Maya & Natasha

Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham, 384 pages

Born in the midst of the siege of Leningrad in 1941 to a prima ballerina mother, twins Maya and Natasha were destined for dancing greatness. As children, the pair enrolled in the Vaganova Ballet Academy, and fought tooth and nail against their classmates and each other to secure a position with the most prestigious ballet company in the Soviet Union, specifically on its upcoming tour of America. But with the Soviet regime fearing defections of its talented dancers, only one person per family is allowed to tour, pitting the sisters against each other in previously unthinkable ways.

Taking place over the course of several decades, this book explores the complicated relationship between Maya and Natasha, and between artists, their art, and their obligations to the government that sponsors them. It's a cutthroat story, and a compelling one, particularly through a modern lens.

Variation

Variation by Rebecca Yarros, 464 pages

When she was a teenager, elite ballerina Allie and her younger sister were saved from drowning by aspiring rescue diver Hudson, sparking a friendship that burned brightly for two summers before the death of Allie's eldest sister drove a wedge between them for more than a decade. Now Allie is back in Hudson's small hometown, recuperating after an injury that she hopes won't end her career. While she'd love to stay as far from Hudson as possible, a revelation about Allie's sister and Hudson's niece pushes them together again, causing the romantic spars that never caught before to suddenly flare up. But will their two high-stress careers, as well as their own past, allow them to be together?

Having read a couple of Yarros' romantasy books, I was intrigued to try something of hers without dragons. And while this was a compelling, quick read with complex characters, a few things regarding the main characters' family members (particularly Hudson's siblings and Allie's mom) hit me as a bit questionable. I don't want to go into more detail here, as it is a decent read and I don't want to give anything away (I particularly enjoyed the ballet insights), but I will say that I felt like some of these things could've been handled with more care and honesty between the characters.

Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum  270 pp.

This book was the basis for the classic 1932 film by the same name starring Greta Garbo, John & Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, and Joan Crawford. It is the story of patrons of the luxurious Grand Hotel in 1920s Berlin. One resident is a WWI veteran who has lost half his face and spends his time hidden behind the daily newspaper in the lobby. There's a famous ballerina who fears that she is growing old too quickly, a businessman who's company is failing, and a clerk who is spending his savings on a last hurrah after receiving a fatal diagnosis. It's an interesting social commentary on an era of tremendous change in Europe. 

The Invisible Bridge

The Invisible Bridge: a Novel / Julie Orringer, 602 p.

A deep-dive of a novel about the WWII experiences of one man and the people he loves.  Andras Levi, a young and ambitious man from a Hungarian village, receives a scholarship to study architecture in Paris in 1937.  He is nostalgic for Hungary and his family but enthralled by his new home and his studies.  He soon meets Clara, a beautiful Hungarian ballet instructor, Jewish like Andras, and with a very mysterious past.  As Europe heads toward war, it becomes nearly impossible to remain in France as a foreigner. 

The above sounds like a conventional narrative, but Orringer's novel, with its scrupulous and wide-ranging historical and cultural detail, patient unfolding of plot, and commitment to telling her story without cutting corners, feels unusual to the reader.  While I enjoy novels with shifting points of view and time periods, it's refreshing to read a contemporary work that tells a deep, multi-faceted story from the perspective of one person moving forward through time.  Moreover, 'telling it straight' in this way embeds the reader in Andras' specific situation, on the choices he is forced to make, and on all the ways his choices are taken away.  Also appreciated is the focus on wartime Hungary and Hungarian Jews, whose stories have been told less frequently.  An important work, and dramatic while never straying into melodrama.