Jan 28-Feb 14, 2017
The world of ballet is beautiful to outsiders. But for those inside, it is competitive, grueling, manipulative and plagued by body dysmorphia. And I love books about ballet! Everyone has a dream job, something they always secretly wished for but knew there was no way to achieve it. Mine was, and will always be, a dancer. I clung to that hope all the way through college even though I knew it would never, ever happen. But I've loved dance in all forms since long before I can even remember.So when I jump into a ballet novel, I'm immediately in the world I want to be in. This one started a wee bit abstract for me, but then I quickly figured out its pattern and got cozy. While I thought maybe the present Mira/Bella/Kate was a little disjointed in its telling, I totally related to the late 70s portion of the story. Mostly because of my nostalgia for that time in my childhood – right about when I discovered dance. But I also loved reading about Mira's dance classes, priding myself in remembering all the French dance terms and knowing the famous ballerinas referenced. Present day Kate was a bit all over the place with the super short-lived "affair" seeming not to add the proper depth to her character and be more of an annoying distraction.
And let's face it. Maurice was creepy AF. But, as he's described in his time with Mira, he's a super old, wrinkly, crippled man. Then the reader finds out he's about 48! Ha! But I guess we all thought people in their 40s were ancient when we were preteens. Without giving too much away, I think the author did a very tasteful job of describing the events that ended Mira's relationship with that weirdo.
Overall, I delicious indulgence into a world that remains very much unchanged for centuries.
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