Family Dancing: Amazon.ca: David Leavitt: Books

Product Description

Ingram

An astonishing collection of short stories--set deep in the twisted heart of middle class America--from one of America's most promising and highly acclaimed young writers. Leavitt lays bare the terrible lies of love and pain that bind us all in this "astounding collection of short stories".--New York Times. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars interesting, Sep 5 2001

By	Sai Li "saili@acsu.buffalo.edu" (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews

These stories are poignant and very subtle. I enjoyed the first half of the book, but later on it gets repetitive, with the same themes of mothers afflicted with cancer, gay sons, and divorces. I did find the gay aspects of the story interesting because they're not forced upon the readers.

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5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing image of human dynamics with MRI-scan accuracy!, Jul 1 2001

By	toothygrin "toothygrin" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

David was in his early twenties when this was published. His stories capture the essence of what goes on between people, period. Counting Months, which describes the last Thanksgiving of a mother with lymphoma and her worries about her children's future is a tour-de-force!

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4.0 out of 5 stars the family exposed, Nov 16 2000

By	M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading these poignant stories is like watching 15 or so different versions of American Beauty. Beneath the surface in almost every family lie illness, infidelity, betrayals and anger. This is his first collection of stories and they make for an excellent collection. I had read his later books first like The Lost Language of Cranes which I think are stronger overall, but as a first collection, these stories are revealing.

Leavitt has a knack for exposing the underside of family relations. Many of his stories focus on husbands who leave their wives, but just as many focus on the effect these family disputes have on the children. Overall, these stories will leave you with a feeling of sadness -- he touches many nerves from cancer to men coming to terms with their sexuality, to abandoned sisters and brothers. I think Leavitt is a very sensitive writer with an eye for the problems that plague 20th century families.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Collection
This was a wonderful collection of beautifully written stories. It is not wonder this, Leavitt's debut, brought so much critical acclaim along with a warm welcome of Leavitt to... Read more

Published on Aug 11 2000 by Curtis Lane

2.0 out of 5 stars Small stories that seem interminable
Various stories difficult to read not due to a use of an old fashion or classic style, but because many are a bore and sad. Read more

Published on Feb 24 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars The other's point of view.
I like the way the point of view moves from the individual to the public one, from the smallest to the biggest.

Published on Sep 2 1998