This is not a "tango" book, or thank God, a "tango memoir." Here at the end of the World We Learn to Dance, a novel by Kiwi Lloyd Jones who is well know for his later work, Mister Pip which almost won the Booker Prize, is about the power of dance, or specifically tango, to change lives.
Beautifully written and soon to be a movie, the story spans the century and the globe. That people "at the end of the world," in this case New Zealand and Argentina, have a need for connection because they feel so far from everywhere else, well, that's for a sociologist to write about. (But that's one reason I believe that tango sprang from Buenos Aires.) The characters in the novel are all drawn to the tango--the music, sure, but most of all, to the embrace. They long for that connection.
The two illicit love stories of different generations blend and overlap, as we go from Buenos Aires to New Zealand and back again.
The tag line reads, In tango there are no wrong turns. But every dance begins with a backward step.
8 comments:
Cherie, I just read this book. My hairdresser gave it to me, and of course I was suspicious of the ever present icky cliche of tango. I really liked this book though, and felt the personalities and the connections of the characters. Glad to see you have it featured on your blog.
But that Halloween pic really is gross!
XO
E
Elizabeth, the Halloween pic of the drunk pumpkins or Ruben and me in virtual costume?
Oh my gosh Cherie, I LOVE the picture of you and Tuben. It's the pumpkins that are so awful!
You guys are too cute for words.
E
"...In tango there are no wrong turns. But every dance begins with a backward step."
An action sure to screw up the line of dance :-)
I mean Ruben!
Johanna, not if you're the girl! :)
Elizabeth, I'm calling him Tuben from now on!
Touché, Cherie!
Cherie,
Glad I found your blog. I love tango and since I don't have the opp to dance right now I can "enjoy" it through you and your blog.
Bev
Post a Comment