Dance Lessons
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Dance Lessons is a story of hidden truths and unspoken memories. The interwoven stories that comprise Dance Lessons begin with Ellen Boisvert, a child of French Canadian parents, and Fintan Dowd, an Irish immigrant working illegally as a Boston bartender. They meet and marry and are near divorce when Fintan dies in a sailing accident. At the novel's center, however, is Fintan's mother Jo; from her story all the others radiate. Jo takes stoicism to a new level; she prides herself on bearing pain and misfortune. It is "bitter sacrifice that forms the core, the credo of Jo Dowd's very existence." Jo sacrifices her future to wed a man chosen by her parents, a man who can live on the family farm and do the chores her aging father can no longer handle. She sacrifices companionship when her loquacious sister moves to the city, leaving her husband and parents to settle into a "deep silence, a silence that seems to have a life of its own." Unable to tell Fintan that she is proud of his scholastic achievements, filled with resentment of the woman he loves, she sabotages his happiness and sacrifices the bond between parent and child. Sacrifice has warped Jo Dowd, and that is the condition she is in when Ellen finds her -- a condition magnified by the cancer growing in her lungs.
At one point in the story, a character wonders what "terrible, awful thing" he would have to do to make his child "deny his very existence." That is ultimately the question Ellen seeks to answer. After Fintan's death, she learns that his mother is not dead, as he had always claimed, and she travels to Ireland to find Jo. She says she wants to put her husband's ghost to rest, but it's never clear why she believes meeting Fintan's mother will help her achieve that goal. For reasons that are again unclear (particularly given her decision to end her marriage), Ellen wants to know why Fintan kept his mother's existence a secret. The trip to Ireland seems like a contrivance designed to introduce the reader to Jo, but that is a minor complaint given the compelling story that follows.
The narrative ultimately comes full circle, beginning and ending with Ellen. Along the way, it jumps between the past and present: between Jo's deteriorating relationship with Fintan and Ellen's discovery of the events that caused their estrangement. We see parallels as the twin stories develop: similarities in the behavior of Jo toward Fintan and of Fintan toward Ellen; the absence of family connection, evidenced in Jo's household by silence and in Ellen's by meaningless conversation at holiday dinners, family members "making noise -- words to while away the hours until everyone retreated back to his or her own world." As it tells these twin stories, the novel branches into other lives that have been touched by the tragedy of Fintan's upbringing. At some point the novel starts to read like a literary mystery, with Ellen trying to piece together Fintan's relationships and tease out the cause of his estrangement from Jo.
Apart from Ellen, there aren't many significant characters in Dance Lessons a reader might like. The novel's strength lies in its ability to make the reader understand and even empathize with unlikable people. Ellen comes to know her husband and in so doing, comes to terms with his death, with their failed marriage, and with her grief. In some respects, the ending, starting with a chapter that is almost an epilogue and continuing to the actual epilogue, seems false, out of synch with the rest of the novel, as if Áine Greaney felt a need to bring the storylines to a "feel good" conclusion that would please readers after exposing them to such sad and difficult lives. At the same time, the pre-epilogue ending offers additional insight into Jo, jolting the reader with another small shock.
There are moments when the beauty of Áine Greaney's prose dominates all else: gently rhythmic sentences, descriptions of sights and sounds and smells that stimulate the reader's senses. At other times the hushed drama of futile hopes and despairing lives prevails. Greaney makes subtle changes in the narrative voice as the novel shifts from rural to urban, from the United States to Ireland to England, from older characters to younger ones. Both in prose style and in content, Greaney crafted a mesmerizing novel.
At one point in the story, a character wonders what "terrible, awful thing" he would have to do to make his child "deny his very existence." That is ultimately the question Ellen seeks to answer. After Fintan's death, she learns that his mother is not dead, as he had always claimed, and she travels to Ireland to find Jo. She says she wants to put her husband's ghost to rest, but it's never clear why she believes meeting Fintan's mother will help her achieve that goal. For reasons that are again unclear (particularly given her decision to end her marriage), Ellen wants to know why Fintan kept his mother's existence a secret. The trip to Ireland seems like a contrivance designed to introduce the reader to Jo, but that is a minor complaint given the compelling story that follows.
