Book Blog: Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead

ASTONISH ME by Maggie Shipstead

★★★★

An exquisitely crafted tale blending the idyllic suburban life with the tumultuous world of ballet, this book follows the lives of multiple professional dancers as they fight against challenges, grief, jealousy and more, culminating in a final reveal that resonates deeply (and somewhat unfortunately) with all characters in a multitude of ways.

Our leading lady, Joan, grapples with feelings of inferiority in the demanding world of ballet, acutely aware that achieving excellence as a dancer will forever elude her. Her tone is wistful throughout the novel, with a defeated sort of acceptance that she will never measure up to her peers. But when famous lead Russian ballet dancer Arslan Rusakov defects to come to America, he chooses Joan to share his escape, his fears, his bed - but never the stage. Instead, an unexpected pregnancy sends Joan back to her small town suburban life where she gives up professional dance for good to raise her son with her “sort-of” childhood sweetheart.

As any artist knows, the art we love never truly leaves us, even when we shut the door on it. When her son emerges as one of the top ballet dancers in the industry, she has no choice but to return to the world she sought so hard to leave behind her. As her life intercrosses with her next door neighbors, her former roommate, and the one and only Arslan Rusakov, she’s forced to consider her choices, both on and off the stage, more closely than she would like. 

This is an elegant novel with structured storytelling told through multiple viewpoints and throughout several decades of time. This story deeply explores the unyielding theme between that which one desires on stage - the excitement, the drama, and the glamor - versus the stable, reliable life of raising a family, settling down, and living quietly. “How strange it was that a dream, once realized, could quickly turn mundane.” This book has a lot of gentle wisdom on how to balance dreams with a “normal” life, particularly when your dreams begin to feel more like a nightmare. The struggle for perfection is a challenge every character goes through in their own, unique way and you feel yourself drawn into every confrontation they must face. The ending may be predictable, but it doesn’t soften the blow as each character navigates the news - some quite more painfully than others - through life, love, and most importantly, dance.

Shipstead has a gift for describing not only the tense atmosphere of the theater right before curtain, but also the crisp, fall day outside the studio where classmates and friends mingle after rehearsal. The portrayal of each environment is written just as eloquently as each rond de jambe or pirouette. 

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“The inner lives of [Shipstead’s] characters feel as real and immediate as the shifting settings they inhabit: still-gritty mid-1970s Manhattan, shabbily elegant Paris, the sunbaked suburban sprawl of Southern California.” –Entertainment Weekly

"A bravura display of high-performance art, the only constant its quest for perfection." —The Guardian

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In the first page of this novel, the author dedicates the book to a beloved friend who “knows about the place where art and life meet”. Surely, this book is a brilliant homage to that special place that all artists seek.

Find Astonish Me at your local library or shop at Bookshop.org!