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The Flamenco Academy: A Novel |
Author: Sarah Bird
Published: 2007-10-16 |
List price: $13.95
Our price: $11.16
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As of: November 21st, 2008 04:19:28 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A passionate whirlwind of rhythm
Flamenco, a dance originating in Andalusia (southern Spain), is a combination of Gypsy, Indian, Jewish, Arabic, Persian, and possibly New World influences, a deeply spiritual combination of music (guitar, handclaps, and cante jondo, or "deep song") and footwork. Flamenco is improvised, following the dozens of palos, or rhythms. In "Flamenco Academy," Sarah Bird offers up a story of flamenco in the New World; more specifically, New Mexico. Dona Carlota Anaya de Montenegro is the legendary founder of Albuquerque's Flamenco Academy, the daughter of cave-dwelling Gypsies in Sacromonte.
Cyndi Rae Hrncir, a Czech-American transplant from Texas, struggles through day-to-day life in Albuquerque as her father is dying of lung cancer and her unstable mother becomes wrapped up in a religious cult. She finds herself sticking to Didi, a high school rebel who smokes pot on the way to school (her car is named the Skankmobile) and who's a diehard roadie groupie, performing sex with roadies to gain access to the real musical stars. The two are like night and day; timid Cyndi Rae is eclipsed by the bold, larger-than-life Didi and remains in her shadow.
Cyndi Rae finds herself sucked into the passionate, mysterious world of flamenco after a chance encounter with a gifted flamenco guitarist at a party, and becomes obsessed with finding Tomas again after that fateful night. Tomas is the adopted son of Dona Carlota and accepted as the flamenco guitarist heir of Paco de Lucia. However, questions about the authenticity of his Gypsy bloodlines cast his heritage into doubt. In flamenco, bloodlines are everything; if you're not "gitano por los cuatro costaos," Gypsy on all four sides, you're not flamenco. Cyndi Rae's plan: to become a talented flamenco dancer and capture his heart. She throws herself into the classes, taught by none other than Dona Carlota herself, and although she may not have the showstopping quality of Didi's wild dancing, her sense of rhythm is impeccable. She devotes several years to the total study of flamenco, knowing all the while that she'll never be fully accepted as a non-Gypsy, non-Latina dancer.
Bird fills the novel with fascinating tidbits about flamenco, from its origins to legendary dancer Carmen Amaya to its complicated rhythms, footwork, and passionate moods. Some of the strongest narratives for me were those of the memories of Dona Carlota growing up in the cave slums of Sacromonte, the descriptions of that earlier Granada when European tourists would shower coins on young Gypsy dancers, the gradual commercialization of flamenco in Granada. The pounding rhythms of alegrias, soleas, saetas, and romances form the novel's heartbeat, accented by the metal taps pounding into the floor and the harsh, guttural wails of true cante jondo. The romance is secondary to the obsession of the dance. And it IS the dance that is the true star, more than Didi's attempt to ascend into avant garde stardom by stepping on others or Cyndi Rae's attempts to snare Tomas, unfolding on the beautifully painted stage of rugged New Mexico. A mesmerizing read sure to delight.
Vivid, compelling, emotional read
I've been a Sarah Bird fan since ALAMO HOUSE, her first. I thought she would have to go a long way to top THE YOKOTA OFFICER'S CLUB, a beautiful novel about (among other things) growing up as a military brat. But she has absolutely topped herself with FLAMENCO ACADEMY.
Granted, the writing gets a little heavy-handed in spots, but that's a minor complaint compared to what she pulls off here. The book combines comedy, drama, romance, mystery, and history--but even citing those categories trivializes the accomplishment. Bird ignores formulas and grounds all of her work in real locations, real research, and real feelings. Her characters sweat and get bad breath and say the wrong things and fall down and get back up again, and sometimes they amaze themselves as much as they do the reader.
I don't dance flamenco, but I have friends who do, and this book is true to what I know about the dance. More importantly, it's true to the idea of becoming obsessed with dance, and that's something I do know about firsthand.
