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Dancing Lessons
When her house in the Jamaican countryside is damaged by a hurricane, Gertrude Samphire is sent by her estranged daughter Celia to Ellesmere Lodge, an assisted living centre. Gertrude is unimpressed with her new wealthy neighbours, and spends most of her time alone. It is only through writing that she finds her voice, and she begins to record her life in a memories of her gothic childhood, impetuous marriage, and struggles with raising a family. Gertrude slowly comes out of her shell, establishing and mending the relationships she has been missing for so long – and comes to realize that she may not be alone as she once felt.
- GenresFiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2011
5 people are currently reading
268 people want to read
About the author
Olive Senior
43 books107 followersOlive Senior was born and brought up in Jamaica in 1941 and educated in Jamaica and Canada. She is a graduate of Montego Bay High School and Carleton University, Ottawa.
She is one of Canada's most internationally recognized and acclaimed writers having left Jamaica in 1989, spending some years in Europe and since 1993 being based in Toronto.
Among her many awards and honours she has won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and F.G. Bressani Literary Prize, was nominated for a Governor-General’s Literary Award, and was runner up for the Casa de Las Americas Prize and the Pat Lowther Award. In 2003, she received the Norman Washington Manley Foundation Award for Excellence (preservation of cultural heritage – Jamaica). Her body of published work includes four books of poetry, three collections of short stories and several award-winning non-fiction works on Caribbean culture.
She is one of Canada's most internationally recognized and acclaimed writers having left Jamaica in 1989, spending some years in Europe and since 1993 being based in Toronto.
Among her many awards and honours she has won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and F.G. Bressani Literary Prize, was nominated for a Governor-General’s Literary Award, and was runner up for the Casa de Las Americas Prize and the Pat Lowther Award. In 2003, she received the Norman Washington Manley Foundation Award for Excellence (preservation of cultural heritage – Jamaica). Her body of published work includes four books of poetry, three collections of short stories and several award-winning non-fiction works on Caribbean culture.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 27, 2021
Whether short story or novel, Senior knows what she's about and does not let up the pressure of having her readers inhabit the lives and situations of her characters.
'All will be revealed on Judgement, as every good churchgoer knows.' -Gertrude
As with her short fiction and poetry, Senior's atmosphere, characters, dialogue, and interplay are filled with poignancy and makes the reader empathize with her main character while also deeply examining the vivid societal standards and prejudices that are so ingrained withun a generation and clearly depicted on page.
Gertrude comes to the realization that she has endured abuse and a lack of nurturing through almost all her life and has visited the same detached treatment on her children.
Through her recollections and memories observations, we experience the life of neglect and lack of love and compassion that she endured as a child and a woman; especially as one that did not suit the aesthetic of her paternal family.
Senior does a fantastic job of building the world and societal structures with all its racism (classism, elitism) through Gertrude's experiences. But she also depicts the strength that can be found in community and kindness. The characters at the Lodge are just brilliantly written and I love the independence, attitude, and glamour that Senior has given them.
And as she accepts the roles she played in her own trials and acknowledges the hurt caused by those who should have loved and protected her, she blossoms under the release of her trauma and is ready to face how she passed it on to her children, who all expressed their own in different ways.
I did want more of a deep dive into the reckoning of hurt that would have initiated healing. The ending definitely points in that direction...I hope. But genuinely reflects what a hard path to reconciliation one has to walk when the trauma is so personal.
'All will be revealed on Judgement, as every good churchgoer knows.' -Gertrude
As with her short fiction and poetry, Senior's atmosphere, characters, dialogue, and interplay are filled with poignancy and makes the reader empathize with her main character while also deeply examining the vivid societal standards and prejudices that are so ingrained withun a generation and clearly depicted on page.
Gertrude comes to the realization that she has endured abuse and a lack of nurturing through almost all her life and has visited the same detached treatment on her children.
Through her recollections and memories observations, we experience the life of neglect and lack of love and compassion that she endured as a child and a woman; especially as one that did not suit the aesthetic of her paternal family.
