A review by cinaedussinister
Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran

emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I absolutely adore this book's framing device & the way it's written - definitely the best part of the book. For me, the writing style is definitely the biggest plus: Holleran *knows* how to create an image, and he's really good at capturing the essence of a community (the NYC gay community, to be exact). I also really enjoy the characterisation - each character feels different and fleshed out, even if they aren't named (thinking especially of the two framing characters here). The one place where I feel like the book could use some work is its plot. The middle of the book feels quite slow, just kind of repeated descriptions of the sluttiness of Malone and gay NYC in general, and the end just kind of putters out - there's no real climax. That's not a huge downfall - the beginning is excellent, and I still really enjoyed reading it all the way through, despite the plot's slowness, so I'd still say this is a really good book. Definitely worth reading.
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