A Time to Dance

by Bernard MacLaverty

Bernard Mac Laverty's beautifully turned stories are full of humour, terse realism and moments of touching or shocking surprise. Nelson plays truant and sees something he wishes he hadn't in the title story, 'A Time to Dance'. In 'Phonefun Limited' Sadie and Agnes, retired prostitutes, hit upon an inventive new way of 'making someone happy with a phone call', while in 'My Dear Palestrina' a remarkable music teacher initiates her pupil into the mysteries of art and maturity.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Irish Literature, Ireland

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Bernard MacLaverty was born in Belfast in 1942 and lived there until 1975 when he moved to Scotland with his wife, Madeline, and four children. He has been a Medical Laboratory Technician, a mature student, a teacher of English and, for two years in the mid eighties, Writer-in-Residence at the University of Aberdeen.

After living for a time in Edinburgh and the Isle of Islay he now lives in Glasgow. He is a member of Aosdana in Ireland and is Visiting Writer/Professor at the University of Strathclyde.

Currently he is employed as a teacher of creative writing on a postgraduate course in prose fiction run by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen.

He has published five collections of short stories and four novels. He has written versions of his fiction for other media - radio plays, television plays, screenplays. Recently he wrote and directed a short film 'Bye-Child'

Reviews

[Paul Secor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully crafted collection and Mr. MacLaverty (interesting that in the edition I read, he's referred to as Bernard Mac Laverty - perhaps the spelling changed over the years) writes about his characters - most of them, anyway - with loving care.
My favorites: "A Time to Dance", "My Dear Palestrina" (Mr. MacLaverty obviously has a long time love of music), "Life Drawing", "Phonefun Limited", "The Beginnings of a Sin", and "Language, Truth and Lockjaw".

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest collections of short stories I have ever read. I'm pretty sure I bought this book at a garage sale for one dollar and then found that I couldn't possibly put it down. Maclaverty is very, very reminiscent of Joyce here, but in a way more accessible and adds his own modern touch (that is, if you consider 1982 "modern"... but his stories seem to resonate even into the present day). Think "Dubliners" but with less sharp edges, perhaps. I wish more people knew about this author. I have only recently rediscovered this gem in my basement and intend to put more books by this author on my reading list.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a slim volume of ten stories written in simple language, concealing a deep understanding of the working class Irish characters. Most of the stories deal with family. A father who is no longer able to communicate with his son, dreading the start of every new day. A young boy who discovers that his mother has an exotic occupation that she has hidden from him. Another boy discovers the world of music and poetry, introduced to him by a woman from a foreign land. Best of all, two middle aged women who have cohabited for years, titillate gentlemen with paid phone sex talk, when they are not puttering around the kitchen.

[Stefanos Chatzianagnostou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μια σειρά από διηγήματα πολύ όμορφα τα περισσότερα.
Αν κάτι μου έμεινε από αυτό το βιβλίο είναι ότι ξεχειλίζει από ανθρωπιά, ειδικά το ομώνυμο διήγημα "Αγαπητέ μου Παλεστρίνα" με άγγιξε ιδιαίτερα.

[Mella · Rating 5 out of 5]

She hated waiting—especially for a short time. Waiting a long time, you could be lazy or do something if you felt like it. She saw last night’s dishes congealed in the sink, the fag-ends, but had no time or desire to do anything about it. In short waits she was aware of the rubbish of her life.

[هبة الحارس · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story tells everything about being a single mother with a child and how much suffer he faces and needs to deal with every single day of his life.
It's so short, and so thoroughly.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the keys to MacLaverty's genius is his facility to present ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, not only within the brevity of the short story, but wrapped around a metaphorical wider truth. The result are tales that stand alone as precise portraits of people you didn't realise might hold your interest, and just as important, that allow you to connect the dots to the world around you. Perhaps one of the most startling is The Daily Woman, told in deceptively calm narrative tones, yet revealing a case of brutality that shocks to the core. On the face of it, a man abuses his position of power over a domestic servant, and that, believe me, is a potent tale indeed. But examine it further and the scars it leaves on you as a reader go deeper than the woman's physical damage and humiliation. For they represent the entirety of the brutal conflict on both sides of the Irish dilemma. MacLaverty never bops you over the head with these truths, but he makes them crystal clear. Each of the other stories in this collection also offer such literary double duty, all written with the indelible ink of humanity.

[A. Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

These ten stories are "beautifully turned," just as the back cover promises. They are crafted and shaped, most often around a boy and a mother or father, but also a priest and a music teacher. There are frailties in these people, and Mac Laverty doesn't handle them tritely. A pleasure to read.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Tanzen hat seine Zeit“ ist eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung vom irischen Autor Bernard Maclaverty.

Die Geschichten erzählen von normalen, unauffälligen Menschen, meist vor dem Hintergrund des Irlandkonflikts.

Die Sprache und Stimmung weist Ähnlichkeiten zu William Trevor oder Alice Munro auf.
Wie so oft in einer Sammlung sind die Geschichten von wechselnder Qualität.

[Dirk Wartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully-crafted, deeply-felt and subtly humourous short stories.

[Virtuella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and effective, finely observed and full of compassion. I liked best “My Dear Palestrina,” “Eels” and “No Joke.”