Senior does a fantastic job of building the world and societal structures with all its racism (classism, elitism) through Gertrude's experiences. But she also depicts the strength that can be found in community and kindness. The characters at the Lodge are just brilliantly written and I love the independence, attitude, and glamour that Senior has given them.
And as she accepts the roles she played in her own trials and acknowledges the hurt caused by those who should have loved and protected her, she blossoms under the release of her trauma and is ready to face how she passed it on to her children, who all expressed their own in different ways.
I did want more of a deep dive into the reckoning of hurt that would have initiated healing. The ending definitely points in that direction...I hope. But genuinely reflects what a hard path to reconciliation one has to walk when the trauma is so personal.
March 23, 2022
3.5 stars nice writing def wouldn’t have been able to finish her if I hadn’t had to read her for school
September 26, 2018
Silence. It is amazing how much damage it can do. G was damaged by it and continued to damage her own children because no one ever told her otherwise. The abuse, the pain, and the humiliation could never come out in speech but she could say it all in her head to an imagined daughter.
G is an incredibly flawed and damaged character. She is an introvert and is used to keeping silent on things. She never reached out enough and so her children became distant for so long. The lack of contact severed communication and knowledge about them to the point where she could not recognize them anymore. She always felt that she must walk through life alone. Her children have a distorted view of her thanks to their socializing with their father and lack of knowledge about their mother. G was never able to tell them to truth - her truth.
The first person narrative is overwhelming and draws you in. The pain feels so real. This book was an emotional roller-coaster. The perspective is therefore biased but it doesn't matter. G believes that this is what happened and the way she feels is real. Her children have different perspectives which seep in through dialogue. However, their ignorance is telling and G was always silent and the children in turn were silent to her.
G writes and the novel gives the impression that one day Celia will at least read her mother's truth and understand. G finds solace in this writing and the slow awkward moments that she shares with Celia. It is gratifying to know that G will reunite with her children in her newly refurbished house. Symbolically, the hurricane destroyed their old house and allowed a new one to be built thus representing the beginning of a new bond.
I wondered about the title. G loves to dance. One of her happiest memories is dancing and singing with her father. She danced with Mr. Bridges in a failed attempt to return to that memory with her father. She danced wit her abusive, inebriated husband. Most importantly, she is learning to dance with Celia and speak and write her perspective. G has practised enough in her own mind.
G is an incredibly flawed and damaged character. She is an introvert and is used to keeping silent on things. She never reached out enough and so her children became distant for so long. The lack of contact severed communication and knowledge about them to the point where she could not recognize them anymore. She always felt that she must walk through life alone. Her children have a distorted view of her thanks to their socializing with their father and lack of knowledge about their mother. G was never able to tell them to truth - her truth.
The first person narrative is overwhelming and draws you in. The pain feels so real. This book was an emotional roller-coaster. The perspective is therefore biased but it doesn't matter. G believes that this is what happened and the way she feels is real. Her children have different perspectives which seep in through dialogue. However, their ignorance is telling and G was always silent and the children in turn were silent to her.
G writes and the novel gives the impression that one day Celia will at least read her mother's truth and understand. G finds solace in this writing and the slow awkward moments that she shares with Celia. It is gratifying to know that G will reunite with her children in her newly refurbished house. Symbolically, the hurricane destroyed their old house and allowed a new one to be built thus representing the beginning of a new bond.
I wondered about the title. G loves to dance. One of her happiest memories is dancing and singing with her father. She danced with Mr. Bridges in a failed attempt to return to that memory with her father. She danced wit her abusive, inebriated husband. Most importantly, she is learning to dance with Celia and speak and write her perspective. G has practised enough in her own mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2022
FEBRUARY
30.
by
Finish date: 22 February 2022
Genre: novel
Rating: B-
Review:
Good news: Narrator: Gertrude Samphire (70+) Historical timeline: pre-independence Jamaica (Aug 6 1962) right up to recent years. Timeline: 2-3 years --> Gertrude's years in the retirement center. Structure: Chapters alternate between present time with 'flashback" moments. Genre: Bildungsroman....but in the opposite direction!
Theme: abandonment.
