Rating: 
Summary: A Brilliant Leap Of Imagination
Review: Rudolf Nureyev, a fictional biography told by those who knew him when and where. It is a fascinating look at this most famous Russian ballet dancer. Erotic at all times, and told in first person by a cast of characters who make this story come alive.We first meet Rudi in 1943 as he is dancing for the Russian soldiers in his small town. The Second World War is in full swing. Russia is poor and the soldiers have little or nothing, but they give Rudi little bits of their nothing as a present for his dancing. Rudi is rescued from this poverty by his ballet teacher and taken to Moscow where his dancing life begins. The stories told by Rudi's friends take us to Paris, Rome, Caracas and New York City, We meet Margot Fonteyn, probably the person who had the biggest influence on his life but the only one who did not sleep with him. Victor, the Venezuelan hustler, who meets Rudi in the lower East side of New York City. Victor introduces Rudi to the Gay celebrity set, and the drugs and seedy side of Gay life. We hear of John Lennon and the famous stars of the 70's and 80's and all of Rudi's friends. Rudi was a perfectionist and he was never able to meet this need. He was willful and driven, and drove everyone else in his way and in his life to become that which was impossible. He danced until his feet bled and bled some more. He had the followers and the takers in his crowd. And, in the end, he loved Victor the best. I was not aware that this was a fictional biography unitl I read the back cover of the book. In the end, it did not make any difference. The story of this great man was told with grace and with some shock at times. The jest of the man, the dancer is there for all to see. The book caught the spirit of this man, the greatest of all ballet dancers, with the span from Russia to New York in forty years. It ends with his first visit home to Russia-what goes around, comes around. Fabulous tale. prisrob
Rating:
Summary: Enthralled
Review: So I bought this book at the airport -- assuming it was going to be a present for a member of my family when I got home.
How foolish of me.
I started to flick through the pages on the plane and was immediately sucked in. The way the book starts really is astounding --- and the worlds it cuts through as it continues on its journey is breathtaking.
The story is told from different people's viewpoint of Nureyev's life and what they remember of it. The fabric of it all is of course what they remember is the story -- it may not necessarily be the truth of Nureyev's life.
The characters themselves are so wide and varied that at times you want to rush forward to hopefully meet up with them again. But also at the same point there are times when you want to stop and start the book again --- just to re-experience it.
All in all a really wonderful book --- surely destined for something great.
Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Vivid Portrayal of an Artistic Genius!
Review: This is a vivid portrayal of an artistic genius, Rudolph Nureyev, who danced around the world from war torn Russia to Paris, London, Caracas and New York. It is a beautifully written story of the imagined life of a dancer who won the hearts of so many people around the world. The novel begins as haggard, wounded soldiers push through the merciless Russian winter during the Second World War that left 23 million Russians dead. It is Rudolph, or Rudik as he is known then, who first comes to work in a hospital and is soon dancing for the ailing soldiers. As his talent is discovered he gains small parts at the local opera house, and in due time makes it to Leningrad where his charisma and talent as a natural dancer begins to shine. After his defection to the West, his life takes on fame, love, loss, exile, and the fairy tale life & behavior of the world's greatest dancer.
McCann hides nothing in his storytelling of the life of this man. He shows us all sides of Nureyev; the irrational behavior of a prima donna, his desire for casual sex, the hidden world of the gay scene, and his arrest for [ludeness] during an interval of a performance. What may be fact or fiction is hard to say, but it doesn't really matter. Whether this is the real Nureyev or not, this story is full of passion and beautifully told. The story from beginning to end is both breathtaking and heartbreaking from Nureyev's entrance to his exit.
