Dancing with Butterflies: A Novel [Paperback]

Reyna Grande (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2009

Dancing with Butterflies uses the alternating voices of four very different women whose lives interconnect through a common passion for their Mexican heritage and a dance company called Alegría. Yesenia, who founded Alegría with her husband, Eduardo, sabotages her own efforts to remain a vital, vibrant woman when she travels back and forth across the Mexican border for cheap plastic surgery. Elena, grief stricken by the death of her only child and the end of her marriage, finds herself falling dangerously in love with one of her underage students. Elena's sister, Adriana, wears the wounds of abandonment by a dys-functional family and becomes unable to discern love from abuse. Soledad, the sweet-tempered illegal immigrant who designs costumes for Alegría, finds herself stuck back in Mexico, where she returns to see her dying grandmother.

Reyna Grande has brought these fictional characters so convincingly to life that readers will imagine they know them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Grande's lyrical and sensual follow-up to her stunning Across a Hundred Mountains (2006) is well worth the wait. This time out, there is still the poignant intimacy of the Mexican immigrant experience, but it's richly layered into the lives of four women who discover that their passion for the vibrant tradition of Folklórico dancing binds them to their pasts, futures and one another as each faces her own test of love and loyalty. There's Yesenia, the founder of Grupo Folklórico Alegria, who, at 42, is struggling through a midlife crisis that threatens to wreck everything she's loved; Elena, a young dancer and teacher whose stillborn daughter pushes her into a forbidden love; Soledad, a gifted seamstress for the Folklórico group whose dreams of her own dress shop get derailed by a return to Mexico to visit her dying grandmother; and Adriana, Elena's impetuous younger sister, who's involved in an abusive relationship. Nothing is simple for these complex women, but the art and culture of a Mexican dance tradition is what finally saves their lives, and we're lucky to be in the audience. (Oct.)
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Review

"Award-winning novelist Reyna Grande returns with a novel full of music, motion, and heart. Dancing with Butterflies is about four women whose stories and friendships are as rich as the Folklórico dance that brought them together. Grande is a novelist to watch." -- Tananarive Due, American Book Award-winning author of Blood Colony

"Just when you think you know all about friends, Grande comes along to teach you something else about love and its mysteries, about good conversation over beers, sacrifices one makes for family, and about the joys and sins of shoe-stomping pride." -- Helena María Viramontes, author of Their Dogs Came with Them

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; Original edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439109060
• ISBN-13: 978-1439109069
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Hispanic

More About the Author

Reyna Grande is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Across A Hundred Mountains (Atria 2006), for which she received an American Book Award (2007) and El Premio Aztlan Literary Award (2006). Born in Mexico in 1975, Grande was raised by her grandparents after her parents left her behind while they worked in the U.S. She came to the U.S. at the age of nine as an undocumented immigrant and went on to become the first person in her family to obtain a higher education. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing and Film and Video from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She is a sought-after speaker at middle/high schools, colleges and universities across the nation, and teaches creative writing workshops in Los Angeles. She has served as a judge for the Pen/USA Literary Awards and is on the planning committee of the Latino Book & Family Festival.

Grande's second novel, Dancing with Butterflies, was published in October 2009 to critical acclaim. She is currently at work on a memoir.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful read that draws your attention even when you don't have it open, January 21, 2010

By 

Shannon B Davis "Nepenthe" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dancing with Butterflies: A Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

This riveting book writes on a micro-scale about the day-to-day lives of 4 Mexican-American women that are involved in a Folkloric dance company in Los Angeles. Although the book focuses on their daily lives and not with suspense or action, the characters are so well portrayed that the reader is drawn in. And there WILL be at least one character if not more that you can relate to. They all have their flaws, and their charms, and are fully three-dimensional. Each chapter is labelled by the voice it will be written in, and to the author's credit, each voice is authentic. It is easy to forget that these are not true stories but fiction.

I was immediately drawn into Yesennia's story. I'm a dancer myself and if you replaced Folklorico with Bellydance, there are many similar feelings. You do it for the love of it, not money, and you come to love and care for the dance, the music, the culture. Yesennia was living my dream, running her own studio and company. But, like me, she has a knee injury. Her knee injury however is bad enough that she is forced to give up dancing. I can't imagine how difficult that would be. She turns to plastic surgery, focusing on her appearance as a way to regain the joy in her life that she lost with dancing - dancing had made her feel forever youthful.

