Astonish Me

Author: Shipstead, Maggie

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 6 January 2015 by HarperCollins Publishers (The Borough Press) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 368 pages
198 x 129 | 260g

The New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

Brilliantly written; the first ballet novel for grown-ups THE TIMES

A bravura display of high-performance art GUARDIAN

Brims with emotion an accomplished novel embracing both domestic drama and the competitive quest for perfection SUNDAY TIMES

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 shadows.

After her relationship with Arslan sours, Joan decides to quit ballet and make a new life for herself. But as the years pass, Joan comes to understand that ballet isnt finished with her yet

From the prize-winning author of Seating Arrangements comes an exquisitely written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the demanding world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two generations.

Cleverly constructed with some elegant pirouettes of its own DAILY MAIL

A gripping mix of family drama and insight into the world of ballet GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Shipstead is a gifted writer who examines families and relationships in a poignant, insightful way STYLIST

A dazzling story rooted in the competitive world of dance WOMAN & HOME

So graceful, so dazzling, so sure-handed and fearless, that at times I had to remind myself to breathe Maria Semple, author of Whered You Go, Bernadette

I will be paying close attention to Shipsteads career from here on in Jeffrey Eugenides