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Dance Move

By Wendy Erskine
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Dance Move is a compelling collection of stories by Wendy Erskine, featuring characters wrestling with moments from their past that define their present. From Drew Lord Haig's unexpected performance at a paramilitary event, to Max's reflective journey to a Christian film festival, and Mrs Dallesandro’s nostalgic tanning salon reverie, these narratives explore themes of control, memory, and the interplay of humour, tenderness, and tragedy. The stories offer a warm, intimate look at what it means to live and look back, blending the familiar with the strange.
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Format: Hardback
$2499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This collection is ideal for readers who appreciate literary fiction with a focus on nuanced character studies and finely crafted short stories. Fans of contemporary, emotionally rich narratives that blend humour and tragedy will find Dance Move deeply rewarding.

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From critically acclaimed Northern Irish writer Wendy Erskine: a collection of profound and darkly funny stories about people trying to move on with their lives, while bound to the past.

From critically acclaimed Northern Irish writer Wendy Erskine: a collection of profound and darkly funny stories about people trying to move on with their lives, while bound to the past.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'I could not put this book down and loved every page.' - Salena Godden

'Humane, funny, surprising, profound.' - Chris Power

'A masterpiece.' - David Keenan

Meet Drew Lord Haig, called upon to sing the obscure hit from his youth at a paramilitary event. Or Max, who recalls an eventful journey to a Christian film festival. Meet Mrs Dallesandro, in the tanning salon on her wedding anniversary dreaming of a teenage sexual experience. And Sonya, who scours the streets of Belfast for the missing posters of her dead son.

In Dance Move, the new collection of stories from Wendy Erskine, we meet characters who are looking to wrest control of their lives, only to find themselves defined by the moment in their past that marked them.

In these stories - as in real life - the funny, the tender and the devastating go hand in hand. Full of warmth, the familiar and the strange, they are about what it means to live in the world, how far you can end up from where you came from, and what it means to look back.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Dance Move has been widely praised for Erskine's masterful storytelling and distinctive style. Critics highlight her skill as a 'great noticer' with an eye for microscopic detail and a sharp ear for the cadences of ordinary conversation. The collection is noted for its humour and tender portrayal of vulnerable moments. Described as a 'masterpiece' by David Keenan and 'a spectacular feat in the short story form' by Caught By The River, the book avoids sentimentality while evoking the ambient pathos of ordinary lives with profound warmth and wit.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529079678

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 17 February 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Picador

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 143.0mm

Height: 223.0mm

Weight: 356g

Pages: 240

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Wendy Erskine

About the Author

Wendy Erskine lives in Belfast. Her fiction and non-fiction have been published by Repeater, Dostoyevsky Wannabe, Faber & Faber, Tangerine Press, No Alibis Press and Rough Trade Books. Sweet Home, her first collection of stories, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize. It was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and won the 2020 Butler Literary Award.

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