Dancing Through Life: "Dancing for Degas" by Kathryn Wagner

Today's book, "Dancing for Degas" by Kathryn Wagner was a very recent thrifting find at my local thrift store in Miles City, MT.  The synopsis on the back of the book intrigued me because of my love for art and ballet.  It was a good book, but I wasn't in awe at the end.  However, I feel like it's only fair to my readers that I share my opinion, even when it's lukewarm, and let you decide. So, here we go. Let's just talk about it and you decide if this book will go on your reading wish list.

The backdrop for this book is the countryside of France as well as the romantic city of Paris.  For anyone who has researched Paris in the late 19th and early 20th century, we know they didn't get famous for handing out free kittens at the Moulin Rouge.  I knew that Paris had a reputation for promiscuity and I felt like I was bracing myself for it the entire time.  How this aspect of Paris' history was portrayed was kind of odd to me, but I will talk about that here in a minute.

The main character named Alexandrie is an aspiring dancer, partly due to the fact that her family is very poor and they need to have more income to support their household.  Alexandrie has an opportunity to take free ballet lessons from a local school and she soon learns that the ultimate goal for any ballerina with talent is to be invited to audition for the Paris Opera Ballet Company.  She works very hard to become the best in spite of a discouraging Mother.  Very early on the reader senses Alexandrie's passion for doing the right thing.  She is honest and has so much integrity.  She knows that if she can be a successful ballerina in Paris, she will be able to provide desperately-needed monetary support for her family at home.  She is warned by a few locals that the Paris Opera Ballet Company is more than meets the eye....in a negative way.  She is convinced that being the best at ballet will overrule the negative, auditions and makes it! Her dream has come true....sort of....

After reading the book I found out that this was the author's debut novel which brought more clarity to some of the imperfections I found.  The author provides a detailed list of sources so I know she did her homework, but I got lost in some of it.  When Alexandrie arrives at the ballet, it's obvious that the caste system is alive and well among the ballerinas.  The older, more experienced ballerinas are jealous of the new, younger ballerinas because the better they become the more obsolete the older dancers become.  The other side of the ballet is the requirement to provide the "after-party" to the patrons of the opera.

So, here's the thing.  I'm not stupid.  I've done my homework and I know that prostitution was a means to provide for lots and lots of women during this era.....lots of eras...who are we kidding?  What I really struggled with was the part that I should have been shouting up and down for joy about. Alexandrie is determined that she will protect her virtue no matter what.  Gaaaa! Call in the elders because Raylynn might be walking herself in to an anti-virtue discussion!  Nope, I'm not.  What I struggled with was the way the author portrayed her standing up for her virtue. It just didn't seem real or logical. I felt like there was agenda in order to provide contrast. For some of you this may be getting a teeny bit technical (remember I grew up in a family of writing nerds), but I honestly didn't believe that she could really do it because of the historical facts of survival for women of her social status in Paris during the 19th century.  It was a constant awkward fight of Alexandrie being shocked that they were expected to "entertain" the patrons after their nightly shows. After a few chapters I thought, "if this was real, I don't think she could last this long and stay employed." I think the author was trying to portray a character who, instead of handing out her virtue to please the opera patrons, became the ballerina model for the famous artist Edgar Degas and then it was OK. 

The chapters when Alexandrie is interacting with Edgar Degas were really sweet.  She becomes his exclusive model and there is definitely a romantic interest (the "we should get married" kind, not "after-party" kind) on her part. She tells him this and he, in no uncertain terms, informs her that he doesn't have time for marriage.  However, there is a mutual respect between the two characters and he doesn't take advantage of her. I definitely appreciated that because I do, in fact, value a man who respects a woman's virtue. A LOT. 

For me, Edgar Degas, was a great character portrayal because he was the introvert recluse who was overflowing with passion and talent. I like those kinds of men in my own life. The quiet geniuses. I saw myself reacting as Alexandrie did when they met together for her modelling sessions.  Who can resist a man with a bit of mystery, right? Fitzwilliam Darcy with a dash of Mr. Rochester, please? I digress.....but seriously....you know what I'm talking about. Edgar Degas was that man and he was a great character.

Throughout the story, Alexandrie wrestled with the pressure to protect her virtue or finally cave.  It almost had a bit of Grease-final-scene-of-the-movie moment and I thought, if she gives it up after allllllllllll these chapters, I'm going to stop reading the book.  She didn't, but it definitely was on the table, because her mother is sending letters with increasing pressure for more monetary support.  The reader knows that through it all Alexandrie is dancing for a better life, not to please everyone else or keep the patrons' donations up.  The struggle is real and she truly does try.  The only thing I will say about the ending is this: it was a surprise.

My recommended reading group would be age 16 and above.  It's a PG-13 read with relationship elements, including prostitution and emotional abuse in the home and workplace. The prostitution is alluded to in daily discussions between characters, but there aren't graphically described sex scenes.

The moral of the story: Sometimes the dance of life turns out to be really complicated and weird. But, it also has its sweet moments as well.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R



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