Customer Reviews

A CANDLE FOR ST. JUDE, a novel

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The author conducted a ballet school in India, and her love of ballet shines through in this story, which pre-dates her equally lovely book "Thursday's Children".

Madame Holbein, the aging mistress of a small London ballet school, faces a crisis when she realizes that the program for the season, marking her Jubilee, lacks anything original or noteworthy. Madame, stubborn and proud, watches as events begin to unfold which may crown her anniversary season with triumph. Involved in the drama is a young dancer/choreographer with a chip on her shoulder, a brilliant but sodden set designer, Madame's long-suffering sister-in-law, and two of Madame's favorite young former students, who can make or break the ballet program. A satisfying story, rich with character and detail.

This brief, poetic novel tells one episode in the history of a small, private ballet school in postwar London. As with all the best Godden books, the story is built through slivers of narrative and conversation, shifting voice and persepective from page to page, sometimes from sentence to sentence. The characters come into focus gradually, but there actually is a real plot, a critical path of present action amid all the recollection (future as well as past). The ballet community is vivdly portrayed, and the physical characteristics of the theatre are depicted in loving detail.

Godden's books are a tad melodramatic and a tad romantic, but this one is suffused with an autumnal sadness that stays with the reader after the story ends. I adored this book when I was a young teen (and not involved in dance at all) and passed it on to my daughter, who is a dancer and loved it too.