Dancing on Knives in Aussie Readers

Feb 11, 2014 Brenda rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014-release, mystery, read-on-kindle, aussie-authors, contemporary-fiction, net-galley, arc, own-read

Quiet, shy and tormented - Sara Sanchez had finally left school after one more incidence of bullying that was just too much – all her life she had been teased, bullied and made fun of, and when the last straw came, she knew she wouldn’t return – ever. So now she had been at home with her father and brothers, Pablo (but always known as Joe) and twins, Dylan and Dominic, never leaving, for the past five years. The anxiety and panic attacks had become worse over those years until she felt she could Quiet, shy and tormented - Sara Sanchez had finally left school after one more incidence of bullying that was just too much – all her life she had been teased, bullied and made fun of, and when the last straw came, she knew she wouldn’t return – ever. So now she had been at home with her father and brothers, Pablo (but always known as Joe) and twins, Dylan and Dominic, never leaving, for the past five years. The anxiety and panic attacks had become worse over those years until she felt she could take no more.

When their mother Bridget had died in a fiery car crash, her twin brothers had been young; then her father, famous artist Augusto Sanchez, had brought home a new wife, along with a daughter, Teresa who was six years old and his and their humiliation was complete. Augusto’s mother, Consuelo, had lived with them before she was knocked down by a car and killed – Sara was devastated, as her grandmother was the only one who understood her. Sara would secretly take out her grandmother’s tarot cards when she was distressed; sometimes they helped, but often they didn’t.

On Good Friday, when families were relaxing and celebrating the holiday weekend, Sara and her family were not. Because this weekend would be one that would change their lives forever – the deep secrets of the Sanchez family would gradually and painfully be revealed. But at what cost? Sara could sense that the shadow of foreboding which was threatening to engulf her was moving closer to them all….

This is my first book by Aussie author Kate Forsyth and I found Dancing on Knives quite disjointed with a tendency to drag on occasion. I also found myself skimming in some areas of the story. Augusto was not a likeable character with his complete cavalier attitude toward women. That said, the plot idea was interesting, the insight into a family that was damaged and continued to be so, with seemingly no idea how to better their lives quite intriguing. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.

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May 26, 2014 Sheree rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, contemporary-fiction, aussie-author, read-in-2014

A slightly different feel to other novels I've read by Kate Forsyth but it's an interesting journey to re-publication for the story first conceived 30 years ago by a then 16 year old Kate. Dancing on Knives is kind of languid and meandering and yet strangely compelling. And a testament to Kate's skill as a writer that I was fascinated whilst in the midst of so many unlikable characters.

Dancing on Knives is a novel of passion and family dynamics ... the severely dysfunctional Sanchez family. Twe A slightly different feel to other novels I've read by Kate Forsyth but it's an interesting journey to re-publication for the story first conceived 30 years ago by a then 16 year old Kate. Dancing on Knives is kind of languid and meandering and yet strangely compelling. And a testament to Kate's skill as a writer that I was fascinated whilst in the midst of so many unlikable characters.

Dancing on Knives is a novel of passion and family dynamics ... the severely dysfunctional Sanchez family. Twenty year old Sara Sanchez, suffocating under the weight of an egotistical, bullying father and loss and longing, so crippled by anxiety and panic attacks she hasn't left the family farm in 5 years.

I loved the strong sense of place (Narooma, a small town on the far south coast of NSW) and the importance of food, recipes passed down through generations ... descriptions literally making my mouth water, adding light and warmth to an otherwise dark tale. And how I adored Sara's grandmother Consuela Sanchez.

Sara inherited her grandmother's tarot cards, her prophetic 'knowing' and her recipe book. That was one of my favourite parts, I really enjoyed the descriptions and memories of that recipe book and I loved that Sara listened to her grandmother's wisdom, tapped into her inner strength and found a little peace and happiness.