Personal: Gertrude looks back...to the past...in her memories of her gloomy childhood, impetuous marriage, and struggles with raising a family. She keeps a journal that is filled with insight and dry humour...and takes the book beyond the everyday experience. Gertrude has seen too much,...heard too much and ...lived through too much. #WorthYourReadingTime...but push through the first 60 pages...it does get better!
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June 2, 2023gestopt na 50 bladzijden
September 15, 2020
Such a thought-provoking read. Olive Senior is truly a gifted writer. I felt like I had developed a relationship with the main character and came away feeling like I understood her and her life choices. I loved the nuances in this story, it's really well done.
January 19, 2015
Probably one of the best books I've read for the year thus far.
Gertrude Samphire is placed within an elitist home for the aged by her wealthy and somewhat famous daughter after her house has been badly affected by a hurricane.
We are reading Gertrude's diary. It jumps from vague renditions of her childhood to detailed episodes of her life. In and out she describes the persons around her at the home, and you come to understand that she is not like these other rich biddies and gents. She has come from a more humbler background. She is judged and set aside because of this fact.
Nonetheless, she ignores it. She has never been a very social person and interactions with others usually left her voiceless and awkward.
I really feel for her, she tried so hard for all her children, suffered with the burden of a cheating husband who eventually stops coming home. However, all the children eventually find the comfortable living with their father more attractive and seem to forget all she had done in their early life and opts to live with their runaround father instead. They seem to think she gave up on them. How strange.
She gave them all she could. :/
Kevin bought this for me, but when he bought it someone asked if he was going to read it, to which he replied, no it's for someone else. Oh, the person says, because that's a woman book.
:/
The fuck, why shouldn't men read about women who struggled despite the terrible treatment they received by these so called providers and hunters -_-
I adore Olive Senior and this voice of the timid woman with the strokes of jealously who did the best she could.
Gertrude Samphire is placed within an elitist home for the aged by her wealthy and somewhat famous daughter after her house has been badly affected by a hurricane.
We are reading Gertrude's diary. It jumps from vague renditions of her childhood to detailed episodes of her life. In and out she describes the persons around her at the home, and you come to understand that she is not like these other rich biddies and gents. She has come from a more humbler background. She is judged and set aside because of this fact.
Nonetheless, she ignores it. She has never been a very social person and interactions with others usually left her voiceless and awkward.
I really feel for her, she tried so hard for all her children, suffered with the burden of a cheating husband who eventually stops coming home. However, all the children eventually find the comfortable living with their father more attractive and seem to forget all she had done in their early life and opts to live with their runaround father instead. They seem to think she gave up on them. How strange.
She gave them all she could. :/
Kevin bought this for me, but when he bought it someone asked if he was going to read it, to which he replied, no it's for someone else. Oh, the person says, because that's a woman book.
:/
The fuck, why shouldn't men read about women who struggled despite the terrible treatment they received by these so called providers and hunters -_-
I adore Olive Senior and this voice of the timid woman with the strokes of jealously who did the best she could.
September 30, 2019
4.5 Stars.
Full disclosure, Olive Senior is one of the writers that triggered my love for literature. Her poem "Colonial Girls' School" still sits among the greatest treats I have indulged in. Her short stories are a joy to read as she has a rhythm that is unique to her and a perspective on life that is refreshing.
She elevates the Jamaican experience in a time when many would decry any attempt to praise the way of life of the common man. He exploration of the effects of colonialism is evident in this work and she even throws in a little Neo-colonialism with the direct and indirect influence of America on the young. I fell in love with Mrs. Sam and could identify many people I know in her. Love this and recommend it as a good read.
Full disclosure, Olive Senior is one of the writers that triggered my love for literature. Her poem "Colonial Girls' School" still sits among the greatest treats I have indulged in. Her short stories are a joy to read as she has a rhythm that is unique to her and a perspective on life that is refreshing.
She elevates the Jamaican experience in a time when many would decry any attempt to praise the way of life of the common man. He exploration of the effects of colonialism is evident in this work and she even throws in a little Neo-colonialism with the direct and indirect influence of America on the young. I fell in love with Mrs. Sam and could identify many people I know in her. Love this and recommend it as a good read.
