Product Description When Roxi Drax realises her marketing job is far from the life she imagined for herself she decides to make some serious changes. Despite her dismal financial predicament and her mother s domineering influence, Roxi searches for a life of success and contentment. With a career looming in hypnotherapy, all her resolve and enthusiasm are put to the test. But first she needs to overcome her controlling mother, her love life and more significantly her own strength of will to succeed. Sam Manty delivers a compelling tale in the novel Finger Dancing , with engrossing words to enchant the mind. The author s witty literary prose will engage the reader until the final page.
About the Author Sam Manty lives in Cape Town with her husband and daughter. She s an established poet with published work in several poetry anthologies, journals and poetry websites. Her blogsite, not another blogging poet can be viewed at http://sammanty-poet.blogspot.com/. This is her first novel.
Sam Manty has a rare talent for story-telling. Her novel about the lives of ordinary people is written with an extraordinary ability to compel the reader to become involved in the lives of her characters. The story of Roxi Drax is essentially the story of a butterfly emerging, with struggles, from its chrysalis. A beautiful young girl is adrift in a hostile world; she must deal with a domineering, over-achieving mother, the pressures of being a Jewish girl of a certain age trying to make sense of her life and the angst of the search for meaning-making. Skilfully woven into the tapestry is a heart-stoppingly good-looking Harley-riding stranger who captures her heart...or does he? The narrative is compelling and the prose at times quite beautiful. A young writer to be embraced. I look forward to her next work.
I read this over a couple of days when I was ill. I really liked Roxi as a main character. As the story starts out she is in a rubbish job (which doesn't last long) and it seems every thing she's done seems to be for her mother. She meets up with her friend Wiggis who suggests she becomes a therapist... She gives hypnotherapy a go and it turns out she has quite a talent for it! Roxi grows a tremendous amount, as does her relationships with friends and family. She hits a lot of 'bumps in the road' so to speak, but each one seems to make her stronger and more sure of herself. This story is a good all rounder, I really enjoyed it. I won this on a goodreads giveaway.
I was in the mood for a light read and Finger Dancing did the trick. I like the name and cover. I started it on Saturday morning and finished it the next day. It was stunning, easy reading and a lovely story, in a whole just a fun read.
An enjoyable read, the characters are believable and enduring. It's funny and entertaining and you can read it on two levels as there is actually quite a bit of depth. Good humour, just a fun, escapism read.
Sam Manty's debut novel Finger Dancing explores mother-daughter relationships, sex in the city and following your dreams - all set in gorgeous Cape Town.
Finger Dancing is a slice of life story about a Jewish family in Sea Point
Roxi, like many young South African women, is trying to find a job that fuels her passions and makes her happy (and satisfies her mother Rosa at the same time).
Rosa, like many moms of daughters approaching 30, also stresses about Roxi's single status, her bohemian lifestyle and everything else that ambitious Jewish mamas fret about.
Roxi does meet a gorgeous man and thinks she's finally found a job that she's good at - and loves to do. But will this be enough for Mama Rosa and is Gary her soulmate after all?
It takes a wise and beautiful soul (Granny Bella) to teach Roxi that she needs to look within herself and follow her heart - and not the dreams and plans that others have for her life.
Attention to detail is what makes Finger Dancing so real
Tiny details made the characters in the novel real: Roxi pulling her stretched elastic band to free her hair in the bathroom of the restaurant before she meets her lover, is a small detail, but shows the author's efforts to make her character a real, live person.
Roxi is vulnerable, and sensitive to her mother's demands, but like many young women in complex mother-daughter relationships, loves her mother deeply and has a huge respect for the sacrifices Rosa's made for Roxi and her brother.
Finger Dancing is about the strength of family ties and following dreams
This is a beautifully written novel about family love, and the need to love unconditionally and non-judgementally and finding the courage within to follow your dreams to find your true passion in life.
I loved Finger Dancing and read the book in one day, because I HAD to find out if Roxi's story had a happy ending. Sam Manty has proved to be a very talented novelist and I'm waiting in anticipation for the next one.
About the author
Sam Manty is an established poet with published work in several poetry anthologies, journals and poetry websites. Her blogsite, “not another blogging poet” can be viewed at http://sammanty-poet.blogspot.com. This is her first novel.
I struggled to get through this book - the story simply didn't flow; it jumped from one character to the next, one scenario to another. There were so many words that I felt were just unnecessary.
I'm always excited to find new South African writers, but I'm afraid this time I was extremely disappointed. If there was an editor involved with this book, he/she needs to be fired immediately. In one paragraph Dolores's name is written as Delores. Twice. There were misplaced apostrophe's and the wrong words ("driver her" instead of "drive her"). Things like this really ruin the enjoyment of a book for me, so even if everything else was fantastic, these errors really spoiled it.
Maybe it's just me, but I really don't get the title either, or what it has to do with the book/story. The phrase appears once, towards the end, and I still don't know what it means.
Finally I have to wonder if I read a different book to the person who wrote the last two sentences on the back cover: "Sam Manty delivers a compelling tale in the novel "Finger Dancing", with engrossing words to enchant the mind. The author's witty literary prose will engage the reader until the final page."
I'm sorry. At least it was better, sort of (in the sense that I could force myself to finish it), than 50 Shades of Meh.
When Roxi Drax realises her marketing job is far from the life she imagined for herself she decides to make some serious changes. Despite her dismal financial predicament and her mother’s domineering influence, Roxi searches for a life of success and contentment. With a career looming in hypnotherapy, all her resolve and enthusiasm are put to the test. But first she needs to overcome her controlling mother, her love life and more significantly her own strength of will to succeed. Sam Manty delivers a compelling tale in the novel “Finger Dancing”, with engrossing words to enchant the mind. The author’s witty literary prose will engage the reader until the final page.