Astonish Me (Vintage Contemporaries)
From the New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle comes "a novel you must read" (The Washington Post) about a mother who is trying to forget her past as a young ballerina in Paris who fell into a passionate romance with a Soviet dance superstar.
For years Joan has been trying to find peace and satisfaction in her role as wife and mother. Few in her drowsy California suburb know her thrilling history: as a young American ballerina in Paris, she had a doomed affair with Soviet dance superstar Arslan Rusakov.
After playing a leading role in his celebrated defection, Joan bowed out of the spotlight for good, heartbroken by Arslan and humbled by her own modest career. But when her son turns out to be a ballet prodigy, Joan is pulled back into a world she thought she'd left behind—a world of dangerous secrets, of Arslan, and of longing for what will always be just out of reach.
“The inner lives of [Shipstead’s] characters feel as real and immediate as the shifting settings they inhabit: still-gritty mid-1970s Manhattan, shabbily elegant Paris, the sunbaked suburban sprawl of Southern California.” —Entertainment Weekly
For years Joan has been trying to find peace and satisfaction in her role as wife and mother. Few in her drowsy California suburb know her thrilling history: as a young American ballerina in Paris, she had a doomed affair with Soviet dance superstar Arslan Rusakov.
After playing a leading role in his celebrated defection, Joan bowed out of the spotlight for good, heartbroken by Arslan and humbled by her own modest career. But when her son turns out to be a ballet prodigy, Joan is pulled back into a world she thought she'd left behind—a world of dangerous secrets, of Arslan, and of longing for what will always be just out of reach.
“The inner lives of [Shipstead’s] characters feel as real and immediate as the shifting settings they inhabit: still-gritty mid-1970s Manhattan, shabbily elegant Paris, the sunbaked suburban sprawl of Southern California.” —Entertainment Weekly
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
thenextgoodbook.com
What’s it about?
Ballet! This novel takes you into the world of ballet. Joan is a member of the ensemble; a dancer who knows she will never be talented enough to be a star. She finds herself pregnant and the novel follows her as she builds a new life.
What did it make me think about?
The world of dance is a cold, cold place!
Should I read it?
This was another good quick beach read. Their are no real surprises but you turn the pages anyway. It is quick and keeps your interest, but it is predictable and the writing is predictable as well!
If you like this try-
Russian Winter by Daphne Kolotay
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild
What’s it about?
Ballet! This novel takes you into the world of ballet. Joan is a member of the ensemble; a dancer who knows she will never be talented enough to be a star. She finds herself pregnant and the novel follows her as she builds a new life.
What did it make me think about?
The world of dance is a cold, cold place!
Should I read it?
This was another good quick beach read. Their are no real surprises but you turn the pages anyway. It is quick and keeps your interest, but it is predictable and the writing is predictable as well!
If you like this try-
Russian Winter by Daphne Kolotay
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.