Cathy Baker’s book To Do the Deal: A Novel in Stories is an easy read. Like the title states it is a novel made up of short stories. Each chapter is a different year in the life of Kenneth Bodine. The years range from 1991 to 2000 and usually focus on his employment or lack thereof.
I enjoyed reading To Do the Deal and found it funny at times, especially with how Kenneth lost his jobs. My favorite story had to be the first one, where he met his future wife Jodi. The nickname he gave his girlfriend at the time was hilarious. While reading the rest of the chapters I came to the conclusion that I am glad that I am not married to Kenneth because of his lack of trying to move up and find a better job. His wife Jodi is a saint for putting up with him and allowing him to do this. While Kenneth did get on my nerves, I also completely understood him for not knowing what he wanted to do in his life career wise. I liked that Baker made Kenneth like that because it makes him for real as a character. I also really liked the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter.
I would recommend To Do the Deal to anyone who enjoys reading about everyday life. I had trouble remembering this was a work of fiction while reading it. This book seemed too similar to real life. Baker has done a great job.
I gave this book 4 stars and have posted my review on Goodreads, Reader’s Favorite and Amazon.
*I reviewed this book for Reader’s Favorite.
