Despite my own lack of capabilities in the area, I've always enjoyed books and movies about ballet. Maggie Shipstead's Astonish Me centers around the story of Joan, a young dancer in the corps of a New York company in the 80s when we first meet her. After a steamy romance with a Russian defector, Arslan, left her heartbroken, she reconnected with Jacob, the boy who worshipped her in high school. Now she's pregnant, ready to leave dance and move on. Joan and Jacob marry and move to California with their son, Harry, where he works in educational research and she tries to fit in with the other stay-at-home-mommies, but eventually opens a dance studio.

The story moves back and forth in time to reveal Joan and Jacob's high school friendship, her move to Paris with a ballet company in her early 20s, her role in Arslan's defection, her friend Elaine and her entanglement with the company's artistic director, and then later, after ballet, Joan's brief but unhappy friendship with a neighborhood couple with a daughter the same age as her son, the tension in Joan's marriage, where both parties are aware that she "settled" for him but it remains to be seen how happy that settlement was. Joan's role as a ballet teacher, her ambivalence about her son's interest in and obvious talent for dance, and Harry's own eventual growth into a man round out the narrative.

This book was an excellent example of why I always give an author two chances. Even if I really don't care for one book, if another one by the same author catches my eye, I'll give it a shot: not every book is for every person, after all, and sometimes a book just doesn't work for a reader because of reasons outside the quality of the work. I did not enjoy Maggie Shipstead's previous novel, Seating Arrangements, which mocked the well-off and grasping of Martha's Vineyard through dramatics over a wedding. But this one was wonderful! I found myself enraptured in Shipstead's tale, in the characters, in the various ways she looked at the relationships of artisans to their art. I'm not always big into non-linear narratives when it feels artificial, but the use of both this device and multiple perspectives really worked for the story she was telling.

The bits of this that didn't come together for me mostly happened near the end and while they kept the book from great rather than just good, they didn't derail the whole thing. I was too invested in the characters: Elaine, Jacon, Harry, his friend Chloe, and especially Joan. Joan was sometimes infuriating, sometimes enviable, sometimes mysterious, but always interesting. Her quest for fulfillment and happiness really resonated with me. If you're generally into books in which ballet/dance features prominently, you'll find a lot to like here. But even if what you're looking for is more along the lines of character-driven family drama, this is very satisfying. Highly recommended! ( )

I really enjoyed this story about professional ballet and the intricate relationships between principal dancers, their co-workers and their non-ballet friends and family. The story sets its focus on Joan, a dancer in the corps with no hope for advancement, and her unlikely relationship with a Russian star who defects from Russia to dance in New York. Over decades we learn what happens to Joan, her family, and the Russian dancer.

Had I not recently watched a few seasons of reality TV that showed the backstage of a professional ballet company I don't know that I would have really appreciated this story. Knowing what I know about how difficult the life of a ballet dancer is added a great deal of depth to the story for me. I also did some quick googling to determine that the defector and the mysterious Mr. K seem to be representations of Baryshnikov and Balanchine.

The story tended to be dark but I found it all quite enjoyable. ( )

This was an interesting book, mostly for character study. The reason I didhn't rate it higher was due to the repetition which was not always necessary. Most of the protagonists were involved in the world of ballet in a variety of different ways. It also showed the importance of both love and caring. The ending was quite realistic, and I would be interested in being told what happened to the Blintz family. The writing style was such that the reader had to often deduce many of the details, which I liked. ( )

I have read all 3 of Shipstead's novels and this one is good but not at the same level as the other 2. It deals with world of ballet and is probably accurate in its portrayal of the industry. This book constantly bounces around in time so it can be hard to follow but that worked for me. Joan is a ballet dancer who realizes that she will never be a star and the book shows her relationship to a star dancer, her "best" friend who becomes her husband, and her son. The story had some plausibility issues but the book kept me interest. If you want to look behind the scenes at ballet then I think this would be a good choice. The writing is excellent. ( )

Astonish Me is set in the competitive world of American ballet. Shipstead dissects the disappointments of her characters at the gap between dreams and reality.

The story jumps backwards and forwards in time between 1973 and 2002. As the novel opens in 1977, young dancer Joan has realised that she is never going to be a star, and when she becomes pregnant she drops out to marry her old schoolfriend Harry. She is also running away from a failed relationship with Arslan, another dancer, whom Joan helped to defect from the Soviet Union. Joan’s more talented friend Elaine continues her dance career.

The story jumps forward a few years to Southern California, where Joan, her husband and son have moved in next door to Sandy. The competitive focus has shifted to the women’s ambitions for their kids.

I was drawn to the ballet/theatre setting of the story, but there is little of the glamour and excitement associated with that environment here. What made it a good read was the characterisation, and Shipstead’s ability to maintain a fine balance of spiky wit and compassion. Shipstead’s characters are not always likeable, sometimes they do things which are frustratingly foolish, sometimes I found them really annoying, but they came to seem very real and I was drawn into caring about what might happen to them.

I received a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine programme.

Reviewed 9 September 2014. ( )