Hungarian Dances |
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Author:
Jessica Duchen
By Hodder & Stoughton General
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price: £19.99
Our Price: £0.47
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Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780340933572
ISBN: 0340933577
Label: Hodder & Stoughton General
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton General
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2008-03-06
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton General
Studio: Hodder & Stoughton General |
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Epic gripping story!, 2008-08-25
I loved Hungarian Dances. I felt I knew the characters so so well and at the end I wanted to phone them up! Ms. Duchen has a wonderful ability of bringing fiction to life. I hope there are many more books to come!
I cannot recommend this book highly enough., 2008-12-10
Hungarian Dances is a marvellous, intelligent, thought-provoking meditation upon the human condition; it explores the themes of identity, whether national or sexual, of the possibilities of love, of betrayal, and of the deep meaning of music, whilst carrying you along on a beautifully-crafted story that is utterly absorbing. It may be a cliché to say "I couldn't put this book down", but in my case it is a quite literal statement of fact. I read it throughout the night despite having several urgent matters to attend to and desperately needing my sleep! (Warning: clear your diary before picking this up!)
This is a wonderfully-written book; nothing in the prose jarred, nothing was extraneous. Don't let the slightly girly cover put you off - this is seriously good literature. As a professional opera singer, I am used to hurling any books which mention classical music at the wall in irritation; this one, with its accurate portrayals of the frustrations, disappointments, and sublime joys of music-making, resonated strongly in my soul.
If you like your novels to make you think, without being overtly pushed to do so, this is not to be missed. Glorious!
Hungarian Dances Rocks, 2008-09-08
A really good read. I enjoyed Hungarian Dances very much -and I admired it enormously too. Jessica Duchen brings Hungary vividly alive for the English reader,which is a great and unfamiliar pleasure in itself. The story takes on some really dark material and serious issues, all while moving readers along and keeping them entertained.
I didn't want it to end!, 2008-08-05
This story gripped from the first page to the last. Although the central family in the story is Hungarian and musical, you don't need to be either to get totally caught up in their story as tumultous events, personal and political, overtake them. The narrative sweeps you along at a cracking pace that never lets up despite ranging back and forth between past and present. Jessica Duchen has created a hugely rich and appealing tapestry of characters, and her deftly interwoven sub-plots are filled with astute observations and wry insights about relationships and human behaviour. If the sign of a good book is that you don't want it to end, I was utterly bereft when it had finished.
Pure pleasure!, 2008-08-05
Jesssica Duchen's third novel is an enchanting read. The characters are so vibrant and touching, they became friends I was sorry to part with. She has an extraordinary capacity to make distant times and places come alive. I was fascinated by the glimpse of Hungarian gypsy life before the war as well as Hungary during the post-war years, what people are capable of when they have a little power. There is also the theme of exile and transformation. But the heart of the novel is very much set in England, an interwoven story of four generations including the predicaments of modern marriage, told with the author's characteristic wry humour and compassionate wisdom. "We're the sum total of our own stories", one character says - but when these stories are half-truths told to ourselves and others, they cast a spell on the present - and this is partly what the novel is about, an unveiling process that enables new possibilities. It's wonderful!
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