Consuelo's recipes were all kept in a very thick old exercise book, bulging with odd bits of paper - old remedies, directions for making dandelion wine or rosemary shampoo, hand-scrawled notes on the secret properties of fruit and herbs - basil for enticing true love, rosemary for fertility, thyme for courage, apples for love and healing, figs to spell-bind love, sage for wisdom.

‘Thyme is best for courage,’ Consuelo told her. ‘Make a cup of thyme tea with honey, that’ll help make you brave. Or wear a sprig of it in your hair, so you can smell it."

That was the ghost of her grandmother, Consuelo Sanchez, whose roast goose cooked with pears could make grown men tremble. ‘A stick of cinnamon is the secret,’ Consuelo would tell Sara, standing at the end of the bed, a hunched little figure in black, a shadow among shadows.

I liked the magical feel, references to the macabre Little Mermaid fairytale, the Spanish culture, the segue from present to past and back.

Augusto Sanchez, I loathed ... passionate, egotistical artist, self absorbed, bullying human being, quite frankly I thought he got what he deserved ... oops, I mean I couldn't find it in myself to care about his 'accident'. For that matter, I didn't really care much for the rest of Sara's family either lol.

Not my favourite of Kate Forsyth's, that honour goes to the The Wild Girl but still wonderful storytelling. ...more

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May 27, 2014 Lauredhel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, disability, australian-women-writers-challenge, australian, mystery, aww2014

"Augusto always peppered his speech with Spanish when he cooked, although he had not set foot on Spanish soil since he was born. ‘The secret with zarzuela is the sweetness. Cinnamon, saffron, sweet paprika, bay leaves. Sweet and salty the zarzuela, like the sea, like pasión.’"

I'm a huge sucker for books where food plays an important part! I'm also a big fan of books with a powerful sense of place. This book has both, along with family dysfunction, a murder mystery, and fairytale echoes.

Sara is t

"Augusto always peppered his speech with Spanish when he cooked, although he had not set foot on Spanish soil since he was born. ‘The secret with zarzuela is the sweetness. Cinnamon, saffron, sweet paprika, bay leaves. Sweet and salty the zarzuela, like the sea, like pasión.’"

I'm a huge sucker for books where food plays an important part! I'm also a big fan of books with a powerful sense of place. This book has both, along with family dysfunction, a murder mystery, and fairytale echoes.

Sara is traumatised and fragile, with severe anxiety attacks and agoraphobia. A self-described shut-in, she is haunted by images of her mother dying in car crash, and scarred by her father's neglect. She keeps house on the family's oceanside farm at Narooma on the south coast of New South Wales. Sara is interminably cleaning up after her three brothers and her teenage half-sister. She reads her grandmother's tarot cards, buries herself in romance novels, and dreams of the ocean.

"The Sanchez family had always lived by the sea. Augusto boasted the blood of Andalusian pirates flowed in their veins. Sara’s earliest memories were of sea-sparkle, sea-slither. She liked to lie at the very edge of the water, translucent waves running cold, delicate fingers all over her body. She liked to float on her stomach, her face below the water, watching her shadow darken the world below, like a cyclone moving in. She liked to twist and writhe through the water, legs pressed together, pretending she was a mermaid like La Sirenita in the story her grandmother used to tell, who lived in the depths of the clear blue sea, deeper than a hundred church steeples all stacked one on top of another."

One night, her father Augusto is late home. A delayed search finds him barely alive hanging off a cliff. Did he fall, or was he pushed?

Over the next few days, the mystery unfolds - with the family somehow treating it as a murder rather than an attempted murder, adding to the atmosphere of oncoming doom. We slowly wend through this present-day riddle while Sara's family's past is unraveled in the gaps.

