Customer Reviews

Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is not Chick Lit. And it is not a book for everyone. Many will say that it is full of purple prose, that the author used 20 words where one would do. That there are sexual over tones in the book. All true, but none of these things spoil the message or journey of the book. I loved the whole thing. So, if you are a strong women of the world, filled with confidence and have done what ever you wanted to when you wanted to then skip this book. You have already made the journey.

But, if you are like me, waiting, waiting, to loose 10 pounds, or for the children to grow up, or until a few more bills are paid, or if you are waiting for a Man to come into your life and rescue you, perhaps this book is just right for you.

Amazingly descriptive, lovely, elegant, thoughtful and filled with pathos, camaraderie, bonding between girl friends and discovery. I have always wanted to dance naked at the edge of dawn but have always felt I needed to loose a few pounds first. Don't wait, life is passing, the time for dancing is the present.
Take this book into your life, and enjoy it.

This book was an engaging read but its take on the empowerment of women suffers from well-intended over-kill. Meg Frantano's mid-life crisis is triggered by witnessing a cheating husband in the book's very funny and touching opening scene. The rest of the story does not deliver on its early promise and the humour seems to fade as the somewhat thinly-plotted story continues. A bevy of larger-than-life (and of course beautiful) female friends support and inspire Meg on her journey towards self-discovery. As a woman of a "certain age", I can certainly relate to Meg's experiences and I admire the bonds of female friendships.

However, I think what irritated me most was the unrealistic ease in which Meg's life issues were resolved. I can appreciate a positive spin on things, but come on - an inherited ocean cottage in Mexico, a complete resolution with all family members and enough cash to ease any life change? And that's only part of the package! Lots of "perfects" and "beautifuls" pepper these pages. The author's idealism gets in the way of realism. What about the larger population of women who simply can't afford to be "empowered"?

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Elegant Gathering of White Snows" by Kris Radish and was looking forward to another great read with this book. I have seldom been so disappointed in a story.

I loved the beginning of "Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn"...but after the first chapter, the book just fizzles out. The writing is overly flowery and the conversations between the characters are unrealistic.

I'm a believer in many things new age, karma, positive thinking, etc. but the overblown prose in this story and simplistic resolutions to each and every problem facing our heroine, Meg, were enough to make me throw up my hands several times in frustration.

Meg serves her husband with divorce papers and they end up having a fabulous dinner together reliving the positive aspects of their failed relationship...and one-upping eachother with praise for the other.....uh huh. Her Mom has to have a lump checked out...but her yoga and positive thinking help to make it non-cancerous. Meg goes to Mexico as her Aunt had wished and finds the love of her life, a perfect seaside cottage that she now owns and peace. The list of unrealistic outcomes is endless.

I did keep plugging along trying to enjoy the story...but the writing kept getting in my way of the plot and the simplistic resolutions just became too much to bear.

Try "The Elegant Gathering of White Snows" instead.

After an explosive opening and a gathering of momentum in supbsequent early chapters, this book fails to deliver on its early promise. It gets bogged down in the "all woman are strong and supportive of each other" syndrome - despite the fact that the whole chain of events is triggered by another woman sleeping with the protagonist's husband in the first chapter. The sexuality issues that are raised are distracting and unnecessary. The language is clumsy in places, and text such as "Wow, Jane. Wow" really become tedious. The main problem though is the plot - utterly contrived and all too neatly packaged. After all, most (all?) women know that the kind of misery that our mothers and teenage daughters can inflict on us cannot be resolved as simply and utterly as it is in this book.

I read Kris Radish's first novel, "The elegant gathering of white snow", and enjoyed it, I thought maybe this would be another "good read". After reading Dancing Naked...I realized this book is just a lot of the same material,same message, packaged differently.

It was difficult to get through at times with her descriptive sentences that left me thinking...okay already, get on with it. She tries to be deep and thought provoking, mysterious and sensual...the problem is, you can see how hard she is trying...it just doesn't work. (the time when she gave herself a self breast examination is a perfect example)

This book is a lot like her first novel in which all women are strong and forceful, can overcome anything and have the desire to sleep with each other. I think she may be in the "man-hater" category. The back jacket describes her as a feminist and a lifelong supporter of women's issues. I am a woman, but not a man-hater. Maybe that's why I just couldn't relate to this book.

I would say, save your money...if you miss this book, you aren't missing much.

I loved this book and am looking forward to reading Radish's newest book next week. I really enjoyed the writing style as well as the characters. It gave me a feeling of empowerment over my own life. I found myself crying and laughing throughout the entire book. Definately an easy, yet interesting, summer read.

Being a 45 yr old women in a bad marriage, I found this book a chronicle of strength and courage. It gave me new found light and I intend to read the others in this 3 book series. They do not have the same characters in them, but, the message is the same...BE STRONG.

While I agree with several people who don't consider this chick-lit, I don't see why that is a bad thing. I enjoyed Radish's writing style, purple prose and all. If you're expecting a Dickensian journey into a complex character, this book is not it. However, it does provide a snapshot of a woman forced to assess her life and choose between the road less traveled and her current miserable life.

Yes, the (positive and negative) circumstances of Meg's life were unrealistic, but I felt they were dramatized to make a point. We all have strong, kind, and amazing people in our lives, but we have to look for these things in people. I had an aunt just like Marcia, who fought her battles with a fantastic sense of humor, courage, and love for everyone around her. The message I took from this book is this - life can be all you want if you simply take the time to nourish your own strength and that of those around you. It doesn't take money to be powerful and satisfied with your life.

I liked the empowerment feeling that this book omits. The first chapter really grabs you... but, it has an anti-marriage overtone. It's hard to get past that if you are happily married.
But, I recommended to my divorced friends.

I think most women with a family, and middle aged, will relate to this book. I loved the book. It took you through all of Meg's feelings with dealing with the destruction of her life as she knew it. She inherits a house on the beach in Mexico. (Isn't that a fantasy we could all enjoy). The book starts with Meg being in her house and not expected to be there. She hears weird noises and they are coming from her bedroom. When she arrives to the door of her bedroom she realizes her husband is with someone else. She stands there and watches. From there she leaves, not noticed by the her husband and the geranium. She goes into a depression and has the luck of having wonderful friends. Yes, it gets a little drawn out. But I enjoyed the ride into Meg's life being transformed into something else entirely. I loved her first book also. If you're young.....I don't think you will be able to relate to this book. It's too much about being a woman, wife, mother and giving up alot of who you are in life.....only at middle age, realizing that this person you once were is who you really want to be again.