Dancing for Degas
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Dancing for Degas
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3.47 of 5 stars
In the City of Lights, at the dawn of a new age, begins an unforgettable story of great love, great art—and the most painful choices of the h... read full description

reviews

May 24, 2011
Jeanette rated it: 1 of 5 stars
This is the kind of book that was made for negative star ratings, which unfortunately are not an option. I would assign this one a minus 2 stars.

This book is so bad that I just want it out of my life! I got as far as page 189, then had it sitting around for weeks. I kept telling myself I should finish it and write a review because it was a First Reads win. Dumb on my part, since I now know for certain that reviewing First Reads books has no bearing on future wins.

The fi More...
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Feb 16, 2010
Erika rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I was intrigued when I won this as a First Reads, and delved into it as both a lover of historical fiction as well as someone with an educational background in art history. While I do think it had promise, it ultimately was just okay for me.

Of course it should be noted that I did receive an ARC - an uncorrected copy which still required editing. I do hope that an editor thoroughly goes through the book to clean up extraneous storylines and improve the writing. At times I found the More...
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Feb 15, 2011
Wendy rated it: 2 of 5 stars
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0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Apr 10, 2011
Luann rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I've enjoyed the art aspects of books such as Girl with a Pearl Earring and Blue Balliett's series of children's mysteries. I am always led afterwards to read more about the particular artist and become more familiar with their work. Dancing for Degas fit right into that. I enjoyed learning more about Degas and his paintings. I also enjoyed learning about the life of a Paris Opera Ballet dancer in the late 1800s. This is a well-written piece of historical fiction - especially for a first-time a More...
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Dec 28, 2011
Andrea rated it: 3 of 5 stars
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Sep 29, 2011
Jen rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Have you ever had a character or a story resonate so deeply with your own life that you feel as if this was you in another life? That's what this book was for me. Alexandrie is a young girl who dreams of escaping her boring life, not to mention her family, in small town France. Her mother enrolls her in ballet lessons and Alexandrie finds the one thing in life for which she will always feel passion. As she dances her way up the social ladder to the Opera Ballet in Paris, she must learn some hard More...
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Apr 30, 2010
Christine rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Being an artist predispositions me to read books about artists. Alas, I have found there are GREAT books, good books and no-so-good novels that re-create the lives of our master painters. "Dancing for Degas: A Novel" is a GREAT book and Wagner is a darn good writer and storyteller.

The Impressionists, visual art, dance, Paris, politics, and women's history play prominent roles in this novel, which was obviously well researched. Of course, liberties were taken. After all, thi More...
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Jan 16, 2010
Karalee rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I found this book to be utterly enthralling. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I just couldn't put it down. The story captivates to such a extent that the outside world recedes. I was reading it on the train during my morning commute and was so engrossed that I didn't realize my train had been off-loaded due to mechanical problems, a fellow passenger had to tap me on the shoulder and tell me to exit the train.

The story is set in the late 1800s in France. The main character is a young More...
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Jan 23, 2012
Sarah added it
What this book does really well is illustrate the dependence women had on men during the height of the Paris Opera. Our heroine's only options are as follows: 1) Find someone to marry, 2) Find someone who will set her up as a lorette (high-class prostitute), or 3) Sell her body every night after the show. Now, it bothers me a little bit that the author indicated that the Paris Opera was pimping out their ballerinas to the patrons on a nightly basis. There was a bit of pimping that went on, but t More...
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Jul 25, 2010
Angie rated it: 4 of 5 stars
As I passed the "new" shelf at the library, this caught my eye. I have long had a soft spot for Ballet and Degas art, so I had to give it a try. Let me be honest and say that I had little expectations of this book, and so, I was pleasantly surprised!!

