This is Christine Darcas’s second novel and, like her first, features a main character who migrates from the US and who discovers a renewed sense of self, community and solace within the studios of Latin and Champion Dancesport. At 33, Ginny is living the New York dream—her own small apartment, a glamorous career in advertising and an on-again-off-again romance with the talented Simon. But after a frantic phone call from her best friend in Melbourne—on the very day she is ‘let go’ from her job—the exhausted Ginny finds herself taking some extended time out for the first time in years. The reason I liked this book so much was the realistic characterisations and scenarios. At no point do we need to suspend disbelief, which allows more space for the reader to relate to the characters. Darcas does a great job of portraying Ginny’s complex and fraught relationships with her mother and her best friend, and I found these aspects very moving. It is clear from the writing (and the author’s bio) that dancing is her passion, and she does a fine job of balancing these elements without overwhelming the main story.
Rachel Wilson is Melbourne-based academic and former bookseller at the Sun Bookshop in Melbourne. This review first appeared in the July 2010 issue of Bookseller+Publisher.
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Tags: book review, Christine Darcas, fiction, Hachette Australia, Spinning Out
