Dans van herinnering

by Marcia Willett, Ans van der Graaff (Translator)

De talentvolle danseres Mim droomde ooit van een internationale carrière, maar zag haar droom vervliegen door een tragisch ongeval. Ze is daarna gaan werken op een succesvolle toneelschool, waar zij de danslessen voor haar rekening nam. Vijfentwintig jaar later herhaalt de geschiedenis zich. Daisy, Mims meest getalenteerde leerling, moet vanwege een ernstige blessure haar loopbaan herzien. Om haar de tijd te geven de juiste beslissing te nemen, regelt Mim voor Daisy een vakantie in haar ouderlijk huis in Cornwall. In dit mooie, maar vreemde huis aan de rand van Bodmin Moor komen door alle veranderingen bij iedereen herinneringen aan vroeger weer boven.

Genres: Fiction, Womens Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Marcia Willett began her career as a novelist when she was fifty years old. Since that first novel Marcia has written twenty more under her own name as well as a number of short stories. She has also written four books under the pseudonym "Willa Marsh", and is published in more than sixteen countries.
Marcia Willett's early life was devoted to the ballet, but her dreams of becoming a ballerina ended when she grew out of the classical proportions required. She had always loved books, and a family crisis made her take up a new career as a novelist - a decision she had never regretted.

Reviews

[Anne Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rather turgid and peculiar blend of the worst kind of American cod-psychology and a Mills & Boon novel. It’s very overwritten and contains long scenes where characters think through their emotions and situations in great and laborious detail, either by themselves or with other people. It was all very exhausting and at times unintentionally amusing.

That’s not to say the basic premise isn’t interesting, as it is. Daisy is forced to reconsider her dancing career due to injury, Kate is coming to terms with the death of her husband, and Roly has to move on from an unrequited romance. A great deal of tension could have resulted from this set of circumstances but unfortunately the sheer amount of emoting dissolved any sliver of tension away that there might once have been. It’s a case of a misguided attempt at poetic prose killing all the plot stone dead.

The characters are themselves rather clichéd as well and so, no matter how much they discuss their various tragedies with each other, I never really cared about any of it. I did have some sympathy with Monica who’s cast as the evil mother of the piece, as she found everyone else in the book just as irritating as I did – but even she is really too much of a caricature to come to life on the page.

Towards the end, I got very bored and began skipping the purple prose to see if anything important happened. It doesn’t, and to cap it all the whole sudden issue of the sexuality of one of the characters in the final chapters is both badly planned and utterly ridiculous. It made me laugh and for all the wrong reasons.


Verdict: 2 stars. Badly-written and unrealistic

[Jane Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep it’s a middle brow onslaught. Can’t stop. Won’t stop.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is summer and the best time to catch up on Marcia Willet's novels. This one includes characters from previous books. I love her books. She is often compared to Rosemund Pilcher, much more recognized here in the US but I like her books better. SHe deals with modern people and contemporary situations set in the backdrop of English country living. SHe is a must read if you like cottages, tea and dogs running about the countryside!

[Lorraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to this book as a MP3 download. I thought the story jumped around. Just when I began to understand the character the author jumped to the other character. The story takes place in England and deals with the characters personal struggles and how they relate to one another. I would not recommend this book.

[Teri Pre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suggest if you have a choice between audio and book form, choose the book. There are two characters...one named Gemma and the other named Janna and it's almost impossible to tell the difference between the names on audio. It made for a lot of confusion for me and I think it affected my enjoyment of the book.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reminded me of a Maive Binchy. A group of interconnected characters and how they relate to each other.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just blah.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm... Goodreads asks for a rating before a review, but while I was thinking about it, my initial 4-star rating became a 2-star rating. And now I feel like using my review to explain it. x')

My enjoyment of this book was rather good; there was nothing that bothered me too much and the storyline was okay. I was overall enjoying the reading and quite engaged with the characters too. Yet when I have to be critical, there are so many points I want to make...

So here are my star-stealers:
- The narrative is all about telling and not showing. It is so full of adjectives that the reader is forced to believe everything the way it is; there is no room for imaginative interpretation.
- The characters all talk with the same kind of assertive, sensitive (in own business) and no-nonsense (in other's business) voice, with the exception of Monica who is the cliche insensitive egoist. Other typical characteristics are added to some characters by way of telling (again).
- The story is written in the past tense, but then memories are related in the present tense. This was confusing at the first encounter of a memory, but it still doesn't make sense to me why the author did so.
- I'm guessing about 40-50% of the story is thought processing, which gets a little annoying. It is in these thought processes that I lose focus. (I'm struggling as is with focus, author, I have ADD). The thought processing in the tale has the effect of telling and not showing also. The reader will know what every character thinks about everything and every other character, in addition to how that character feels. There is no room for imagination left.

