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Isadora
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
19 posts | 8 read | 1 reading | 29 to read
Using the scaffolding of Isadora Duncans life and the stuff of her spirit, Amelia Gray delivers an incredibly imaginative portrait of the artist In 1913, the restless world sat on the brink of unimaginable suffering. But for one woman, the darkness of a new era had already made itself at home. Isadora Duncan would come to be known as the mother of modern dance, but in the spring of 1913 she was a grieving mother, after a freak accident in Paris resulted in the drowning death of her two young children. The accident cracked Isadoras life in two: on one side, the brilliant young talent who captivated audiences the world over; on the other, a heartbroken mother spinning dangerously on the edge of sanity. Isadora is a shocking and visceral portrait of an artist and woman drawn to the brink of destruction by the cruelty of life. In her breakout novel, Amelia Gray offers a relentless portrayal of a legendary artist churning through prewar Europe. Isadora seeks to obliterate the mannered portrait of a dancer and to introduce the reader to a woman who lived and loved without limits, even in the darkest days of her life.
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gossamerchild
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Okay, I'm joining in on the #7covers7days #covercrush thing.

7 book covers I love, no explanation needed. Feel free to tag yourself and join in 😁😁

Thanks for the tag, @LauraJ !

erzascarletbookgasm Wow, this cover makes me anxious. 😅👍 5y
35 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Michael_Gee
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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A picture from our Valentine‘s Day tea at the Ritz. When we discussed Gutshot, someone in our book club described Gray‘s writing as a delicately-laid tea set, and that is what comes to mind again when reading Isadora. Every choice precise, and the whole beautiful, like the description of Max‘s tea ritual, tea over sugar and topped with cream, conveying “a natural symbology: the cloud-soaked sky above spiced or subtle water above a sugar shoal.”

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Michael_Gee
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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My initial “wow” impression (like a thumbprint on warm dough, as Gray put it) has not gone away. Nearly every page holds a striking image, a beautiful phrase, or surprising humor. It‘s a book to savor.

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Michael_Gee
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray

This crumb-coated pair, arms lifting for Mama, only know to take in love and churn it out again, offered up still warm from the soft shell of their delicate hands.

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Michael_Gee
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Gorgeous! Bought it tonight after our book club discussed Gutshot. This is like a different author entirely, or rather, her precise language has realized itself in a poetic prose that evokes sharply and simply and completely originally a specific place and era. I have read only a few pages and I am so wowed. 🤩

ohyeahthatgirl I love her weird work so much that I've been putting off picking this one up. Glad to hear it's good! 6y
9 likes1 comment
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emilyhaldi
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Isadora Duncan was the mother of modern dance... but was also the mother of two young children who were killed in a freak accident in Paris in 1913. This is the imagined story of what her life must have been like after that terrible tragedy... #onedance
#heatofjuly

BarbaraBB Oh this sounds interesting! Dark again 🖤 6y
Cathythoughts I don‘t know this book. But sounds a brilliant choice 💫 6y
Suet624 Gee. I didn‘t know her children died. I just remember how she died. 6y
See All 11 Comments
RaimeyGallant What a great cover. 6y
Cinfhen Oooh 😲 this sounds good!!! 6y
emilyhaldi @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen The premise is great but it‘s definitely a bit abstract and rambling. I got bored 3/4 of the way through. She had a fascinating life though! 6y
emilyhaldi @Suet624 her death was so tragic too!!! 😵 Her children died in a freak car accident. They were in the car with their nanny and it was left in neutral (I think) and rolled into the Seine river where they drowned 😳 bizarre 6y
Suet624 Weird car karma in that family. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 6y
BarbaraBB @Suet624 @emilyhaldi What a life and what a death indeed. Since you said the book is a bit boring I googled her biography... unbelievable! 6y
Reviewsbylola Omg, tragedy is my kryptonite. I need to borrow this! 6y
Reviewsbylola This was in my most recent BO haul. 6y
99 likes2 stack adds11 comments
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JenniferJarrell
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Weekend reading.

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JenniferJarrell
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Indie bookstore day #bookhaul came with a free galley.

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BookNAround
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Check out the books that arrived on my doorstep today. The backwards set are submissions for National Reading Group Month Great Group Reads so I can‘t show them for now. 😁Because of where we are in the NRGM-GGR calendar, I have been receiving similar amounts of books every day. Book heaven, I tell you!

