From the author of the widely acclaimed debut novel Seating
Arrangements, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Los
Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction: a gorgeously
written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the demanding
world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two
generations.
Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a young
American dancer who helps a Soviet ballet star, the great
Arslan Rusakov, defect in 1975. A flash of fame and a
passionate love affair follow, but Joan knows that, onstage
and off, she is destined to remain in the background. She
will never possess Arslan, and she will never be a prima
ballerina. She will rise no higher than the corps, one
dancer among many.
After her relationship with Arslan sours, Joan plots to make
a new life for herself. She quits ballet, marries a good
man, and settles in California with him and their son,
Harry. But as the years pass, Joan comes to understand that
ballet isn’t finished with her yet, for there is no
mistaking that Harry is a prodigy. Through Harry, Joan is
pulled back into a world she thought she’d left behind—back
into dangerous secrets, and back, inevitably, to Arslan.
Combining a sweeping, operatic plot with subtly observed
characters, Maggie Shipstead gives us a novel of stunning
intensity and deft psychological nuance. Gripping, dramatic,
and brilliantly conjured, Astonish Me confirms Shipstead’s
range and ability and raises provocative questions about the
nature of talent, the choices we must make in search of
fulfillment, and how we square the yearning for comfort with
the demands of art.
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