September 16, 2017
I may have to revisit this, for some reason it just didn't hold my attention, I just couldn't gain interest in the story. Not the best introduction to Olive Senior for me.
August 25, 2020
After a hurricane damages her home in the Jamaican countryside, Gertrude Samphire is taken by her estranged daughter to the opulent Ellesmere Lodge while repairs are made. Resentful at first, Gertrude slowly begins to find her voice through a series of notebook entries that show her changing perception of her past and the burgeoning freedom of her present. As she looks back at her lonely childhood, turbulent marriage and eventual estrangement from her children, she finds her perception of the future is also changed.
Olive Senior is masterful as always, with a brilliantly crafted plot and engaging characters. Racism, classism, drug abuse, domestic abuse, police brutality and crime feature prominently in this work, but Gertrude’s growth and exploits of the residents at the lodge temper it to bittersweetness.
I really enjoyed G’s character development; I am here for the personal growth and learning to assert herself, definitely my favorite part of this book. The quirks of the different residents and employees at the Lodge, especially the saga of the Bombay mangoes, was hilarious. Highly recommend to fans of Caribbean literature, and if you’re not a fan yet this is a great place to start.
Olive Senior is masterful as always, with a brilliantly crafted plot and engaging characters. Racism, classism, drug abuse, domestic abuse, police brutality and crime feature prominently in this work, but Gertrude’s growth and exploits of the residents at the lodge temper it to bittersweetness.
I really enjoyed G’s character development; I am here for the personal growth and learning to assert herself, definitely my favorite part of this book. The quirks of the different residents and employees at the Lodge, especially the saga of the Bombay mangoes, was hilarious. Highly recommend to fans of Caribbean literature, and if you’re not a fan yet this is a great place to start.
March 1, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this because of its depth. The characters are all flawed but fantastic in their own way and Olive Senior does a great job of bringing a humanity and warmth to the story of Getrude Samphire.
March 24, 2020
G is a remarkable, very flawed woman who learns late in life to love herself and to open up to some of the people in her life. The book is set in Jamaica, rural and city, in poverty and relative affluence.
June 24, 2017
I loved reading this so much.
December 22, 2011
I really loved this book - my review for Sway Magazine (which I can't copy here because of copyright and all that) is at this link:
http://swaymag.ca/2011/12/olive-senio...
Olive Senior is a really masterful writer with a beautiful writing style. The language is quite figurative, and she's created a really engaging character in G, whose story comes in the form of notebook entries. The genius of the book lies in how we get to see both the inside and the outside of this character - how others' see her and how she really is inside. Despite the darkness of much of her story (emotional neglect, grinding poverty, an abusive marriage) it's a story about redemption and hope.
http://swaymag.ca/2011/12/olive-senio...
Olive Senior is a really masterful writer with a beautiful writing style. The language is quite figurative, and she's created a really engaging character in G, whose story comes in the form of notebook entries. The genius of the book lies in how we get to see both the inside and the outside of this character - how others' see her and how she really is inside. Despite the darkness of much of her story (emotional neglect, grinding poverty, an abusive marriage) it's a story about redemption and hope.
April 21, 2013
Skillful depiction of Jamaican family, dysfunctional, and the results that brings to the relationships between Mother G, and her children. Feelings of a lost life are slowly proven wrong as her grown children reveal themselves to her and how she has affected them, and relationships are formed in the retirement home. Hardships of island life as well as NYC slums brought to life.
January 8, 2015
LOVED living inside Mrs. G's head for a week, even if she was often INFURIATING beyond belief. One of the most endearing, enraging characters I've come across in awhile. A heartbreaking story.
Read
July 26, 2018Gertrude, an elderly woman, now lives in residential care and is the responsibility of her very accomplished daughter who has little patience with her mother's ways. Yet, in this restrictive setting, Gertrude finds that there is still time in life for forgiveness of old hurts, creativity and self expression and even, romantic love.
This book delves into the issues of interpersonal relations in Jamaica across gender, class, race and colour from the pre-independence era to the current time.
This book delves into the issues of interpersonal relations in Jamaica across gender, class, race and colour from the pre-independence era to the current time.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews