Full disclosure:
Random House provided a free advance copy of the novel for review.
Fuller disclosure: I
am a published novelist and filmmaker as well as a ballet instructor.
Fullest disclosure: I
have always wanted to write a novel set in the world of ballet.
There are so many movies and television shows that appeal to
lovers of dance. You might be a fan of the ballroom competition in “Dancing
With the Stars” or the more contemporary “So You Think You Can Dance.” Perhaps
you enjoyed the “Step Up” series of movies or the classic musicals starring
Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. These are all wonderful showcases
for dance and the dancers in them are terrific and talented.
But for lovers of ballet, there really is only one
definitive movie: “The Turning Point,” a 1977 film starring Shirley MacLaine
and Anne Bancroft and introducing the inimitable Mikhail Baryshnikov to the
wider world. It was brilliant and beautiful and heartbreaking, soapy and sappy
and sentimental, and it felt genuine and honest to the world of ballet.
Maggie Shipstead’s novel, “Astonish Me,” is the literary
equivalent of that movie. And just as the right cast can multi-dimensionalize
characters which might be considered stereotypical (as in “The Turning Point”
with the Academy Award winning actors Bancroft and MacLaine), so too does
exceptional prose bring to life a story that might be too well-known to be
exciting.
That story, of course, is Mikhail Baryshnikov’s defection
from the Soviet Union and his establishment in the United
States as one of the best male dancers in
ballet history. In this case, it is Arslan Rusakov who defects in 1975 with the
help of a very young corps de ballet member, Joan Joyce. She falls in love with
him, as most women would, but is quickly disillusioned by his unwillingness to
be faithful to her. When she realizes her talent as a dancer isn’t nearly what
it needs to be in order to be a prima or even a soloist, she chooses to marry
and have a family, moving far away from the bright lights of New
York City to raise her son, Harry and teach others.
Meanwhile, her former roommate Elaine Costas is a rising star in the company, as well
as the secret muse and lover of Mr. K, a thinly-disguised Mr. B (Balanchine).
She gives up the possibility of family and children to stay with him as he
grows older and to dedicate her life to the company.
Through the years, we watch Joan’s son Harry blossom into a
stunning dancer, one who initially took up ballet only to impress Chloe, a
neighbor he has a crush on and whom Joan has taken under her wing. Joan
recognizes herself in Chloe, a girl who isn’t perfect but has many gifts (like
so many real-life dancers). We also see Arslan through his marriage to Ludmilla,
another defector from the Soviet Union, and his
continued rise in the American dance world.
All the storylines come to a startling conclusion in a dark
theater in New York City nearly 30
years after Joan and Arslan’s story began. No spoilers from me, but the ending
is not a perfectly happy one. It is,
however, a realistic one.
One of the most challenging aspects of a novel that deals
with a very specific dance idiom like ballet is that it runs the risk of
appearing rarefied and incomprehensible to others who are not privy to its
inner workings. In some books, if you don’t know dance terminology or the
details of the environment in which these characters live, you will feel lost.
Not so with Shipstead’s novel. For the
balletomane, it is filled with thinly-veiled yet recognizable characters from
the real dance world. For the technician and student, it is filled with correct
dance vocabulary and believable studio and stage situations. For the romantic,
it is filled with love stories and heartbreak. But you need not know anything
about dance to enjoy this book. Shipstead has crafted such a beautiful story –
a page-turning, fast-paced read – that will appeal to a broad variety of
readers.
A few of my favorite lines:
Elaine, on ballet’s place in her life: “Love for ballet is
necessary to survive it, but she doesn’t know if she survives because she loves
to dance or if the love comes from a need to survive.” (p. 72)
Campbell Hodges, the company manager, to Joan: “You can’t be
weak in the ballet or it’ll crush you.” (p. 129)
Young Harry, frustrated by his unrequited love for Chloe:
“Girls always seem to be straining and crying for some invisible thing they
recognize and want but that seems completely obscure to him. They seem to want
to have something to want, as though wanting was an end in itself.” (p. 162)