So there. I was entertained with the story, but I was reading it passively and could not quite use much imagination... The story shall be forgotten in a month.

[Annette Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a favourite

Sadly I didn't enjoy this novel as I have all of Marcia Willetts other books. Story line was rather limp and too much written about music and and dance. Whilst I appreciate the story included music and Hallett it was rather heavy. As usual the description of the countryside was outstanding

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely story for readers who like a story about kindness and love from people who help each other get through some of the traumas of their lives. There is a wonderful cast of characters who interact with each other in mostly positive ways as they traverse the traumatic situations they are experiencing or have experienced. It is a book that tells a good story and is uplifting as well.

[Carol Eshaghy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect vacation book. Good plot, interesting characters and total immersion in the English countryside. What’s not to like? I’ve read several of her books and love the reoccurring characters. Look forward to more reading of this author.

[Brenda Neale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

One of my favourite author's, Marcia Willett never disappoints. I love that many of her characters are interwoven into her other books, you just have to make sure you read them in the correct order.

[Margit Hanko · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a painter she is, Marcia Willet.
She gives us detailed pictures of nature and of course the dogs. So skillfully described and that goes for the inside life of the characters as well.
Good to read someone who really knows what creativity and art is.
M. Lindeman
Finland

[Edie Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this. Very nice story with good development of characters. Would like for there to be another book to figure out what happened next.

[Darina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy reading.

[Ellyn (Mrs. Darcy in my Dreams) · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF this was slow and kind of boring. Couldn’t really like characters because the author focused on so many of their present situations and their histories. I felt bogged down and spread out.

[anthony gosling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful novel

I was sorry to read the last page. A beautifully woven plot, full of vivid description written in perfect English. Can't wait to read more of her books.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half maybe, just because it has it’s problems but it’s still better than other books which I’ve given three stars.

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, very descriptive and makes you feel like you're there, characters are great.

[Jill]

Loved the characters in this book. Warm and engaging.

[Kathy Spann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the great characters from previous Willett books . Reading her books are so lovely.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook that was good but not great. Nice characters

[Brown Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my style, really, but ok. Nice people and it doesn't end with getting married and living happily after, so that's a pleasant change. Also, it's got dogs, so that's a +, always.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow, but I love getting to know all the characters!

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, but too slow and kinda boring for my taste. So I gave up after 250 pages.
Writing style is somewhat reminiscent of Maeve Binchy, but not as engaging as Maeve's books..

[mrs v m maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read

Very thought provoking especially if, like me, you have been recently widowed! This book left me feeling happy and optimistic.

[Gikkalaar · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first got this book, I was filled with excitement and happiness. I just couldn't wait to read this book.

But then a few chapters in nothing happened, then after a few more chapters nothing happened and when I was nearly finished with the book still nothing happened! It was so bad that it had put me into a really bad reading slump. Usually with books I read a few chapters a day. But this book was so boring, I could only read one sentence and I knew I was done for the day. My favourite characters in that book was Daisy. But even her personality was just as annoying as the rest of them.

All of them was whiney and making drama out of nothing...

I just couldn't take it!! I give it a two stars because I liked only parts of the book (hey, I didn't completely hate it). But I really don't recommend this book.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy Quin is a dancer who experiences a back injury that forces her to take an extended time for recovery. Mim, her mentor, suggests she spend some of that time with Mim’s brother Roly. Daisy finds it to be a place to relax and consider the possibility of another job opportunity. Meanwhile, Roly is dealing with his ex-wife Monica who is trying to insert herself back into the picture. Then there is their son Nat, who has his own secrets and guilts. Can each find the healing they need?
Another good one. I'm really enjoying all of her books. Several of the characters in this one are in others. It was interesting reading this after those later books and getting some of the backfill here. The writing makes me feel as if I'm in Cornwall and the characters are individuals that it would be interesting to know in real life. Too bad it's fiction.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle, and very pleasant novel involving various people who help each other, mostly in Cornwall. An injured dancer, two men with very different secrets, and various others, some of whom appeared in earlier books by the same author. It's not necessary to have read her earlier books, but it adds to the enjoyment to 'meet' old friends and find out how they're getting on.

The first time I read this I thought it a little slow to get started, with rather too many characters. But on re-reading over a decade later, I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys women's fiction.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Melissa]

Echoes of the Dance, by Marcia Willett, is a wonderfully written book about love and compassion. The novel is about five main characters who must learn to deal with drastic and sudden changes. All of their problems cause them to learn and grow. Each character learns how to pick others up when they are struggling as well. In the novel you see many acts of bravery, courage, and strength. Along with that you see what friendship is all about and how to find it in the strangest of places. In this novel Marcia Willett uses the element of romance to make the book become very realistic for the reader. I believe that this novel really does exert positive lessons and it is very enjoyable to read.