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neuzilovasara's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
trixabelle's review against another edition
3.0
This novel was not necessarily my regular choice but I was drawn to it simply because it was set in the world of ballet and also in New York. It was for the ballet world, so richly depicted that I enjoyed this book. Especially ad it covered various generations of ballerina at various levels of success. The family drama was well written but didn't exactly rock my world. This was a nice change amongst the other books I read so I would recommend it to others but it's not going to be top of my list.
maddie_wecker's review
5.0
'Astonish Me' definitely did what the title implied. I was on edge wanting to know what was going to happen next. THE CONTROVERSY.
patchworkbunny's review
4.0
Jean is a dancer in the corps. She knows she’ll never be good enough for principle, but she has her career ahead of her. She was the one who helped the great Arslan Rusakov defect from Russia, she loves him but she’s not good enough for him. Not a good enough dancer. There has always been one man who loved her, a man who will wait for her. Is it time to leave the ballet behind? And is she capable of turning her back on her life’s obsession?
Astonish Me is a tale of obsession and sacrifice told through evocative and expressive writing. The narrative flits back and forth between Joan’s time as a dancer and her time as a mother. But does she ever really leave her obsession behind? She teaches ballet and moulds a future generation of dancers. Is she just living her life through them?
At times it feels like it’s been written by a dancer. There is a lot of focus on the body, as a machine, a tool to dance with, separate from emotional needs. The characters feel quite distanced from reality, ballet and their bodies being the most important thing of all. It’s a tough choice for female dancers who wish for children but do not want to give up their passion. For these dancers, ballet is a passion, their life, and to give it up is to give up breathing. Although Joan appears to voluntarily step back, as the story unfolds, you see just how much hold ballet really has on her.
Perhaps this means the books will not appeal to those with no interest in ballet. The selfish drive of the characters is only put into context through the extremes of their world. The part about Russian defectors was an interesting piece of social history. They were driven so hard to be the best in the world but they wanted their freedom and they had to be smuggled out to the free world, given homes amongst the ballet companies.
The more I think about it, the more I like the book, although it feels very intense at the time. Harry’s path appears to be following his father’s and then veers off. It touches on the prejudice against male dancers but also on the hardships of all dancers going through puberty and not knowing if their bodies will be kind to them.
Elaine is held up as an example of what could have been for Joan. Although it is inferred that Elaine is the better dancer, had more potential, but she stays in the world whilst Joan is apart. Her story isn’t without sadness though but I liked her, more than the other characters. I felt she was more personable that a lot of the people in the industry would really be. The other characters are probably the norm.
Review copy provided by publisher.
Astonish Me is a tale of obsession and sacrifice told through evocative and expressive writing. The narrative flits back and forth between Joan’s time as a dancer and her time as a mother. But does she ever really leave her obsession behind? She teaches ballet and moulds a future generation of dancers. Is she just living her life through them?
At times it feels like it’s been written by a dancer. There is a lot of focus on the body, as a machine, a tool to dance with, separate from emotional needs. The characters feel quite distanced from reality, ballet and their bodies being the most important thing of all. It’s a tough choice for female dancers who wish for children but do not want to give up their passion. For these dancers, ballet is a passion, their life, and to give it up is to give up breathing. Although Joan appears to voluntarily step back, as the story unfolds, you see just how much hold ballet really has on her.
Perhaps this means the books will not appeal to those with no interest in ballet. The selfish drive of the characters is only put into context through the extremes of their world. The part about Russian defectors was an interesting piece of social history. They were driven so hard to be the best in the world but they wanted their freedom and they had to be smuggled out to the free world, given homes amongst the ballet companies.
The more I think about it, the more I like the book, although it feels very intense at the time. Harry’s path appears to be following his father’s and then veers off. It touches on the prejudice against male dancers but also on the hardships of all dancers going through puberty and not knowing if their bodies will be kind to them.
Elaine is held up as an example of what could have been for Joan. Although it is inferred that Elaine is the better dancer, had more potential, but she stays in the world whilst Joan is apart. Her story isn’t without sadness though but I liked her, more than the other characters. I felt she was more personable that a lot of the people in the industry would really be. The other characters are probably the norm.
Review copy provided by publisher.
hummeline's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting. I really truly enjoyed the writing here—so evocative, and I was firmly rooted in the places that the book took me, from California poolside to backstage at the Opéra. I also loved Joan, loved her love for dance but realization that she just could never make it as a GREAT dancer, and had to settle for good and teaching. I loved Elaine, Joan's friend, and her relationship with their creative director. I loved how magnetic Arslan was, the story of the defection. But something seemed off. The jumping around in time confused me, and I think I would have preferred less. Certain perspectives seemed unwarranted or frankly boring, and frankly the ending seemed to come like a ton of bricks. It didn't quite make sense, and suddenly you realize that this character has been groomed to fit in this one place in the narrative, but it seems forced. So three stars: loved parts of it, but not others.
path_through_pages's review against another edition
2.0
The writing style itself was easy to follow and well done, but I simply didn't like this book. It is not something I would have normally picked for myself and is not something I feel I would recommend.
Expecting an interesting and invigorating tale of the life of ballet dancers and their struggles both in and out of the spotlight, it turned into a story of three malleable and poorly written female characters all with the same personality traits.
Failing to hold true character and individuality outside of men, and for the childfree reader, I would simply steer clear. Reading once again about a woman giving up her passions due to pregnancy, only to try and live her life through her child, simply isn't it.
I am sure these characters and story resonate with someone, but it simply wasn't me.
Expecting an interesting and invigorating tale of the life of ballet dancers and their struggles both in and out of the spotlight, it turned into a story of three malleable and poorly written female characters all with the same personality traits.
Failing to hold true character and individuality outside of men, and for the childfree reader, I would simply steer clear. Reading once again about a woman giving up her passions due to pregnancy, only to try and live her life through her child, simply isn't it.
I am sure these characters and story resonate with someone, but it simply wasn't me.
katharinem's review against another edition
3.0
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. If you would have asked me to rate mid-book, I would have given this 4 stars. But I was quite disappointed by the ending. I don't necessarily want my ending to have all loose ends tied up in a nice neat little bow, but I want a little more resolution than I felt this offered up. We got such slight hints at what was going on with these major players, but in ways that could easily end one of multiple ways. I wanted some more resolution. I enjoyed the format, quickly and easily covering multiple years, sometimes out of sequence, to tell the full story. Being a former dancer, I could easily follow those scenes, but I think they were also written in such a way that a non-dancer could easily piece together what they needed to know. Well written, nice quick read. I just felt the ending was a let-down.
serastotelmyre's review against another edition
4.0
I love ballet books, i thinks it’s an envy for their sense of control and dedication to expend their body to perform beyond human enterprises, and this book had some fun gossipy DRAMA