Augusto, Sara's father, is a painter and a brute. He is a drunk, misogynist, abusive, neglectful cheater. He is contemptuous of Sara's art, because he feels you need to "live" before you can be an artist - drink, fuck, and above all go out of the house. Sara's eldest brother is trying to keep the farm going in an area that is moving toward tourism rather than farming, but her twin brothers and half-sister are angry and rebellious. Their neighbouring maternal uncle holds the mortgage over the farm, and he hates and resents Augusto for inheriting it. So plenty of people have a motivation for trying to kill Augusto...

I love the way that Dancing on Knives is about how the most 'fragile' person can be the only one holding things together. The book is thoroughly food-infused (and definitely needs a recipe glossary!). Others have critiqued it for its gently moseying pace. Sure, it's not a driving thriller, but you don't read a Forsyth for the page-turniness. It is less a speedboat ride and more a paddle-steamer meander through a sublime, dark forest. With Spanish food.

"That was the ghost of her grandmother, Consuelo Sanchez, whose roast goose cooked with pears could make grown men tremble. ‘A stick of cinnamon is the secret,’ Consuelo would tell Sara, standing at the end of the bed, a hunched little figure in black, a shadow among shadows.

The ghost of Consuelo Sanchez was always full of advice for her soft little grand-daughter. ‘Thyme is best for courage,’ Consuelo told her. ‘Make a cup of thyme tea with honey, that’ll help make you brave. Or wear a sprig of it in your hair, so you can smell it.’
Or she would say, ‘Never fear, querida, the pain will pass in time. Time heals all wounds.'"

Content notes for (view spoiler).

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Jul 22, 2014 Tien rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, australian-author, contemporary, australia, net-galley

Dancing on Knives is rather atypical of Kate Forsyth’s books. Its contemporary setting in Australia and lack of the magical element may disappoint her fans of fantasy works. Fortunately, as a fan of Forsyth, my reading appetite is quite eclectic and I could appreciate the amazing effort she’s put into this baby. Whilst it was first birthed over 30 years ago, this novel has gone through a number of revisions (and was also previously published under different title) until the form it has achieved Dancing on Knives is rather atypical of Kate Forsyth’s books. Its contemporary setting in Australia and lack of the magical element may disappoint her fans of fantasy works. Fortunately, as a fan of Forsyth, my reading appetite is quite eclectic and I could appreciate the amazing effort she’s put into this baby. Whilst it was first birthed over 30 years ago, this novel has gone through a number of revisions (and was also previously published under different title) until the form it has achieved today.

This mystery novel is told from the perspective of twenty year old Sara, eldest daughter of the Sanchez family. It’s an interesting perspective noting her limitation / weakness however it was a lifting experience as Sara, in loving her family, slowly found her strength. The Sanchez family has weathered many troubling times and yet, there were love to be found in each other to sustain them through these hard times. With a focus on family and their secrets, this novel could easily have been a family saga (unfortunately, it’s a little short...).

What impressed me of this novel wasn’t the mystery itself but the whole aura of the novel and the number of things packed into 300 odd pages. The research itself must’ve been a colossal undertaking; mostly in reference to the Spanish culture of cookery & art. I must acknowledge my ignorance for both but I can’t help but be awed by the details that were included without being overwhelming.

The novel itself isn’t a ‘retelling’ of the tale in the strict sense as it was rather of Sara who identified herself with the fairytale mermaid her Spanish grandmother used to tell. This tragic tale combined with the stormy weather, the decrepit condition of the house, and the sinister circumstance of Augusto Sanchez’s accident gave the novel a very gothic atmosphere. Whilst the usual ‘magic’ element is missing, there are references to the supernatural which again lent force to the dark & eerie feelings of the story.

Fans of Kate Forsyth may found Dancing on Knives somewhat hard to swallow / enjoy especially for the fantasy-die-hards. I, however, loved the atmosphere, the well developed characters, and the Spanish flavour of this story. If you’re a fan of Kate Morton, I think you should give this particular work of Forsyth a chance.

Thank you, Random House Australia for copy of eARC via NetGalley ...more

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