Watch Her Fall
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3.3 • 4 Ratings
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
Black Swan meets Killing Eve - the brilliant new novel from Erin Kelly
Swan Lake is divided into the black acts and the white acts. The Prince is on stage for most of the ballet, but it's the swans audiences flock to see. In early productions, Odette and Odile were performed by two different dancers. These days, it is usual for the same dancer to play both roles. Because of the faultless ballet technique required to master the steps, and the emotional range needed to perform both the virginal Odette and the dark, seductive Odile, this challenging dual role is one of the most coveted in all ballet. Dancers would kill for the part.
Ava Kirilova has reached the very top of her profession. After years and years of hard graft, pain and sacrifice as part of the London Russian Ballet Company, allowing nothing else to distract her, she is finally the poster girl for Swan Lake. Even Mr K - her father, and the intense, terrifying director of the company - can find no fault. Ava has pushed herself ahead of countless other talented, hardworking girls, and they are all watching her now.
But there is someone who really wants to see Ava fall ...
(P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Who knew a story set in the world of ballet could turn out to be a thriller about identity theft and undocumented labour? Nikolai Kirilov, the director of the London Russian Ballet, has groomed his daughter, Ava, to be a perfect ballerina, but as the company’s production of Swan Lake approaches, she starts to crack under the pressure. Author Erin Kelly grounds us in the reality of mounting a professional dance, describing ripped ligaments, torn toenails, and extreme dehydration in such vivid detail that we were ready for a salt bath ourselves. As the desperate actions of an undocumented Ukrainian refugee alter the lives of everyone involved, Kelly’s story takes many unexpected turns, which are wild but completely believable. Narrator Imogen Church’s breathy delivery turns up the tension even more. If you’ve ever wanted to read Gone Girl set in the world of Black Swan, you’ll love this suspenseful story of three damaged people trying to make their way.
Customer Reviews
Slooooow
Managed only two hours of this - I rarely give up but nothing was happening and the narrator’s Russian accent really grates