Nute Sweet! 6y
66 likes1 comment
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emilyhaldi
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Current Sunday situation 😻

MoMogrl My kitty is currently doing the same thing. 6y
CouronneDhiver What a cutie! 6y
cathysaid Sunday done right! 6y
See All 12 Comments
Christine11 What a gorgeous little cat 🐈😻 6y
Leftcoastzen yay! Cute sleeping kitty. 6y
CareBear 😻 6y
Reviewsbylola Cutie 💜 6y
SamHeartCoffee So sweet! 6y
tammysue Awe 😻 6y
readordierachel I love everything about this picture 6y
Mdargusch What a sweet baby! 6y
minkyb Great photo. 6y
132 likes1 stack add12 comments
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Snakes6atx
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Finally it is cool enough to sit outside and read!

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gossamerchild
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Some of my library picks for #augustmostanticipated #mostanticipated #anditsaugust #backtoreading #litsyloveslibraries. Whether or not I get around to reading them, that's another story.

@RealLifeReading
@Tiffy_Reads
@JoeStalksBeck

JoeStalksBeck 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏📚❤️‼️ 7y
RealLifeReading Ooh you have the new Arundhati Roy 7y
gossamerchild @RealLifeReading yes, very excited for that! 7y
43 likes3 comments
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LauraJ
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Mehso-so

I love Amelia Gray and while I can appreciate the sensual, dreamlike atmosphere her words create, I have no interest in a reimagining of the period of Isadora Duncan's life from death of her first two children to the birth of her third. Gray took risks with her writing style in this book that make it worth reading, so check out other reviews before deciding whether or not to read it.

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LauraJ
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Slowly making my way through this book. Unfortunately, the kitten is just more interesting.
#catsoflitsy

LauraBrook But of course! Hard to compete with that cutie face! 😽 7y
33 likes1 comment
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LauraJ
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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Walked to pick up my signed 1st edition from Skylight and passed a guy complaining that there were TWO bookstores on one block. Lola was aghast!!! Fortunately, she didn't let the experience ruin her trip. Skylight is her second favorite place in the world
#saturdaynightonthetown #julymostanticipated

readordierachel Blasphemy! 7y
vivastory That's ridiculous 7y
kspenmoll What!!!??? Would so love 2 bookstores in one block...! 7y
LauraJ @kspenmoll It's actually the same bookstore. The graphic novels and art books just have a separate entrance. 7y
49 likes1 stack add4 comments
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thereadingwomen
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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#ReadingWomenMonth day 9:⠀
#TGIF It's been a long week, but we are looking forward to getting in some quality reading time this weekend. We'll be starting ISADORA. It's the story of Isadora Duncan, a talented dancer and choreographer, and how she dealt with the accidental death of her two young children. I'm eager to jump in. What is your #weekendreading?⠀
#thereadingwomen

cherinium Came home early from work because I'm not feeling well, and hubby works late tonight; so I should finish this today. I'm not sure what comes next. I always decide at the last minute. #sickday = #reading #nodistractions 7y
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thereadingwomen @cherinium oh no! It's always the worst to be sick, but at least you are well enough to read. 😊 7y
86 likes8 stack adds6 comments
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CarolinaCarter
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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A friend in publishing who knows how much I love dance and eccentric women sent me this ARC.

review
balletbookworm
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
Mehso-so

A so-so to 👎🏻. There's an interesting novel in here, one about grief and loss and art, but it's bogged down by the style. The novel begins on the day Isadora's children drown in a car accident in the Seine and spans the next 18 months or so told by a rotating cast of characters - Paris Singer, Isadora's lover/father of the baby, Elizabeth, Isadora's sister, Max, Elizabeth's lover (?maybe) and a teacher at the Duncan school, and Isadora herself.

balletbookworm Now, the major snag here is that Isadora narrates in the 1st person and everyone else in a close 3rd, with some letters mixed in, and that makes it hell to read. Also, while some of Paris's sections were interesting absolutely none of Max's sections were worth reading, IMO. Isadora's sections are the strongest, and most beautiful, with Elizabeth's a perfect contrast as the sister always in the shadow. 7y
balletbookworm If I could take a knife, and snip out only these two narrators (and magically make Isadora's a close 3rd) this would be a marvelous novel. 7y
batsy Interesting review, thanks! I've had my eye on this. 7y
27 likes3 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
Isadora: A Novel | Amelia Gray
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#TBRTuesday Took a look at what's on my shelves (real and virtual) and saw several titles with women's names. Thought I might go for a themed TBR this week!!! 👱🏼‍♀️👧🏽👩🏻

Reviewsbylola Marlena was five stars for me! I loved it. 7y
jessicarenee Marlena was so good! 7y
wrenaymuhree I loved Celine! She's such a badass. 7y
132 likes2 stack adds5 comments