Waking Kate

By Sarah Addison Allen

From Sarah Addison Allen, the beloved author of Garden Spells, comes Waking Kate, a story about a woman who soon will face an unforeseen change in her life. One sticky summer day as Kate is waiting for her husband to come home from his bicycle shop, she spots her distinguished neighbor returning from his last day of work after eighty-six years at Atlanta's oldest men's clothing store. Over a cup of butter coffee, he tells Kate a story of love and heartbreak that makes her remember her past, question her present, and wonder what the future will bring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Dec 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781466850491

Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is at work on her next novel.

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Title Page

Copyright Notice

Waking Kate

Preview: First Frost

About the Author

Copyright

Waking Kate

Kate was in the kitchen putting ice cubes on a plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, two glasses of wine on the counter next to her, when she heard the evening news come on. She usually didn’t like to have the television on in the evenings. She thought it generated a buzz that made the hot air in the house seem hotter somehow. More crowded. Matt thought she was crazy, but it was true. Everything had a presence. Even small things. Even things you took for granted.

Kate put her fingertips, cool from the ice cubes, to her cheeks as she walked through the kitchen into the living room to look for the television remote. Her long hair was sticking to her neck in thin ropes that looked like tattoos of waves from old maps. She knew Matt liked her hair down, so she kept it down that evening, that special evening when it was going to be just the two of them for the first time in what felt like forever. She hoped he would get there soon, before all her efforts melted away.

Five years ago, back when Kate’s mother had been in the hospital, Kate remembered walking out of the building, out of the clinical chill and into the oppressive summer heat, and encountering a woman who was standing on the curb, smoking a cigarette. As Kate had waited for a car to pass so she could walk to the parking lot, the woman had commented that she had just moved from Vermont to Atlanta and that she didn’t know how she would survive here without an air conditioner. When Kate had told her that she’d lived in Atlanta her whole life and had gotten by just fine without air-conditioning in her house, the woman seemed appalled. She was a Buckhead lady, no doubt, like Kate’s mother-in-law. Matt had grown up in that rich, cool world, that world where nothing ever melted, but he wanted nothing to do with it now. Not that Kate minded. It wasn’t like she could miss something she’d never had. She often wondered, though, how Matt felt now in the summers, in this steamy

Reviews for Waking Kate

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't what I read......

Purposely it was dream like and ephemeral..... Kate is married to Matt & waiting for him to come home to a special dinner. Her daughter is at a sleepover.... While waiting for Matt she meets her longtime neighbor for the first time, he is in the process of moving away and tell Kate of his past & his awakening.

At this point, we are then given an excerpt from Allen's up coming book "Lost Lake"......

Then there is an abrupt jump back to Kate's waking..... Apparently Kate has been asleep for a year and is about to move herself & her daughter into her mother-in-law's house. Going through the attic w/ her daughter Devin, they come across a post card from Kate's Aunt Eby, who owns Lost Lake, with an invitation for Kate to come and visit whenever she is so inclined.......

I do not like short stories that are "teasers" that are incomplete and leave the story so that you have to go out and purchase another book. Thus has been my experience w/ the 3 Kindle items I have read. All three have left me dissatisfied.

While I like the idea of Waking Kate, I found it rather disjointed and not so smooth and leaving me wanting... There was also none of the Magical realism that I have come to enjoy & associate w/ Allen's previous writing.

[maureencean · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nice but golly I think it only took 15 minutes to read!

[mrsdanaalbasha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Everything had a presence. Even small things. Even things you took for granted."

Waking Kate is a short teaser for Lost Lake, that talks of a moment in time that will change everything in 20 pages.

"She wasn't sure exactly when it happened, when she had realized that she could only make one of them happy. She only knew that she had chosen him."

Kate is stuck in a marriage she knows is bad for her; when she meets her old neighbor who is moving away on the same day they've met, he tells her his story and encourages her to wake up.

"Something had changed, though it wasn't quite clear to her what it was yet."

Now I can't wait to start reading Lost Lake.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Waking Kate, Sarah Addison Allen (Lost Lake #.05) (e-short story)This is an e- short story tie in to the book "Lost Lake". I think of it as a prequel. It bears the same name as a chapter in the book called Waking Kate. In the prequel, Kate Pheris is waiting for her husband Matt to come home from their bicycle shop called Pheris Wheels. They married when she was 19 and pregnant. His mother promptly disowned him since Kate was not a Buckhead girl. Buckhead is the upper crust area of Atlanta. On this night, their daughter Devin is going to be sleeping at a friend's house, and this is their first child free night in seven years. She is eagerly awaiting his arrival. When he is late, she looks out the window and notices a man she had seen on TV that day walking up her street to a house with a for sale sign. He had been tying the necktie of the reporter noting the closing of the store Valentine's where he had worked for 68 years. She was surprised to see him going into a house with a for sale sign a few doors down. She was surprised that she had never met him. Impulsively, thinking he might need some company on such a sad, but auspicious day of his retirement, and to distract herself from her missing husband, she goes out and, uncharacteristically, knocks on his door.He invites her in and is quite cordial. She discovers that he is actually moving that evening. He makes her a cup of butter coffee, a new treat, and tells her a beautiful love story, the story of how he came to work at the store Valentine's. He gives her a piece of interesting advice. He tells her that sometimes things happen to show you a way to something better. It seems that Mr. Reginald Donbeet had been in love with Lucky, the son of Mr. Valentine. Lucky, however, was not in love with him. Lucky married Petal, the girl to whom he was engaged when they met. Mr. Valentine fired Reginald from his day laborer job when he realized that his son had a relationship with him. Reginald asked for a job at his store instead, perhaps to buy his silence, and working there gave him the opportunity to meet the love of his life, Olson, a man who also worked at Valentine’s. He shows her a picture of them together and tells her it was taken at Lost Lake where they went on vacation. She knew Lost Lake because her great aunt had owned that place. So he tells her that sometimes things happen to show you the way to something better. "Just because someone is good, doesn’t mean he is good for you”.Kate returns home but Matt has still not come. She falls asleep and when she wakes, the dinner is still sitting and waiting. Where is Matt? Will this be the moment that leads her to something else in her life?

