Helpful Score: 1
This book was originally published as _First Love_, but now is called _The Sleeping Beauty_.
Blonde Sandra is a girl that a lot of us can relate to...someone who's worked very hard, sacrificed much, and has the talent to go far. However, she stays in the background at her job, never seeming to catch the eye of the big boss (Balanchine) who prefers his muses dark-haired. Adam, Sandra's love interest, gets sick of using his own huge talent to showcase the dark-haired beauties favored at the company and leaves. He encourages Sandra to do the same, as he believes it is the only way she will move forward.
Then she catches the famous choreographer's eye. At this point he is quite elderly and ailing, but sees in Sandra his final muse, his Aurora. He begins having his prima ballerinas train her for some of the other major roles he created as he starts formulating her role. Sandra is caught between Adam and her new starring position at the ballet, and trying to have both has it's consequences.
I enjoyed the book a lot, though I thought Sharp was better in her collection of short stories. Her portrait of Balanchine I found interesting enough to want to look up his biography, and the way she captures a conflict that many of us understand is quite moving. I definitely recommend this book!
Blonde Sandra is a girl that a lot of us can relate to...someone who's worked very hard, sacrificed much, and has the talent to go far. However, she stays in the background at her job, never seeming to catch the eye of the big boss (Balanchine) who prefers his muses dark-haired. Adam, Sandra's love interest, gets sick of using his own huge talent to showcase the dark-haired beauties favored at the company and leaves. He encourages Sandra to do the same, as he believes it is the only way she will move forward.
Then she catches the famous choreographer's eye. At this point he is quite elderly and ailing, but sees in Sandra his final muse, his Aurora. He begins having his prima ballerinas train her for some of the other major roles he created as he starts formulating her role. Sandra is caught between Adam and her new starring position at the ballet, and trying to have both has it's consequences.
I enjoyed the book a lot, though I thought Sharp was better in her collection of short stories. Her portrait of Balanchine I found interesting enough to want to look up his biography, and the way she captures a conflict that many of us understand is quite moving. I definitely recommend this book!
