A review by kumipaul
Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead

3.0

My wife and I started ballet lessons together 10 years ago in our 50's. I lasted one year, and she's still dancing. With all the sports and activities I've done in my life, ballet was the most difficult. However, I learned enough to understand all the technical ballet language in this book, and also to understand that ballet life for professionals is miserable. You're always in competition, never good enough, constantly fighting aging and injury, and surrounded by arrogance. This story reflects all of that very well. My very limited beginner ballet experience was enough for me to closely relate to the story, and for that reason, I waver between rating this 3 stars or 4, so I'll settle on 3 1/2. I really enjoyed Shipstead's storytelling, and I look forward to reading Great Circle as well.