I was drawn to Alexandrie's character after just a few pages. She is very likable and trustworthy. You can trust that she will do the best she can in each situation. I found parts of her story sad, but I am glad that she en More...
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Jun 14, 2010
LK rated it: 3 of 5 stars
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Apr 23, 2010
Jinny rated it: 2 of 5 stars
Not a lot here for discriminating readers. The first parts of the plot are predictable, and the end abrupt and not well connected to preceding events. Most of the characters are one-dimensional, and there is little emotional nuance to plumb. As historical fiction, the book lacks a really distinctive sense of nineteenth-century Paris.

Disappointing, as the situation and scenes of the action have potential. Unfortunately, this book is a great example of the "telling vs. showing" More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Jun 01, 2010
Bonny rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book! I really enjoy reading historical novels and particularly stories about some of my favourite artists.

But more than an interpretation of Degas' life, this is also a look at the historical venue of the Opera Ballet. It is infamous for offering girls a life away from poverty on their family farms, but it doesn't gloss over the hard work an gruelling hours these girls had to put in. Nor does it diguise how most of these girls ended up, as "lorettes" mistresse More...
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Jun 24, 2010
Ruth rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book combines two of my favorite topics .... art and historical fiction. So how could it be bad? THe story revolves primarily around a poor young girl who overcomes her poverty and rises to be a lead ballerina for the Paris Opera Ballet at the time Degas was painting his numerous works of ballerinas. While a work of fiction, the book gives a perpsective of the role of the ballerina in society, the viewpoint of reknown artists of the time and life in Paris in the late 1800s.
Coincident More...
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Jan 31, 2010
Leigh rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I won this book from Goodreads. I was very excited when it came as I was just about to finish my other book and wondering what to read next. I entered to win this book because I have always been drawn to Degas' work surrounding ballerinas. I took dance for years and was just sure that I, too, would become a ballerina. Alas, I'm not but the movement and elegance of the dance and of Degas' work still entices me.

I've been trying to step out of my regular genre of mystery/thriller books. More...
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Aug 10, 2011
Erika rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book. It struck a nice balance between leisure and more serious matters. It wasn't too fruity or flighty; I was actually inspired by the determination, confidence, and poise demonstrated by the main character, Alexandrie. I was especially effected by the strength of her morals--somehow this book made me see value in chastity that I had not before. I suppose I've been more inspired to be a lady--composed, serene, dignified, chaste.
There were a few sections with More...
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Jun 14, 2010
Elizabeth rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I couldn't pass up a historical fiction with Degas, Paris and ballet. I've always been in love with Paris. So this weekend I traversed to Paris in the 1800s and enveloped myself in tutus, silk, oil and diamonds. A quick read that showed the underbelly of the ballet in this era. I can quickly transport myself back in time and imagine Alexandrie as she saw the Paris Opera House for the first time. I was around the same age when I visited France and felt the energy of the city and the great overwhe More...
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Aug 29, 2011
Stephanie rated it: 3 of 5 stars
An interesting peek into the world of ballet in Paris in the 1800's. I am curious to know how factual it was, especially the portrayal that the ballerinas were also courtesans of the top patrons. If it is true, my female sensibilities are offended that parents would put their daughters in the ballet to prostitute them out so they could send money back home to support the family. I don't know anything about Degas, either, and he was depicted as a very fickle character. The story was pretty go More...
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Jan 28, 2012
Audrey added it
If you like ballet and art this takes you into their world and allows you to imagine the times and lives of the impressionists.It is told through the eyes of a young parisian ballet dancer who poses for Degas.An ambitious and enterprising farm girlshe joins the paris opera ballet with hopes of securing her place in society.As she meets Degas she is drawn more and more into the world of the painters she needs to make her mind whether she follows her initial dream of rising to the top in the balle More...
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Feb 10, 2010
Sandy rated it: 4 of 5 stars
From what I have personally seen, this book is current in the way the dancers treat each other. From the outside looking in, you have no idea how competitive those woman are. All the public sees is the grace and poise radiated from the stage. I found it illuminating what is revealed about the life of dancers off the stage in Paris during this particular time period. I would hope ballet companies no loger expect woman dancers to prostitute themselves for contributions.