[sandralb-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was familiar with the name but never have read anything by Sarah Addison Allen. What a great way to try out new authors. I enjoyed with short story enough to try our more of her books.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A brief prequel to Addison's Lost Lake, this short teaser for the book due out in January 2014 introduces Kate and gives a glimpse of what life was like for Kate and family prior to whatever tragedy befalls her husband.

[smartchiksread · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I devoured this novella as if it were made of chocolate. (This is my reaction to everything by Sarah Addison Allen.) I was immediately drawn into the Kate's story as she sees and oddly familiar man on a TV interview and then realizes he is actually her neighbor. As he reveals his own story to Kate she begins to question her own relationship and life choices.It is hard for me to fully review this novella and the preview of the upcoming Lost Lake that follows without including spoilers. Let me say that it left me waiting on the edge of my seat for Lost Lake to arrive!If you have never read a Sarah Addison Allen novel, you should really start today!Read this novella if...*you LOVE Sarah Addison Allen*you love southern fiction

[tfs93 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A magical, enchanting, quick read. Did it really happen? Was it a dream? Does her neighbor even exist? We are left with many questions. Ms. Addison Allen's writing is like eating a delicious cake, even if you don't get the last bite, you still enjoy what you had.

[judithdcollins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, I am so glad I found Sarah Addison Allen thru an ad on Goodreads- about her new upcoming January 2014 release “Lost Lake”. I then found her new novella “Waking Kate”, as this was my first book by Sarah ---she had me hooked on the first page and has been added to my favorite author list.

Cannot believe, as an avid reader had not heard of her nor read any of her books, especially since she is a NC writer (I am a native and all my family members still reside in the state). I later moved to Atlanta Buckhead), and now reside in South Florida; however, NC is still true to my heart and love NC writers.

This short e-book was powerful – amazing writing!! Love her writing style---Waking Kate was so moving, and the excerpt for Lost Lake was magical! I so look forward to January and will pre-order Lost Lake, as well as adding all her books to my read and buy list.

Isn’t it thrilling to find a new author and dive into their work? I would urge readers to view the author’s website and watch the video about her upcoming Lost Lake (Georgia, another state true to my heart where I spent most of my career), as was very moving – based on fact author has not written in a while due to breast cancer, and the inspiration of one door closing to something new and bright.

Seamless combining the past with the present in Waking Kate. What a special treat – the e-book novella is free; however, I would definitely buy! Cannot wait to enter Lost Lake (it is already reminding me of Big Canoe, GA where I lived for a year in a log cabin, which was a little heaven on earth)---Highly Recommend Waking Kate and Lost Lake!

[rainpebble_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen; novelette; (3 1/2*)Just a brief introduction to Kate, the protagonist of Allen's Lost Lake. This short story takes place on the day that Lost Lake begins and the story is just that; short. Kate goes through a bit of a transformation during a conversation with an elderly neighbor but in true Allen style we are left wondering about that conversation. Did it really take place or is it something she dreamed. A nice lead-in to Lost Lake.Then it goes on to preview the first few chapters of Lost Lake. I am not sure if my feelings would have been different if I had read this first but looking back on it, it wouldn't have been a bad way to meet the main character. I wish I could say more but it was short and sweet; a great little story written in the true Allen style that we've all come to love. It left me wanting to reread the rest of the story (Lost Lake)immediately. It also left me with a desire and yearning for butter coffee! Mmm, I think I will go make a cup.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This short story was even shorter than I was expecting it to be. A serious chunk of the ebook is actually the first chapter of Lost Lake. I really enjoyed the glimpse of Kate with Matt, and seeing the little imperfections. I did find myself wondering if it was the night Matt died and I found myself wondering if this story would make as much sense if you hadn't read Lost Lake first, but the characters were fun and quirky and I really enjoyed this quick little read.

[BrendaLuceyCochran · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This 42 page book was ten pages of something and 32 pages of something totally different with no ending.

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

mini-story

Way too short. But good.
I am required to type more words so here they are. So very annoying! Ugh.

[marquis784-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful prelude to the story of Lost Lake. It is a quick read but provides some emotional background into the character, Kate. It's more of an introduction to prompt you to engage in the series.