Reviews

A Dance for Emilia by Peter S. Beagle

erincataldi's review

4.0

My best friend April has been hyping up this book for months so I was super glad to finally get around to reading it. She told me she was in hysterics when she got to the end and couldn't stop crying for hours so I was preparing myself for the worst. Tissues ready I launched into Peter S. Beagle's "A Dance for Emilia." I had forgotten how much I liked Beagle's writing style, it's so fluid and sounds beautiful in your head while you're reading, "A Dance for Emilia" was no different. This beautiful short story follows a beautiful friendship that amazingly still flourishes after death. Sam and Jake had been best friends for several decades before Sam suddenly passed away. Jake starts to bond with Emilia (Sam's lover) after his death and together for two years they do nothing but recount Sam's life and the adventures they had with him. Then suddenly one day, Sam's old cat, Millamant, begins to dance and speak, and they realize that their friend has come back. It's a beautiful story that recounts the power of friendship and it's a super fast read (the large print version was only 133 pages!). A feel good read that may (or may not) have you grabbing for tissues at the end.

dmturner's review

4.0

Sweet and sad, with a wonderful first-person narrator who is flawed, selfish, impatient, and beautifully drawn. It's a short little book, and I read it in one sitting in the library. Touching. Meaningful. Sentimental. All the things that Peter S. Beagle does well.

A man with a passion for theater and a man with a passion for dance become friends, though neither sees the success they dreamed of. They stay in touch all their lives, until one day the dancer dies, and the actor finds out things about the dancer's beloved, the dancer's cat, and what awaits the dancer after life is over.

jackieeh's review

3.0

Beautiful. Short. Possibly a not-so-straightforward parable? Maybe not. Either way, good stuff. The idea of bringing people back to life with your memories is attractive, even when it's not as literal as this.

hxs623's review

inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

pussreboots's review

3.0

http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2014/comments_02/dance_for_emilia.html

dernhelms_bag's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

nnecatrix's review

4.0

Book #23 for 2016
PopSugar Challenge Categories:
- A book that's under 150 pages
- A book with a blue cover

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't

a talking cat. A dancing cat, sure, but not a talking one

. Then again, this is Beagle, so it's a mistake to expect or not expect any particular thing. That's one of the things I enjoy about his work.

This really wasn't a calculated tearjerker of a story, but it really got to me. I was sobbing almost the entire time I read it. It's a sweet and touching story of grief and coming to terms with the loss of a great friend. I especially appreciated how he handled the dynamics of all of the relationships. I would recommend this to any Beagle fan, or to somebody who has lost a lifelong friend or a soulmate. But have a box of tissues handy, just in case.

canadianbookworm's review

3.0

Weird story, bit creepy

pearwaldorf's review

5.0

I still think Peter S. Beagle may be one of the finest living fantasy writers today. The way he uses the fantastic (in this case, a dead man coming back to the people who loved him dearly--in the body of his cat) to elegantly examine the mechanisms of grief, loss, and moving on are lovely. Strong characters, beautifully written.