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Dancer
Dancer
Author: Colum McCann
This novel opens on a battlefield: trudging back from the front through a ravaged and icy wasteland, their horses dying around them, their own hunger rendering them almost savage, the Russian soldiers are exhausted as they reach the city of Ufa, desperate for food and shelter. They find both, and then music and dance. And there, spinning unafra...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780753817049
ISBN-10: 0753817047
Publication Date: 10/6/2003
Pages: 384
Edition: New Ed
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1

3.5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Orion
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Dancer on + 289 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Let the Great World Spin led me to Colum McCanns earlier novel Dancer. Based around Rudolf Nureyev, the celebrated Soviet ballet dancer who defected in 1961, I found Dancer to be akin to literary storm chasing. Those expecting a thorough fictionalized account of Nureyevs life would be disappointed; he is like a whirlwind whose aftermath is the authors real interest. The story is told from multiple perspectives, including those of his first ballet teacher, her daughter, his family and servants, and Victor, a homosexual Venezuelan hustler-friend and it is more about how Rudi affected them. McCanns extraordinary ability to mix different styles, voices, and tone greatly enhances the kaleidoscopic effect of the whole. It is also a look at the times he lived through, from the frozen Soviet front during World War II to the decadent living of 1970s and 80s New York. Although not as interconnected and emotionally raw as his later work, Dancer was an impressive read.
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