The narrative ultimately comes full circle, beginning and ending with Ellen. Along the way, it jumps between the past and present: between Jo's deteriorating relationship with Fintan and Ellen's discovery of the events that caused their estrangement. We see parallels as the twin stories develop: similarities in the behavior of Jo toward Fintan and of Fintan toward Ellen; the absence of family connection, evidenced in Jo's household by silence and in Ellen's by meaningless conversation at holiday dinners, family members "making noise -- words to while away the hours until everyone retreated back to his or her own world." As it tells these twin stories, the novel branches into other lives that have been touched by the tragedy of Fintan's upbringing. At some point the novel starts to read like a literary mystery, with Ellen trying to piece together Fintan's relationships and tease out the cause of his estrangement from Jo.
Apart from Ellen, there aren't many significant characters in Dance Lessons a reader might like. The novel's strength lies in its ability to make the reader understand and even empathize with unlikable people. Ellen comes to know her husband and in so doing, comes to terms with his death, with their failed marriage, and with her grief. In some respects, the ending, starting with a chapter that is almost an epilogue and continuing to the actual epilogue, seems false, out of synch with the rest of the novel, as if Áine Greaney felt a need to bring the storylines to a "feel good" conclusion that would please readers after exposing them to such sad and difficult lives. At the same time, the pre-epilogue ending offers additional insight into Jo, jolting the reader with another small shock.
There are moments when the beauty of Áine Greaney's prose dominates all else: gently rhythmic sentences, descriptions of sights and sounds and smells that stimulate the reader's senses. At other times the hushed drama of futile hopes and despairing lives prevails. Greaney makes subtle changes in the narrative voice as the novel shifts from rural to urban, from the United States to Ireland to England, from older characters to younger ones. Both in prose style and in content, Greaney crafted a mesmerizing novel.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sometimes you discover a whole different side of a person, one that you never imagined, even after years of knowing them.
This happened to Ellen Boisvert, a year after her husband Fintan died. Fintan Dowd, emigrated from Ireland, had a few secrets that he chose not to share with Ellen or his family and friends back home. She had a few of her own.
The reader gets a first glimpse into Fintan and Ellen in 1986, fifteen years prior to the opening chapter where Ellen is processing emotions of grief and anger--about her unhappy and unsatisfying marriage, the drowning death of her husband, and confusion about who she is and what she wants. She has no answers.
Ellen decides to travel to Fintan's roots in Gowna, Ireland and ends up taking care of her tough mother-in-law, Jo. Greaney weaves wonderfully executed flashbacks into the unfolding complex story to lead Ellen and pull the reader deeply into discovery. While in Ireland Ellen learns a great deal about her Fintan and his story, those he left behind, and about forgiveness. As a result she also learns a lot about herself, how strong she is, and this leads to her transformation.
Dance Lessons is filled with longing, and redemption. It is also filled with beauty and promise. The writing is lovely and poignant and begs the reader's empathy. Dance Lessons will leave the reader wanting more.
by Judy Miller
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
This happened to Ellen Boisvert, a year after her husband Fintan died. Fintan Dowd, emigrated from Ireland, had a few secrets that he chose not to share with Ellen or his family and friends back home. She had a few of her own.
The reader gets a first glimpse into Fintan and Ellen in 1986, fifteen years prior to the opening chapter where Ellen is processing emotions of grief and anger--about her unhappy and unsatisfying marriage, the drowning death of her husband, and confusion about who she is and what she wants. She has no answers.