Adriana is an interesting character. She suffered a lot of abuse from her family, and as a result, she is drawn to abusive men. Although she has a kind Gringo neighbor who would love to treat her well, she keeps returning to the same relationship that she had with her father. The experiences written here perfectly capture the experiences and feelings of a battered woman, and it's so visceral that I remember physically clenching up my whole body as I read certain passages. It shows how Adriana can want the abuse, can keep returning to it, even though it's clearly not good for her. This portrayal is so real you can taste it.

Then there's Elena. She has a troubled marriage after her miscarriage, and the sadness from that has also caused her to give up dancing. One of my good friends lost her soulmate and likewise was not able to dance again. So I, again, saw echoes of real people and real lives here.

Finally, one of the most eye-opening segments of the book focuses on Soledad. Soledad is the seamstress for the group, an illegal. She goes back to Mexico to see her grandmother on her deathbed, knowing she may never be able to return. She sacrifices everything she has for her family. She's a very compelling character, and I haven't read too many narratives of this nature. This story within a story - of all of them - really brings in some issues of the day - immigration - and raises awareness without seeming like it was intended to do that.

I only wished we had learned more about Ruben/Ruby's story. She was introduced as such an interesting character, but turned out to be only a foil for Soledad as well as a way to reflect upon cosmetic surgeries in comparison with Yesennia. True, the book chose to focus primarily on four women, with other women and men in their life only seen through the eyes of these women. However, it seemed like Ruben/Ruby completely disappeared from the story after serving her part. That said, the author did well in portraying a transgendered person sensitively, although I cringed reading that Ruby was out of the hospital and drinking so soon after surgery. Likewise, the surgical adventures of Yesennia also made me uncomfortable. I can tell you one thing - I will not be having plastic surgery after reading this book (not that I was planning on it anyway).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dancing with Butterflies is not just a one note..., January 19, 2010

By 

Sofia Hernandez "Maddy, Eli & Joshy's Mom" (Woodside, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dancing with Butterflies: A Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

Like another reviewer has stated before me, I too do not believe in revealing everything in my current review because then there is nothing left to say/read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! Originally I was pulled in by the title and short summary; once I began the novel I found myself immersed in the character's lives and tribulations. The novel revolves around 4 women (Yesenia, Soledad, Elena & Adriana), their trials and association with the Alegria Folklorico Dance Group. Folklorico is a Mexican dance and before this I never gave it a second thought. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of the costumes and traditions that painstakingly go into each "folklorico" dance.

In true chic lit form, you have your girlfriend and spousal drama that will leave you being able to relate with these sometimes unrelatable characters. The author has a way of painting wonderful imagery of the Folklorico costumes and dances. I have never been interested in the Mexican dances nor will I walk away recommending this book because of it. For me, the Folklorico was the tie that bound them and weaved/intertwined the women to one another. My recommendation for this novel will stand alone on the beautifully developed characters that Ms. Grande was able to mold from her own life experiences; especially immigration.

My favorite character would have to be Soledad because she is the character that in every story just suffers all the way through yet never lets life beat her down. She is the understated heroine and has you rooting for her. Some of the women just make me cringe and wonder how they themselves can deal.

Highly recommend to all readers for custom filled novel that will immerse you into a world of immigration, love, friendship, incest, abuse, passion and all that life has to offer. ENJOY!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars complex, lyrical..., January 10, 2010

By 

God Lover (Los Angeles, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing with Butterflies: A Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

At times, I think Amazon book reviewers get carried away, and take away all of the fun of reading a book. I have absolutely nothing to add after the first review as it's so completely outlined in detail. While this type of review (which gives away all of the details, including last chapter info) is appropriate for textbooks, how-to manuals, Thomas Bros. maps, etc....it is totally inappropriate for novels. Take away the mystery and there's little point in reading the book. All I can say is that I'm now a fan of Ms. Grande's work and am seeking out her other writings. Her style of writing reminds me (alot!) of Barbara Kingsolver (albeit a hispanic version), and I now find myself hooked :)