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Ice Dancing
He came gliding into my life and changed everything. He didn’t intend for it to happen any more than I did. I think it took us both by surprise. Like a bolt of lightning. Like a puck to the head, as Joe would say.’
Helen Breckenridge has almost resigned herself to the downward slide into mildly discontented middle age. She is a Scottish farmer’s wife, approaching forty, living in a rural backwater, with her only child about to fly the nest. But when Joe, a visiting Canadian ice hockey player, comes to live in a nearby cottage, she realises that nothing will ever be the same again.
This is a love story with a very dark side, a romance with a twist, for although Joe skates like an angel, he has his own demons to cope with, a sadder, more complicated and much more shocking past than Helen – who has lead a fairly sheltered life - could ever imagine. In helping Joe to begin to come to terms with the horrors of that past, Helen rediscovers something of her own potential. For once in her life, she realises just how much she has sacrificed herself to the needs of others.
Ice Dancing is an unusual novel about Scottish village life and ice hockey. It is also the story of two people who must break the habits of half a lifetime before they can move forward. So Helen and Joe find themselves dancing precariously between joy and sorrow, between hope and despair, balancing on ice, together and apart.
Readers should be aware that this is not always a comfortable read. But the problems at the heart of it are widespread and – sadly - refuse to disappear.
Helen Breckenridge has almost resigned herself to the downward slide into mildly discontented middle age. She is a Scottish farmer’s wife, approaching forty, living in a rural backwater, with her only child about to fly the nest. But when Joe, a visiting Canadian ice hockey player, comes to live in a nearby cottage, she realises that nothing will ever be the same again.
This is a love story with a very dark side, a romance with a twist, for although Joe skates like an angel, he has his own demons to cope with, a sadder, more complicated and much more shocking past than Helen – who has lead a fairly sheltered life - could ever imagine. In helping Joe to begin to come to terms with the horrors of that past, Helen rediscovers something of her own potential. For once in her life, she realises just how much she has sacrificed herself to the needs of others.
Ice Dancing is an unusual novel about Scottish village life and ice hockey. It is also the story of two people who must break the habits of half a lifetime before they can move forward. So Helen and Joe find themselves dancing precariously between joy and sorrow, between hope and despair, balancing on ice, together and apart.
Readers should be aware that this is not always a comfortable read. But the problems at the heart of it are widespread and – sadly - refuse to disappear.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 17, 2012
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Czerkawska
43 books41 followersI’m a novelist, historian and experienced professional playwright, living and working in Scotland.
I write warm, intelligent and grown-up stories - some historical, some contemporary and some a mixture of both. I have more than 100 hours of BBC radio drama to my name as well as many professional theatre productions.
My fiction and non-fiction was previously published by Saraband, now by Dyrock Publishing, and some of my plays by Nick Hern Books.
My fiction includes The Physic Garden, a Scottish historical novel about an early nineteenth century gardener, his love for weaver's daughter Jenny and his friendship with botanist Dr Thomas Brown. Set in Glasgow, this is a moving and engrossing story of friendship and betrayal.
The Jewel, published in May 2016 is a luscious historical novel, bringing to glorious life the dramatic years of Jean Armour and Robert Burns's courtship and their tempestuous, married life against a background simmering with political intrigue and turmoil. For Jean is a selection of poems, songs and letters written by the poet with Jean Armour in mind
The Curiosity Cabinet is set on the small fictional inner Hebridean island of Garve, and involves parallel stories, three hundred years apart. Henrietta Dalrymple is kidnapped and held on Garve by the fearsome laird, Manus McNeill, while in the present day, Alys returns to the island where she spent childhood holidays, and renews an old friendship. While Henrietta must decide who she can trust, Alys must earn the trust of the man she loves. But for both women, the tug of motherhood will finally influence their decisions.
The Posy Ring set on the same small fictional Hebridean island as the Curiosity Cabinet, is (almost) a sequel to that novel, now published by Dyrock Publishing.
My books, fiction and non-fiction, are available in paperback and as eBooks on Amazon.
I’ve held Creative Writing fellowships and residencies and spent four years as Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the University of the West of Scotland. I enjoy giving readings and talks about all aspects of my work and love chatting to my readers so please don't be shy about contacting me.
I also collect and deal in antiques, mainly textiles, in my spare time - quite often they find their way into my fiction.
I write warm, intelligent and grown-up stories - some historical, some contemporary and some a mixture of both. I have more than 100 hours of BBC radio drama to my name as well as many professional theatre productions.
My fiction and non-fiction was previously published by Saraband, now by Dyrock Publishing, and some of my plays by Nick Hern Books.
My fiction includes The Physic Garden, a Scottish historical novel about an early nineteenth century gardener, his love for weaver's daughter Jenny and his friendship with botanist Dr Thomas Brown. Set in Glasgow, this is a moving and engrossing story of friendship and betrayal.
The Jewel, published in May 2016 is a luscious historical novel, bringing to glorious life the dramatic years of Jean Armour and Robert Burns's courtship and their tempestuous, married life against a background simmering with political intrigue and turmoil. For Jean is a selection of poems, songs and letters written by the poet with Jean Armour in mind
The Curiosity Cabinet is set on the small fictional inner Hebridean island of Garve, and involves parallel stories, three hundred years apart. Henrietta Dalrymple is kidnapped and held on Garve by the fearsome laird, Manus McNeill, while in the present day, Alys returns to the island where she spent childhood holidays, and renews an old friendship. While Henrietta must decide who she can trust, Alys must earn the trust of the man she loves. But for both women, the tug of motherhood will finally influence their decisions.
The Posy Ring set on the same small fictional Hebridean island as the Curiosity Cabinet, is (almost) a sequel to that novel, now published by Dyrock Publishing.
