What do you think?
Rate this book
Dance Around the Dandelion
That pivotal moment transforms us at our core, leaving us forever changed. Is it destiny or misfortune?
Ever since a brutal calamity struck Nuha years ago, she has cocooned herself in a predictable, monotonous existence—a self-imposed routine. Her days revolve around familiar locales in Amman, never varying. Evenings are dedicated to perusing the pages of a young girl’s diary with a dandelion-adorned cover.
But one day, an encounter upends her world, forcing her to confront an unrecognizable version of herself. This self is driven by a desire to break free, rediscover forgotten passions, and embrace happiness anew. From where did this sudden urge come? Should she grasp it or let it slip? What risks does it entail?
And whose dandelion-adorned diary is Nuha drawing strength from as she entertains all the other questions?
Spanning three generations of Jordanians, Dance Around the Dandelion delves into intricate emotions of loss, guilt, resilience, and determination. Explore the struggle to kindle hope in dark times when death seems a tempting escape. Dima Bader contemplates the profound power of relationships in lightening our burdens and soothing our inner demons.
Ever since a brutal calamity struck Nuha years ago, she has cocooned herself in a predictable, monotonous existence—a self-imposed routine. Her days revolve around familiar locales in Amman, never varying. Evenings are dedicated to perusing the pages of a young girl’s diary with a dandelion-adorned cover.
But one day, an encounter upends her world, forcing her to confront an unrecognizable version of herself. This self is driven by a desire to break free, rediscover forgotten passions, and embrace happiness anew. From where did this sudden urge come? Should she grasp it or let it slip? What risks does it entail?
And whose dandelion-adorned diary is Nuha drawing strength from as she entertains all the other questions?
Spanning three generations of Jordanians, Dance Around the Dandelion delves into intricate emotions of loss, guilt, resilience, and determination. Explore the struggle to kindle hope in dark times when death seems a tempting escape. Dima Bader contemplates the profound power of relationships in lightening our burdens and soothing our inner demons.
260 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2024
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 31, 2024
Dance Around the Dandlion is really a (Good Read) ,I lived with the characters feeling their pain and sharing their joy. To me it was an unputdownable book
March 25, 2024
A jewel of a story
June 27, 2024
Dance Around The Dandelion by Dima Bader.
I don’t know where to start with this one, as a Palestinian girl who was born and lived almost my entire life in Amman, this book brings so many emotions and provokes a lot of thoughts, first of all it’s an originally English language written book by an author of an Arabic Palestinian Jordanian background, which makes it superior to any others that tried to tackle writing about this area and these character in a foreign language before, yet the superiority of this book extends to much more than that, because it is superbly written with a state of art standard amongst English contemporary literature, describing like nothing else that part of the world and those group of people, the Ammanians! Their way of living and thinking, their class and their civilized ways rooted deeply in their ancestors heritage, although it’s not described explicitly in the book but Dima could grasp it and implement it like no one could do.
The story itself is captivating and smooth, full of masterfully interconnected roller coasters and subtle smoothness of both events and emotions. This novel in my opinion should be added to the shelf of great debuts and Dima Bader in my eyes compares very well to Khalid Hosseini and Elif Shafak in her potential to carry her people story to an international light.
I recommend this book to all readers regardless of their preferred genre. This book is going places.
Lina Droubi
I don’t know where to start with this one, as a Palestinian girl who was born and lived almost my entire life in Amman, this book brings so many emotions and provokes a lot of thoughts, first of all it’s an originally English language written book by an author of an Arabic Palestinian Jordanian background, which makes it superior to any others that tried to tackle writing about this area and these character in a foreign language before, yet the superiority of this book extends to much more than that, because it is superbly written with a state of art standard amongst English contemporary literature, describing like nothing else that part of the world and those group of people, the Ammanians! Their way of living and thinking, their class and their civilized ways rooted deeply in their ancestors heritage, although it’s not described explicitly in the book but Dima could grasp it and implement it like no one could do.
The story itself is captivating and smooth, full of masterfully interconnected roller coasters and subtle smoothness of both events and emotions. This novel in my opinion should be added to the shelf of great debuts and Dima Bader in my eyes compares very well to Khalid Hosseini and Elif Shafak in her potential to carry her people story to an international light.
