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Beautifully written, a mythos of gay literature that really encompasses (I assume) the pretense of life in the 1970s, far from glamorous, two friends are finding that the joy and hard work isn't as pleasurable as it once was. Dreams fade and time doesnt slow for anyone.
Read it all in about 26 hours (sleep and work included), perfect read for a train journey. Happy that I bought/found it, never knew it existed (bit late to the party)
Read it all in about 26 hours (sleep and work included), perfect read for a train journey. Happy that I bought/found it, never knew it existed (bit late to the party)
"Go out dancing tonight, my dear, and go home with someone, and if the love doesn't last beyond the morning, then know I love you."
I read a bulk of this book while fighting a cold and ignoring the news during Election Night... obviously, not an ideal environment. I think that, had I read it over a longer period of time and sat with it more, had I been able to attend the classes that discussed it, Dancer from the Dance would have had a much larger affect on me than it did. I typically love the slice of life exploration of queer culture. Maybe it did not translate well from the page for me, or maybe I need to give it another shot in the future. Either of these things are possible!
I read a bulk of this book while fighting a cold and ignoring the news during Election Night... obviously, not an ideal environment. I think that, had I read it over a longer period of time and sat with it more, had I been able to attend the classes that discussed it, Dancer from the Dance would have had a much larger affect on me than it did. I typically love the slice of life exploration of queer culture. Maybe it did not translate well from the page for me, or maybe I need to give it another shot in the future. Either of these things are possible!
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I remember when I first picked up this book in Santa Barbara, turned the first page I couldn't put it down. The feeling was one of a different kind of sexual awakening, like I had somehow missed a whole culture of exciting men. I know that I became obsessed with books about gay men thereafter. But now, for the life of me I can't remember a thing about the book except it was beautiful, electrifying, luminous and poetic. On that note, the title is borrowed from a line in the poem, "Among School Children" by William Butler Yeats:
VIII
Labour is blossoming or dancing where
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul.
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
VIII
Labour is blossoming or dancing where
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul.
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
gorgeous, haunting novel. the kind that gets and stays under the skin for years after reading its last page. I highly recommend this novel.
I could not make my mind up about this one.
Whilst there were some good parts in this book and I did like the characters, it was far too descriptive in that every scene had paragraphs of description and an unnecessary amount of similes that it ended up becoming tiresome and took away the interest from the actual plot which is why I ended up putting it down for two months.
Also, I cannot help but think this book gives a somewhat depressing and stereotypical view of gay culture although in hindsight I did find myself comparing myself to the characters and their lives.
Whilst there were some good parts in this book and I did like the characters, it was far too descriptive in that every scene had paragraphs of description and an unnecessary amount of similes that it ended up becoming tiresome and took away the interest from the actual plot which is why I ended up putting it down for two months.
Also, I cannot help but think this book gives a somewhat depressing and stereotypical view of gay culture although in hindsight I did find myself comparing myself to the characters and their lives.
“There is nothing so wonderful as seeing the wonders of this earth with someone you love.”
It’s regarded as a major contribution to post-Stonewall gay literature but so far it’s full of pretentious gays and their shallow behaviors. If I wanted to hear white people unnecessarily and judgmentally add race to their descriptions of people, I would just attend my family’s next Thanksgiving dinner. No thanks.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes