Cover the Butter by Carrie Kabak
I've been a web book reviewer for the past several years in different capacities and have learned to inwardly groan when an author sends me a perky e-mail, offering to send me a free copy of their latest work of genius. All I have to do is review it! Aren't I privileged?
Ugh.
The first few times I was excited and felt official, but these days I almost always decline such offers. Until recently, I'd never actually enjoyed one of these books. I would feel obligated to write a review since that was part of the deal, but I would somehow manage to put off the work so long that it never actually got done.
Thus it was with great angst that I agreed to receive a copy of Carrie Kabak's Cover the Butter for review. I would have declined it immediately, but I felt some sort of solidarity with a person who shared my first name and sent off an e-mail with my address.
A week later I was holding a book with a pale pink cover--a sure sign of "chick lit." I groaned again. I do not read "chick lit." It's not that I'm a book snob. I simply prefer the equally maligned genre of fantasy.
I put off reading the book until the last possible moment. I was taking a long plane ride and decided to take Cover the Butter as my sole carry-on entertainment to ensure I would uphold at least the first part of the bargain between the author and myself.
I opened the book, read a page and was immediately carried away. Kabak's writing style is so intimate that it's hard to believe Cover the Butter is a work of fiction and not directly extracted from a personal diary. Kate Cadogan, the main character, is instantly likeable and easy to relate to. She has problems with an overbearing mother who uses manipulation and a sharp tongue to keep Kate under her thumb. I know Kate's mother. She is my own grandmother. I know too well how a deliberately cutting comment can undermine a young girl's self-esteem in less than three seconds.
Cover the Butter follows the life of Kate through three decades. She starts as an awkward teenager dealing with the constants of teenage life: boys, looks and school. Her teen years are angst filled, as were mine and, probably, yours. The problems she faces are universal. I think most readers will find Kate's plight familiar and heartbreaking, while cheering her on and hoping for the best.
As Kate ages, her problems become less familiar to me, though I certainly know many women who have faced the same challenges she faces. Like most of us, Kate suffers career angst and man trouble, all while trying desperately to win the approval of her cold-hearted mother. While reading, I was enthralled with Kate's life. I felt like I was living it right along with her. Her feelings became my feelings and I was ready to jump into her fictional world and give the people around her a good shake for not recognizing Kate's value.
Finally, Kate reaches a point where she knows her life can't go on as it has before. I think we all reach this point at some time in our life. Kate has been living a half-life and she knows it. It would be easy for her to continue this spectral existence, but if she can summon up enough courage she can finally live the life that she deserves. I won't tell you what happens, but I will recommend that you go out and read this book!
I don't know how to classify this book. I am not a reader of "chick lit" but I can't imagine that "chick lit" has the depth, humor or poignancy of Cover the Butter. It's a book that tells the story of a life and tells it very well. I never would have picked this book up if I saw it in the bookstore and I would have been missing a rare treat. If you see it in your local bookshop, you should not hesitate to pick it up and give it a read. In fact, maybe you should click over to Amazon or head out to your local independent book shop right now. When you find yourself obsessively turning the pages at two in the morning don't blame me.