Summer of The Dancing Bear [Paperback]

I enjoyed reading Summer of The Dancing Bear (Essential Prose Series) by Bianca Lakoseljac. The novel tells the growth of a girl, Kata, in a village in the former Yugoslavia in 1960s. The novel starts with Kata's summer during which a child in the village disappears, which later causes the mother's death. As the story goes, the reader learns about Kata's curious mind, the cheerful dancing bear in the Gypsy camp and Kata's first love. Kata is a lovely and adventurous character. Like Anne in Anne of Green Gables who lives with her aunt, Kata lives with her grandma instead of her parents. There is a strong bond between Kata and her grandma. The grandma tells her Greek Mythology stories and guides her with wisdom, and after her death, the grandma still influences Kata. The author has successfully built suspense in the storyline. The reader wonders whether the baby would be found. Who fathers the baby? Can Kata find her birthfather, and does he accept her? Does the Gypsy man love Kata? All these questions stir up the reader's emotion, and the clues lead to the ending of the story. Besides its intriguing events, the novel also satisfies my interest in Gypsy culture.

I lingered over this short novel -- 250ish pages -- because Lakoseljac's writing was so lovely -- poetic and lyrical -- and the story she was telling was so sad and bittersweet, I didn't want to rush through it. Set in Serbia (or as it was then, Yugoslavia), the novel begins in the summer of 1960, and follows Kata, a young woman living on her grandparent's farm with her aloof, cold mother and fascinating, emotive grandmother.

For Kata, this summer literally changes her life when the gypsies arrive in the small village, bringing with them a dancing bear and a young man she decides she's in love with. When a young villager's infant disappears, the gypsies are accused of kidnapping the child, and suddenly the once welcome visitors are now criminals and murderers. While Kata's grandmother likes and openly interacts with the gypsies, others in the village are less welcoming, and when the gypsies leave, a cloud of suspicion hangs over them, lingering for years. In the coming summers, Kata's life is shaped by that summer -- how she thinks about family, her own identity, her place in her village and the specter of the baby's disappearance which never leaves.

It takes a skilled writer to create believable, evocative children and teenagers, especially in a book in which they -- and their evolving feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts -- are the primary focus. Lakoseljac's Kata was a lovely foil for this dreamy, complicated, emotional story: she was curious and imaginative in ways I could relate to, a book lover and romantic, a young woman determined to solve the mysteries that divided her village and find her place in the world.

My only critique is that, near the end, during the big reveal, I felt a bit lost, unsure of what was happening -- I reread the final chapters a few times (no challenge since the writing was so lovely) but even now I'm not sure I can say confidently I understand what happened. Dream and reality merged -- I got caught up in the language, that's for sure! -- and the resolution offered is satisfying, sad, and mysterious.

Get this book if you like coming of age stories, or rural/small town locales, or post-WWII fiction. (Death is a preoccupation in the village, as those killed during WWII are still missed, as war crimes from the '40s remain unsolved, and it was a fascinating backdrop that was relevant and ignored by the villagers as needed.) If you enjoy poetic novels, this is one for you -- Federico García Lorca figures literally at times -- and Lakoseljac's prose won't disappoint. I'm eagerly awaiting her next novel.

A past world is revealed to us in Bianca Lakoseljac's haunting "Summer of the Dancing Bear," a world in which gypsy lore and culture play prominent roles. The author makes the discovery of this world deeply rewarding by using a risky gambit in portraying her heroine's consciousness.

A girl struggles to come of age in this haunting story set in Tito's Yugoslavia in the 1960s, and the struggles arise because of the girl's unusual abilities. She perceives her idyllic country surroundings unusually deeply for one so young: the harvest-ready wheat fields glow and swirl as though rendered by Van Gogh - her grandmother took her to the museum to see the exhibit - and her dreams reveal events and calamities she could not know of otherwise. Her grandmother is friendly with the gypsies when they pass through, and they respect her as a shaman. Her grandmother also sees the abilities of young Kata, and raises her with loving attention.

The gypsies play a central role here, first by bringing a bear to perform at the village in the summer of Kata's eighth year. This vividly-told event sets off the narrative's tragic spiral. A village woman's baby disappears, and the gypsies are naturally blamed. Kata, in the midst of an idyllic childhood, plays a role in the events at a climactic event in which her abilities finally become apparent.

Ms. Lakoseljac sets herself a very difficult path: she portrays Kata's consciousness as a confused and dream-infused vision. Thoughts and images come to her suddenly - sometimes she has been dreaming, and sometimes she finds herself in a remote spot near a marsh or woodland with no idea how she got there. Sometimes it affects her health, and her loved ones and neighbors become alarmed for her. The author always fills us in on the events that lead to the spell, and poor Kata must work through the significance of her visions. Readers will find themselves wishing they could help, because Kata is a very sympathetic character.

Regardless of Kata's sudden and unpredictable visions, this book is tightly-plotted and rewarding. It honors the oppressed and wandering Romany tribes, effectively portraying their lust for life as well as their humanity and enlightened traditions. Kata learns the part she will play in the tradition, and the reader is treated to a captivating story set in a seeming far-off time and place. Highly recommended.

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