My books, fiction and non-fiction, are available in paperback and as eBooks on Amazon.
I’ve held Creative Writing fellowships and residencies and spent four years as Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the University of the West of Scotland. I enjoy giving readings and talks about all aspects of my work and love chatting to my readers so please don't be shy about contacting me.
I also collect and deal in antiques, mainly textiles, in my spare time - quite often they find their way into my fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 24, 2012
I loved this novel, and couldn't put it down once I'd started it. Joe Napier, exotic interloper, ice hockey star, moves into the cottage in rural Scotland he has inherited from his distant cousin Louise, next-door neighbour and best friend of farmer's wife Helen Breckenridge. His improbable friendship with the older Helen develops into a passionate affair, then a deeper love. Shades of 'The Bridges of Madison County', but none the worse for that, says this reader, stoutly!
It is improbable, but is made to seem utterly believable, that an international star athlete like Joe should fall in love with Helen, who has never moved further from her Scottish hillside than Edinburgh, that he pitches up in rural Scotland from Canada, that they manage to keep their affair secret from an inquisitive village - believable, thanks to the author's sure grasp of the connections between the past and the present, and of the unaccountable reasons why two people are right for one another. Helen has to work through the terrifying things that she learns about Joe's past, but she remains sure of the man she knows, not the man whose demons are exposed for all who care to google him.
I loved the emotional temperature of this novel - the depth of Joe's and Helen's feelings for one another is charted with precision and deep sympathy. The sense of place is unfailing. So much about the characters and situation is out of the ordinary, but all rooted in a bedrock of fact and experience. Ice Hockey in Scotland - yes, really; the close ties of families in Scotland and in Canada, and the near certainty that some where there is a Canadian cousin; and the roots of Joe's demons, which I won't give away, a hidden secret in sport that is a secret no more. Catherine Czerkawska, as she has done in her other work, beguilingly binds the present to the past through photographs, cherished artefacts lovingly described and records of family history, in a wholly satisfying way. And as in all her novels, she writes beautifully and lyrically of love and passion. Above all, this is a generous book - all the characters have their humanity and gifts on display. I recommend it highly.
This is my full review on Vulpes Libris:
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/201...
It is improbable, but is made to seem utterly believable, that an international star athlete like Joe should fall in love with Helen, who has never moved further from her Scottish hillside than Edinburgh, that he pitches up in rural Scotland from Canada, that they manage to keep their affair secret from an inquisitive village - believable, thanks to the author's sure grasp of the connections between the past and the present, and of the unaccountable reasons why two people are right for one another. Helen has to work through the terrifying things that she learns about Joe's past, but she remains sure of the man she knows, not the man whose demons are exposed for all who care to google him.
I loved the emotional temperature of this novel - the depth of Joe's and Helen's feelings for one another is charted with precision and deep sympathy. The sense of place is unfailing. So much about the characters and situation is out of the ordinary, but all rooted in a bedrock of fact and experience. Ice Hockey in Scotland - yes, really; the close ties of families in Scotland and in Canada, and the near certainty that some where there is a Canadian cousin; and the roots of Joe's demons, which I won't give away, a hidden secret in sport that is a secret no more. Catherine Czerkawska, as she has done in her other work, beguilingly binds the present to the past through photographs, cherished artefacts lovingly described and records of family history, in a wholly satisfying way. And as in all her novels, she writes beautifully and lyrically of love and passion. Above all, this is a generous book - all the characters have their humanity and gifts on display. I recommend it highly.
This is my full review on Vulpes Libris:
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/201...
December 10, 2014
I liked this book. I liked joe and Helen so much that I want to have more scenes of them together. I feel like I got a lot about other things and not enough of their relationship. But otherwise is a very nice book. I would certainly recommend to a friend.
And just saying Annie is a really bad friend. What a jealous witch ...lol...though she did redeem herself a little in the end:))
And just saying Annie is a really bad friend. What a jealous witch ...lol...though she did redeem herself a little in the end:))
February 13, 2023
Not a bad book. Reminded me of "Bridges of Madison County", though the ending was different. I liked the ending, though I was not expecting it, which always makes for interesting reading.
The female leaded turned out to me a stronger character than she originally seemed, which was refreshing.
The female leaded turned out to me a stronger character than she originally seemed, which was refreshing.
May 26, 2014
Every time I pick up a book by this author I know that I am going to have to write off the day and spend it reading, because once you start you just can't stop and this one was no exception.
Set in the rural lowlands of Scotland, the scenery and landscape is wonderfully described, the author just has the power to transport you straight into her world. It is an intelligent love story between a 39 year old woman (Helen) and a 31 year old man (Joe) and I particularly loved the way she described the emotions of falling in love, particularly from the viewpoint of Helen. As I was reading it I just could not help thinking "Yes, that is just what is like".
It is not an easy ride, apart from the fact that Helen is married with a daughter she also has to come to terms with the fact that in general her life has not panned out how she intended it to. Joe also his own demons to face which, when they are revealed, turn out to be extremely shocking and bring a very dark side to the book.
To sum up, yet another wonderful read from an extremely talented writer.
Set in the rural lowlands of Scotland, the scenery and landscape is wonderfully described, the author just has the power to transport you straight into her world. It is an intelligent love story between a 39 year old woman (Helen) and a 31 year old man (Joe) and I particularly loved the way she described the emotions of falling in love, particularly from the viewpoint of Helen. As I was reading it I just could not help thinking "Yes, that is just what is like".
It is not an easy ride, apart from the fact that Helen is married with a daughter she also has to come to terms with the fact that in general her life has not panned out how she intended it to. Joe also his own demons to face which, when they are revealed, turn out to be extremely shocking and bring a very dark side to the book.
To sum up, yet another wonderful read from an extremely talented writer.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews