Bill M. (ceebeegeebee) reviewed Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance on + 11 more book reviews
This is what is written on the back cover of this book. "Taking his cue from the tango ,the acclaimed author of Mister Pipp has written a thrilling and sensuous novel about how we fall in love."
C'mon now , how about some truth in advertising. I found none of the three elements mentioned anywhere during my reading of this book. Lets start with thrilling. Was it the very long tedious section where four of the charachters were hiding in a cave ? I don't know who was more bored during the cave ordeal. The cave dwellers forced to stay in their cave with little to do all day , the monotony dragging on seemingly forever or me , the reader , forced to read about their ordeal while the monotony did drag on forever. Maybe the author thinks despondency is thrilling. Next up is sensuous. No , not here. Bland is how I felt about the charachters ,their developement and interactions. Perhaps it was in the dance that the author thought he was conveying sensuality. The dance descriptives barely went beyond "...and then they danced...". Lastly , falling in love.I must have missed this part. I know I read the whole book , didn't skip a page but I don't recall anybody falling in love , being in love or talking about love. All they did was dance. Is this love ? Is this sensuous love ? Is this thrilling sensuous love ? This is an example of how bland this book is. This is an example of how the author thinks we fall in love. " He notices that she is young and healthy looking. She looks good in her denim jeans. Wait a minute , other men are noticing this as well. I better marry her." Is your heart beating faster now ? Is there a bead of sweat on your upper lip ?
I kept readin this book hoping that the bouncing from generation to generation and location to location would somehow mesh and the story would have a coherent conclusion. It didn't. What a waste of time. A complete tangoed mess.
C'mon now , how about some truth in advertising. I found none of the three elements mentioned anywhere during my reading of this book. Lets start with thrilling. Was it the very long tedious section where four of the charachters were hiding in a cave ? I don't know who was more bored during the cave ordeal. The cave dwellers forced to stay in their cave with little to do all day , the monotony dragging on seemingly forever or me , the reader , forced to read about their ordeal while the monotony did drag on forever. Maybe the author thinks despondency is thrilling. Next up is sensuous. No , not here. Bland is how I felt about the charachters ,their developement and interactions. Perhaps it was in the dance that the author thought he was conveying sensuality. The dance descriptives barely went beyond "...and then they danced...". Lastly , falling in love.I must have missed this part. I know I read the whole book , didn't skip a page but I don't recall anybody falling in love , being in love or talking about love. All they did was dance. Is this love ? Is this sensuous love ? Is this thrilling sensuous love ? This is an example of how bland this book is. This is an example of how the author thinks we fall in love. " He notices that she is young and healthy looking. She looks good in her denim jeans. Wait a minute , other men are noticing this as well. I better marry her." Is your heart beating faster now ? Is there a bead of sweat on your upper lip ?
I kept readin this book hoping that the bouncing from generation to generation and location to location would somehow mesh and the story would have a coherent conclusion. It didn't. What a waste of time. A complete tangoed mess.
An interesting book about how war and love changes lives. I liked how the book flowed from the past to the future easily.
