Dancing on Glass

by Susan Taylor Chehak

Bader Von Vechten returns to Cedar Hill, Iowa, to redeem the family name, destroyed by scandal years before, but a forbidden and destructive passion overpowers him, and sets events in motion that will cause history to horribly repeat itself. Reprint.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Susan Taylor Chehak is a graduate of the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and the author of several novels, including The Great Disappointment, Smithereens, The Story of Annie D., and Harmony. Her short stories have appeared in Folio, Coe Review, Guernica Magazine, and The Adirondack Review, among other places.

Susan is also the driving force behind Foreverland Press, an e-book publisher devoted to bringing back the backlists of fine writers who might have otherwise been overlooked. Other of her online projects include, What Happened To Paula, a collaborative web-based investigation into the as yet unsolved murder of a former schoolmate; The Truth About Paula O., a blogged memoir of Susan's ongoing 12-year investigation into the Paula Oberbroeckling murder case; and The Foreverland Chronicles, where she has been working with Kathryn Dow to create a detailed narrative record of Foreverland and its denizens.

Susan has taught fiction writing in the low residency MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles, the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, the University of Southern California, and the Summer Writing Festival at the University of Iowa. She grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, lives occasionally in Toronto, and at present calls Colorado her home.

Reviews

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening image of this novel stuck with me a long time. The Kirkus Review of this was... not kind, and called it cliche, but I was enthralled by the book when I read it in 1997 and enjoyed the author's obvious "love for language."

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Dark, gothic, and set in Iowa! Chehak's writing is dense with description. A sad look at those who cannot escape their families histories.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not sure what to think about my first gothic novel. The title of this book has significant meaning in the opening scene, where a wife commits suicide by falling through a skylight. Her death marks one of many tragedies that hurt the Craig and Von Vechten names. Bader Von Vechten's marriage to Katherine Craig had appeared to bridge the gap between two families, but it's soon destroyed when Bader has sex with a 15-year-old boy. This book is hard to follow at times--it changes narrative constantly, moves over a 25-year time frame, and has many characters, most of whom aren't very interesting or likable. Yet the author draws you right into the story, regardless of the book's flaws. * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Mosker]

No stars as she's on my Antioch lecturer's list. I highly recommend the book however. Both in terms of plot and language, I kept waiting for the respective "been there done that" and "enough already" feelings to creep up--but they didn't. She has a wonderful way of painting a scene with verbs that keeps the writer engaged, and while her prose isn't sparse, understands the value of small bites of scenes and the stimulus of a swirling narrative. [BLECH, Dave, if your own fiction is like that, time to find a real job]

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the title and couldn't wait too start reading,wasn't what I aspected . The only reference to the title was at the beginning which was a devastating ending.
I had a hard time keeping the characters straight and kept going back a few pages to refresh the plot.
The author was very visual in her descriptions, quite poetic, many times I'd re-read the passages.
It took me a few days to get the story straight, could it happen like that, maybe . The story makes you think and it does stay with you. will be reading more of her books.