
Astonish Me
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rebecca Lowman
-
By:
-
Maggie Shipstead
From the author of the widely acclaimed debut novel Seating Arrangements, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction: a gorgeously written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the demanding world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two generations.
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 background. She will never possess Arslan, and she will never be a prima ballerina. She will rise no higher than the corps, one dancer among many.After her relationship with Arslan sours, Joan plots to make a new life for herself. She quits ballet, marries a good man, and settles in California with him and their son, Harry. But as the years pass, Joan comes to understand that ballet isn’t finished with her yet, for there is no mistaking that Harry is a prodigy. Through Harry, Joan is pulled back into a world she thought she’d left behind - back into dangerous secrets, and back, inevitably, to Arslan.
Combining a sweeping, operatic plot with subtly observed characters, Maggie Shipstead gives us a novel of stunning intensity and deft psychological nuance. Gripping, dramatic, and brilliantly conjured, Astonish Me confirms Shipstead’s range and ability and raises provocative questions about the nature of talent, the choices we must make in search of fulfillment, and how we square the yearning for comfort with the demands of art.
©2014 Maggie Shipstead (P)2014 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















People who viewed this also viewed...





Well told interesting story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you listen to Astonish Me again? Why?
Yes, there are not too many books I would read/listen to again, but I actually thought of listening again. (Just so I could catch some of the subtle nuances between the characters that I may not have appreciated the first time)What other book might you compare Astonish Me to and why?
I typically read other genres, so this book was a very pleasant surprise.Which scene was your favorite?
There were so many. I loved the fish dive scene but I absolutely loved the ending too.Who was the most memorable character of Astonish Me and why?
I would say for me it is Joan, though I loved the metamorphosis of Chloe. For me, the interactions and relationships Joan has with each character utlimately creates a complex, entangled and twisted love story that is masterfully crafted through Maggie's storytelling.Any additional comments?
A must read or listen! Rebecca Lowman also does a fabulous reading!Incredible story, incredible characters!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
REVIEW WITH SPOILERS!!!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Darling characters, imaginative storyline
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Also, the narrator nails the dry tone. Yay good narration!
Soaring story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
in some ways, and much as I loved Great Circle, found Astonish tighter, crisper, and even more appealing. Again, great characters and a lovely, complex story that I could not stop listening to. Rebecca Lowman is terrific with pacing and voice that made the story flow easily throughout the flashback to present.
Moving and thoroughly enjoyable.
Wonderful storytelling
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not what I'd hoped for
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.