But none of that matters as much as the way I was absolutely hooked by the story. When I wasn't reading the book I was thinking about it and looking forward to being with it again. I could see everything in my head--all the characters, all the dances, the landscapes and the cheap motels. I can't think of a book I've read in ages that has so completely transported me to the universe inside the covers. What more can you ask from a book than that? Maybe an ending that feels inevitable and perfect, happy and sad, and that I did not see coming. She gets that right, too.
Complex, Three Dimensional Characters - YES!
This is definitely one of the best books I've read in a while. The relationship between Rae, the protagonist, and Didi, her best friend, was so real and right on. Sarah Bird has created characters that capture so well the insecurities of our teenage years and early 20's - Rae is unsure of herself so she lives in Didi's shadow, and Didi does just enough to keep her there, because Didi's insecurities dictate that she needs an entourage. There is this amazing scene in the book where Rae and Didi compete for a dance audition (don't worry I won't spoil it) that was so intense, I literally held my breath while I was reading it. Powerful stuff.
The Flamenco setting was also really very interesting - it created a great setting and tone for the book, with Gypsies, dancing, and a culture I previously knew little about.
This was my first book by Sarah Bird, and I definitely want more.
Great book for a white girl whose heart yearns for flamenco
I loved this book! My husband is in the military and we were stationed in Spain for 3 years where I learned a LITTLE flamenco. I have missed Spain terribly since moving back to the States. I happened upon this book in the book store and I appreciate so much Bird's respect of the gypsy culture in Spain, of flamenco's history and roots and of her homage to Federico García Lorca. What I loved even more was reading this book from the perspective of the protaganist, Cyndi Rae, who is an anglo seeing, learning, experiencing flamenco as an outsider same as myself. Flamenco is full of passion, pain and fearless expression. I appreciate flamenco so much and I am so grateful for this gem of a book. It helped put a bandaid on my soul bleeding in longing for Spain and all things flamenco. If you know anything about flamenco you will love this book. If you know nothing of flamenco you will learn a lot about it through an anglo's eyes.
 Mixed feelings
Sarah Bird has been a favorite of mine ever since her first novel, "Alamo House," and up until "Flamenco Academy," I would give her books solid five stars. "Flamenco Academy" is thoroughly-researched, a technically excellent book from a reader's perspective. Her writing style, which first began to wax lyrical in "Mommy Club," is nothing short of perfect, and her basic storyline is solid and engaging. During the course of the book, protagonist Cyndi Rae, a somewhat introverted and ambitionless girl, gradually escapes what proves to be an oppressive and self-defeating friendship with Didi Steinberg, the self-obssessed, attention-seeking celebrity wannabe all of us have bumped into at least once. I loved the interaction between Rae and Didi throughout the book; brava Ms. Bird! However, I question the author's plot device of moving the story along: flamenco - vis-a-vis the cumbersomely long stories told by Rae's ancient dance instructor, a "gypsy on four sides." This question of bloodline, which plagues the book's darkly romantic love interest, Tomas, towers in the plotline, completely obliterating the awesomely natural story flow between Rae and Didi, as described through their dead-end jobs at the "Puppy Taco," during Didi's escapades as a groupie, and particularly during Didi's ultimate betrayal of Rae. If esoteric issues such as bloodline leave you indifferent, you probably will feel, as I did, a little annoyed. If you wonder why this is so important to Rae, the main character, you will also feel as I did - confused.
So with all this said, you have to deeply care about flamenco, down to its most intricate historical details, to appreciate and enjoy this book to its fullest. Because my interest in flamenco is about on par with that of Gregorian Chant, I found myself skiming over the dance instructor's narratives so I could continue to read about Rae and Didi. Had Rae's obssession been something more accessible - the pursuits of a master chef, a literary wonder, a rock singer, or even a garden variety movie star - the use of a secondary plotline might have drawn me in, but ... nope, probably not. Plottus Interruptus, I detest thee in any form. (I can't help but to feel that Ms. Bird broke the cardinal rule of "write what you know, not what you've researched" in order to showboat her knowledge.) For true-blue Bird fans, "Flamenco Academy" is worth the buy; however, newcomers might best be served by Bird's older books, such as "The Boyfriend School" or "The Mommy Club."
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