I recommend this book to all readers regardless of their preferred genre. This book is going places.
Lina Droubi
March 31, 2024
A well-crafted blend of beautiful and tragic is how I would describe this story. It held me captive, making me unable to put it down at times. The characters are vividly portrayed and are remarkably well-characterised, leaving me thinking about them even days after I have already finished reading it. A rare case of a story actually toying with my emotions, which says a lit on my end.
Overall, a must have
Overall, a must have
June 5, 2025
I absolutely loved Dance Around the Dandelion. The story is woven around the themes of love, pain and hope and Dima’s writing brings alive the emotions of the characters. It deeply resonated with me, particularly the portrayal of a woman’s grief journey and her incredible resilience. The novel offers a nuanced and insightful look into the lives of women in Jordan, breaking away from the stereotypical assumptions we often hold. A powerful, engaging novel - a ‘must-read’.
March 22, 2024
What a Beautiful read.
Beautifully written and skillfully crafted novel. Enjoyed reading it and finished it with incredible speed despite being a mother of toddler twins and having no time to myself to begin with.
The story is gripping and absorbs you in and makes you wanna know what’s next? Why is this so? Who is she talking about? What’s happening?
It’s very interesting that way.
It made me realize how much I miss Amman, mansaf, msakhan, the Red Sea and much more.
Well done Dima, you kept me wondering till the very end. You broke my heart at some point, made me cry at others, but I had a smile on my face while reading the very last sentence.
Really really well done.
Highly recommend.
Beautifully written and skillfully crafted novel. Enjoyed reading it and finished it with incredible speed despite being a mother of toddler twins and having no time to myself to begin with.
The story is gripping and absorbs you in and makes you wanna know what’s next? Why is this so? Who is she talking about? What’s happening?
It’s very interesting that way.
It made me realize how much I miss Amman, mansaf, msakhan, the Red Sea and much more.
Well done Dima, you kept me wondering till the very end. You broke my heart at some point, made me cry at others, but I had a smile on my face while reading the very last sentence.
Really really well done.
Highly recommend.
March 28, 2024
Dima's debut novel is a beautifully spun tale, delicately weaving themes of love, pain, and hope. Nuha's life story, expertly penned, tugs at the heartstrings, drawing readers into her world. Eagerly awaiting Dima's next work, I am curious and excited to see where her storytelling will lead us next
March 12, 2024
An emotional rollercoaster that you would want to take!
While I was disappointed the book took three days to arrive instead of one, that's where the negatives end! The cover art is fantastic, the title is deep and thought-provoking, and the story spans generations, bringing many cultural aspects of Jordanian life to the reader in a way that makes you want to visit and see if the places mentioned are real. I easily visualized the characters and felt myself transported to the locations described in the pages.
It was a nostalgic and wonderful read, though I confess my eyes welled up on occasion and I found myself chuckling at other times. It's an emotional rollercoaster, or maybe it was simply the music I was listing to while reading? I doubt it, though the music helped to set the right atmosphere for me while reading this captivating novel.
By the end, I was not only eager for more but also yearning to experience the mentioned cuisine and explore the locations firsthand.
This is a truly great read, but be sure to have tissues handy - not that you'll need them, of course!
While I was disappointed the book took three days to arrive instead of one, that's where the negatives end! The cover art is fantastic, the title is deep and thought-provoking, and the story spans generations, bringing many cultural aspects of Jordanian life to the reader in a way that makes you want to visit and see if the places mentioned are real. I easily visualized the characters and felt myself transported to the locations described in the pages.
It was a nostalgic and wonderful read, though I confess my eyes welled up on occasion and I found myself chuckling at other times. It's an emotional rollercoaster, or maybe it was simply the music I was listing to while reading? I doubt it, though the music helped to set the right atmosphere for me while reading this captivating novel.
By the end, I was not only eager for more but also yearning to experience the mentioned cuisine and explore the locations firsthand.
This is a truly great read, but be sure to have tissues handy - not that you'll need them, of course!
March 12, 2024
A tragically beautiful story. At times it was hard to read, but a beautiful read. The characters are real and haunt you days after you have finished reading the book. I enjoyed reading the book but really loved it on completion and seeing how it all fell in place. Beautifully written.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews