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. ( )

Received from NetGalley

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Be forewarned that if you aren't a big fan of books that jump around in time, this is not the book for you. It also jumps around in character POV but I never found it confusing in either regard.

The book centers around the ballet and all the drama, love, intrigue, etc that goes on behind the scenes. Most of the book is told from the perspective of Joan. She has a secret that is revealed toward the end of the book. I'm not sure if the author was attempting to make it a big reveal or have the reader suspect or what but I guessed pretty early on what it was. That being said, I still enjoyed getting there and was left wanting more. I don't necessarily want a sequel to find out what happened to the characters but I feel like the ending was a bit lacking. If given the choice between leaving it the way it is and having my mind wonder what happened and having a sequel, I'd leave it alone. Definitely worth a read if you like books that are mainly (what seems to me anyway) a character study. ( )