Forget the More...
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Feb 11, 2010
Daphne rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book was compulsively readable. I won the book on Goodreads as a first read book. The historical fiction art genre that this book falls into is one of my favorites.

Set mainly in Paris from 1865-1872 the story includes life of ballerinas at the Paris Opera Ballet and Edgar Degas' art from the same. The story of Alexandrie's life from a poor young farm girl, to living in Paris as a ballerina working her way up through the ranks in the ballet and her relationship with Degas wa More...
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May 18, 2010
Ann rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This is book is historical fiction, but it is hard to know where reality ends and fiction begins. It is the story of a poor French girl and her journey from poverty in her small town to a ballerina for the French Opera. Along the way she meets Edgar Degas and becomes his main model for his famous ballerina pastels, sculptures and paintings. The story is written well, but at times hard to read about such sad living conditions and the immoral society that these young girls were forced into.
More...
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Aug 09, 2011
Jill rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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Aug 31, 2011
Julia rated it: 3 of 5 stars
It took a bit to get into the book -- the style improves once Alexandrie gets to Paris. For some reason the beginning felt too much like a rough diary, as if she was listing the things that happened to her. The biggest issue was the usage of words was too sophisticated for a little pepper farm girl - it read very false.

I am glad I pushed through though because I really felt for her character as a very young and naive girl who faces shocking realizations about her life and that her More...
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Jul 31, 2010
Heather rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Alexandrie is a typical country girl. She helps her family with their pepper farm and doesn’t really expect much more than that. She shows an interest in taking dance lessons, which is a luxury – and that is where the conflict between her and her mother comes in. Alexandrie wants to be the best dancer she can, while her mother wants her to become a famous lorrette and send money home to her family. This tension really forms the heart of this story.

Alexandrie goes to Paris and becomes More...
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Jul 23, 2011
Erica Leigh rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Though providing snippets of information on the impressionist movement and history of this time period in Paris, the focus of the story was on the main character, Alexandrie – on her journey, her choices, her art and her heart. The story is told such that you imagine what happened between the artist and the model for some famous Degas paintings – how they came about and the relationship between the portrayer and the portrayed. Alexandrie is smart and determined, but she is also naïve and a dr More...
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Jul 17, 2010
Kathryn rated it: 1 of 5 stars
Having finished all the books I brought along for my European Vacation I sorted through what my mom had available and picked this one. In the same vane as The Girl with the Pearl Earring this book seeks to tell the story behind a famous painting and the "muse" that inspired the great work. Once again for me the writing falls very flat just like Pearl Earring or The Other Boleyn Girl. The author struggles to produce characters who evoke real emotions and sensationalizes the life of Dega More...
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Jul 18, 2010
Cynthia rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Alexandrie lives in her small village of pepper growers with her family and her dreams of dancing. After years of studying dance with a local ballerina she's deemed good enough to audition for the Opera Ballet in Paris. She makes it in and a new world opens for her. Most exciting is meeting Edgar Degas and becoming his muse or at least one of them. That's where her heartache begins because the more she poses for him, the more they talk, she falls in love but Degas is determined not to have a ful More...
8 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jul 16, 2010
Brenda (Lansdowne) rated it: 4 of 5 stars
In the late 1800s, in Paris, there existed the Parisian Ballet and famous painters, well maybe they were not famous at the time, but you all know them now. Cezanne, Degas, Monet, to name a few.

While the others were mostly painting landscapes, Degas was painting ballerinas. I will admit that for the first fifty pages, I was thinking of Toulouse-Lautrec and not Degas. The author bring the two worlds together by introducing us to a young ballerina, Alexandrie, who comes to Paris and More...
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Feb 18, 2010
Adriana rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Dancing for Degas had so many things that I loved. Such as Paris in the 1800's, art, dance, love, and so many more great things.

Alexandrie is a poor farm girl who has to help support her family. She starts taking ballet classes at a young age in hopes of becoming the étoile of the ballet and to financially help her family back at home. When she makes it to Paris she discovers that ballet is so much more than just dance and discovers the not so glamorous side of it.

Alexand More...
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