ASTONISH ME
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 passionate, political
world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold
over two generations.
Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a
ballerina whose life has been shaped by her relationship with the worldfamous
dancer Arslan Rusakov, whom she helps defect from the Soviet
Union to the United States.
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 passionate, political
world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold
over two generations.
Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a
ballerina whose life has been shaped by her relationship with the worldfamous
dancer Arslan Rusakov, whom she helps defect from the Soviet
Union to the United States. While Arslan’s career takes off in New York,
Joan’s slowly declines, ending when she becomes pregnant and decides to
marry her longtime admirer, a PhD student named Jacob. As the years pass,
Joan settles into her new life in California, teaching dance and watching
her son, Harry, become a ballet prodigy himself. But when Harry’s success
brings him into close contact with Arslan, explosive secrets are revealed
that shatter the delicate balance Joan has struck between her past and
present.
In graceful, inimitable prose, Shipstead draws us into an extraordinary
world and into the lives of her vivid and tempestuous characters. Filled
with intrigue, brilliant satire, and emotional nuance, Astonish Me is a
superlative follow-up to Shipstead’s superb debut.
- Vintage
- Paperback
- January 2015
- 272 Pages
- 9780345804617
Buy the Book
$15.00
About Maggie Shipstead
Maggie Shipstead is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’
Workshop and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University.
Her first novel, Seating Arrangements, was a New York Times best seller, a
finalist for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, and the winner of the
Dylan Thomas Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction.
Praise
“So dazzling, so sure-handed and fearless, that at times I had to remind myself
to breathe.”—Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette
“A novel you must read.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“A breathtaking work of art.”—O, The Oprah Magazine
“Precise . . . Flawless . . . Transcendent.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR
Discussion Questions
What does “Astonish me” mean, as a metaphor in the novel?
Who is the main character? Is that person also the hero?
Shipstead skips forward and backward in time
throughout the novel. How does she use these leaps to
fill in the story?
“Elaine ingests a steady but restricted diet of cocaine without apparent
consequence. The key, she has said to Joan, is control. Control is the
key to everything.” (page 8) What does Elaine mean by “control”?
Which characters in the novel lose control, and to what effect?
And how does the perfectionism required of ballet dancers play into
intent and control?
Is Joan’s aggressive pursuit of Arslan out of character for her? Why
does she do it?
Throughout the novel, characters wonder why Arslan chose Joan to
help him defect. Why do you think he chose her?
How does Sandy shape her daughter’s future? What effect does her
behavior at Disneyland have?
“I think things can be true even if they didn’t really happen,” Jacob says
on page 144. What does he mean by this? How does it play out in his
family’s life?
Jacob adored Joan from childhood; Harry adored Chloe from
childhood. How else does the younger generation resemble the older
one? How do they differ?
Why do Harry’s feelings for Chloe change?
What does “parent” mean, in terms of the novel? Which characters
make good parents?
What is the metaphor of Emma Livry, the ballet dancer whose tutu
catches fire?
What does Rodina, the title of Arslan and Chloe’s ballet, mean? (In
Russia, it refers to “motherland.”)
Do you think Jacob decides to stay through the end of the performance?