Customer Reviews

Poet and Dancer

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Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has written this book with the most beautiful prose. She doesn't just tell a story; she becomes a part of her story and brings the reader along with her. When you read it, read it with no distractions and soak in the words.

Poet and Dancer tells the story of two cousins, Angel and Lara. When they first meet during childhood, Angel falls in love with Lara and never loves anyone else in the same way. Later, when they are reacquainted as adults, they become roommates and are inseperable and dependent on one another. The beautiful and alluring Lara sucks those around her into her magnetic aura. Conversely, Angel attaches herself to those around her that she holds dearest. Even as Lara struggles with obviously genetic psychological problems, her sensuality and allure to those around her does not diminish.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala tempts when she writes. She sets the reader up with a hint of sensual suspense between Angel and Lara that drives the novel to the end. In my opinion, the story of Lara and Angel could end in no other way.

I thought the relationships between Angel and the other characters got really boring after a while. The book itself was well written but not profound enough. I think you could get writing ideas from this book by just liking the literature rather than the actual content.

I quite enjoyed Poet and Dancer, as Jhabvala completely immersed me in the world of the protagonist and antagonist. The characters were rich and life-like, but still held an ethereal mystique for me. In particular, Jhabvala's language jolted my senses. Her prose swings its way into the most beautiful poetry. The imagery within the story was covered in a deep mist, but as a reader I wanted that mist there to distance me from the at times difficult scenarios the characters found themselves in.

Be prepared for a heartbreak of an ending that will drag to you read another Jhabvala's.

If you like this book, I HIGHLY recommend "When FOX is a Thousand" by Larissa Lai.