Joe Hanssen
Rating:
Summary: response to reader from michigan
Review: This novel is a work of fiction, not a biography! It is, quite simply, an amazing piece of writing, a tour de force utilizing just about every, if not all, narrative points of view to construct a world based on reality. Mr. McCann is an incredible talent. From the opening scene depicting life on the Russian front during WWII, until the final pp.listing Nureyev's personal collection at auction, there is not one misstep. McCann's sharp, yet lyrical prose and concise imagery are a trademark. This writer does not need to 'know' the man; he realizes the soul. Having met this writer, I'll mention that he says he cannot write poetry; I disagree. I highly recommend this novel and this writer, and agree with the reviewer who mentions the NY Times review. This novel deserves to be recognized and promoted - that it has not been is a serious mark against those 'Powers That Be'!!
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful dancer gone bad
Review: This was one of the worst books ever!
It was more fiction than truth. Poorly written and
such a fantasy. No need for fiction when writing about a truly
gifted and talented performer!
Awful, Awful, Awful
Rating: 
Summary: Divine Monster
Review: To be touched by greatness is one thing, to be consumed by greatness is entirely another. "Dancer" would have us believe Rudolf Nureyev was consumed by greatness, and I have no reason to believe otherwise. This fictionalized biography follows Nureyev through most of his life. It gives us the discipline, the passion - the obsessions - necessary to the fame Nureyev achieved. It also gives us the selfishness that comes with obsession, and a taste of the fabulous rewards that can so easily poison genius. But ultimately, nothing was more important than the dance, and this is both the sadness and the splendor of the story. The stage is Nureyev's redemption, but it is also his curse. No matter how much love, joy, or suffering, no matter what riches, life is finally for the stage, and all the rest - grist for the mill. Colum McCann is a fine writer. He writes with formality, but also with a rush of experimentation, giving us the voices and visions, real and imagined, that guided Nureyev's life. "Dancer" is not only a good read, it's also a meditation of one artist's creative process, and therefore an insight into the creative process per se. I reccommend this book whether you are a ballet fan or not - it's an adventure, a romance, and a study, and well worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Divine Monster
Review: To be touched by greatness is one thing, to be consumed by greatness is entirely another. "Dancer" would have us believe Rudolf Nureyev was consumed by greatness, and I have no reason to believe otherwise. This fictionalized biography follows Nureyev through most of his life. It gives us the discipline, the passion - the obsessions - necessary to the fame Nureyev achieved. It also gives us the selfishness that comes with obsession, and a taste of the fabulous rewards that can so easily poison genius. But ultimately, nothing was more important than the dance, and this is both the sadness and the splendor of the story. The stage is Nureyev's redemption, but it is also his curse. No matter how much love, joy, or suffering, no matter what riches, life is finally for the stage, and all the rest - grist for the mill. Colum McCann is a fine writer. He writes with formality, but also with a rush of experimentation, giving us the voices and visions, real and imagined, that guided Nureyev's life. "Dancer" is not only a good read, it's also a meditation of one artist's creative process, and therefore an insight into the creative process per se. I reccommend this book whether you are a ballet fan or not - it's an adventure, a romance, and a study, and well worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: I was a dancer and couldn't finish this book!
Review: very disappointed-being a dancer and reading the reviews, thought i would very much enjoy this book! boy was i wrong-couldn't finish it! very slow and overly narrative-hardly any dialogue and in the first chapters of the book-I didn't even think I had the right one-discussed WWII......
don't waste your time. read allegra kent's autobiography if you want a good read referencing the ballet world.
Rating:
Summary: pay attention to this writer
Review: When we're long dead Colum McCann will live on. He is one of the finest, most lyrical voices of our generation. It is daunting to be writing on the same planet and in the same time as this talent. He writes flawlessly, almost as if he he didn't a feel a word of what he writes - I am sure that isn't true, but it's how it feels.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid!
Review: You can tell from the very first line this book is wonderful. Rare and unputdownable, vivacious and sad -- all the superlatives you care to use. The prose is fantastic and flowing, the story a rare and strangely successful blend of fact and fiction. The sentences dance like Rudolf Nureyev himself, and I was very sad to see it end so soon. I'll keep my eyes on Colum McCann, no doubt!
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