Ellen decides to travel to Fintan's roots in Gowna, Ireland and ends up taking care of her tough mother-in-law, Jo. Greaney weaves wonderfully executed flashbacks into the unfolding complex story to lead Ellen and pull the reader deeply into discovery. While in Ireland Ellen learns a great deal about her Fintan and his story, those he left behind, and about forgiveness. As a result she also learns a lot about herself, how strong she is, and this leads to her transformation.
Dance Lessons is filled with longing, and redemption. It is also filled with beauty and promise. The writing is lovely and poignant and begs the reader's empathy. Dance Lessons will leave the reader wanting more.
by Judy Miller
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
DANCE LESSONS portrays an Ireland which is not green and beautiful but haunting and empty for many of the girls who went to the local dances forty years ago in hope of finding a possible mate. One such farm girl is Jo who dreams of a vivid life but is forced to marry an older, dull man who can take over the family farm for her sickly father; her marriage, without love or imagination, turns her into a complex, doting but often unbelievably cruel mother who will try to manipulate her son into her idea of happiness. Appalled, Jo's grown son immigrates to America where he marries a girl called Ellen but cannot love her. When he dies after several years, Ellen visits Ireland for the first time to find out who her mother-in-law, whom she thought dead all these years, really is. Slowly we discover what a shattered man poor Ellen unknowingly married.
DANCE LESSONS is beautifully written. It can be as stark as a Bergman movie, scattered with breath-taking images and the bitter residue of people who settle for an empty life. Jo is both protective and crazy; one feels for her and then hates her. Ellen will step into this great sadness and somehow find a way to break the cycle and bring peace both to the family and to the memory of her failed marriage. An inspiring and fascinating novel.
DANCE LESSONS is beautifully written. It can be as stark as a Bergman movie, scattered with breath-taking images and the bitter residue of people who settle for an empty life. Jo is both protective and crazy; one feels for her and then hates her. Ellen will step into this great sadness and somehow find a way to break the cycle and bring peace both to the family and to the memory of her failed marriage. An inspiring and fascinating novel.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
enjoyable book from beginning to end
So nice to read a book that does not disappoint in the ending, has non-cardboard non-cliche characters and portrays mean nasty people with as much sensitivity as it does decent... Read more
Published 3 months ago by bookloverFLA
Dance lessons?
Ellen is a widow, hasn't even been a year ago since her husband Finlan drowned. She runs into Sheila who knew Finlan back in his home town. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Tonya Speelman
I loved this book
Dance Lessons is my favorite kind of book. It grabbed me each time I walked by it, it held me tightly so my mind couldn't wander to the details of my life, and it left me with... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Verbena
Sentimental and misty
Dance Lessons follows Ellen as she travels to Ireland to find her deceased husband's mother. Ellen has only just discovered she exists when she bumps into a woman who knew her... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Workaday Reads
Dance Lessons is a fantastic book
Dance Lessons is a book I didn't want to end but couldn't resist getting up at 3am to finish. The writing is so descriptive you feel like you are in the different locations of... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kate Welch
Do not miss this journey!
There are great reads, and then there are the stories that you mourn for when you finish that last page. Dance Lessons is the latter. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jennifer
Beautiful and memorable read
Aine Greaney is a talented author who draws you quickly into this beautifully written story of love and redemption. I literally could not put the book down. Read more
Published 13 months ago by S. Acquaviva
Love and redemption
Dance Lessons is the first Greaney book I've read. I enjoyed it very much and eagerly devoured it.
In most books and movies I read and see, I appreciate themes of love and... Read more
In most books and movies I read and see, I appreciate themes of love and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Rebecca Wish Gelfand
Dance Lessons a pleasure to read
From the get-go, I cared about Ellen Boisvert and I wanted to know what would happen to her next and why on earth would her husband have lied to her, telling her he had no living... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Esther Cannon
A wonderful, engrossing story
Dance Lessons is a wonderful, engrossing read with strong visual images, great real characters like ol' Jo Dowd, and a rich, compelling storyline that explores the hopes, dreams... Read more
Published 13 months ago by TerrySW
Inside This Book
(learn more)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
