is because her writing is so fresh and youthful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews