Tango: An Argentine Love Story

by Camille Cusumano

Tango is a memoir of a woman who loved, lost, got mad, and decided to dance. It's a story of falling in love with a country through the dance that embodies intensity, freedom, and passion — all pivotal to the process of self-discovery. From the charm of local barrios to savory empanadas, the author whole-heartedly embraces the ardent culture of Argentina, and soon a month-long escape turns into a year-long personal odyssey. Slowly letting go through a blend of tango, Zen, and a burgeoning group of friends, the author discovers that her fierceness and patience can exist in harmony as she learns how to survive in style when love falls apart.

Genres: Travel, Memoir, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Camille Cusumano is the author of Tango, an Argentine Love Story, a memoir of a woman who loved, lost, got mad, and decided to dance. She was an editor at VIA Magazine, the West’s award-winning travel publication, for 17 years. Her work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Country Living, the San Francisco Chronicle, North American Review, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, Yoga Journal, Vegetarian Times, and the Washington Post. Her cookbook credits include The New Foods (Henry Holt), America Loves Salads (Literary Guild), Rodale’s Basic Natural Foods Cookbook (co-written with Carol Munson, Editor Charles Gerras), and Tofu, Tempeh, and Other Soy Delights (Rodale). Her novel, The Last Cannoli (Legas), first published in 2000, was inspired by her growing up in a rather large Sicilian American family. She is the editor of the literary anthology series (above): France, a Love Story, Italy, a Love Story, Mexico, a Love Story, and Greece, a Love Story, all published by Seal Press, a division of Perseus Books, Berkeley, California. The Last Cannoli, second edition will soon be available as an eBook. See her blogs for updates on the writing life and her tango wanderings. www.camillecusumano.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001IXQ1OM?...

Reviews

[Emmet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only for the stupidly tango obsessed. I might be tango obsessed, but not stupidly. This memoir or whatever -- is very unsatisfying. While the prose is good enough, and the style acceptable, the content and the tone are not. The tone is smug to the point of annoying or more, and the content is confused and irritating. The writer is typically a travel writer and it shows--not in a good way. The story of the memoir is incomplete at best, and at worst the story is so muddled the author herself doesn't seem to know what she is writing. Unfortunately, just another example of self-indulgent tango story telling. The search for a good book about tango continues...

[kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

"After reading this book, I felt like an emotional tampon." - a discerning amazon reviewer

On the one hand, her writing seems sincere and cathartic, but on the other, she comes off as so obliviously narcissistic that I feel embarrassed for her. She and her inner experience dominate the book; other characters are rough sketches. There are so many mentions of compliments she received about her dancing ("just so you know, this guy ran out after me at a milonga and once this guy stopped to admire my yoga pose, etc.) that it begins to read like a braggy dance resume than a story.

The writing does flow. It reads easy, like a magazine article. But I wish I'd understood from the beginning that the book was not so much a story as a lot of travel vignettes organized by theme and topic. If I'd known, I wouldn't have read it as long as I did, waiting curiously to see how a plot was going to emerge, how all the little stories tied together. They don't. It's like her travel diary cleaned up a bit and published.

If you're like me and were just wanting some good travel writing on Argentina by someone who is also a tango dancer, I'm afraid I'd say skip it and read two other books instead: Bad Times in Buenos Aires by Miranda France and The Meaning of Tango by Christine Denniston.

[Freda Christie-fey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Camille Cusumano's "Tango: An Argentine Love Story" read is more intense than the first few pages reveal. Perhaps the reader may think distantly of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" but with romance, appropriate angst that goes with that, the self-revelation of any true pilgrimage of healing, and fantastic history about Tango and its structural importance in Argentine culture and in
a specific social milieu of Buenos Aires. Anyone who has ever loved and lost, or loved, or just has been lost, and loves travel and spiritual adventure can appreciate Cusumano's carefully crafted narrative of an extended moment in life which transcends our collective human desire for love and understanding. By the way, the reread is even better than the first.

[Nancy Manahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Memoir combining spirituality and sensuality

I love this soaring and bracing account of the author's tango-Zen love affair with Argentina. Camille Cusumano deftly weaves her personal story of loss and recovery in a foreign country into her profound and often humorous reflections on the glories of dancing Tango and the challenges of being a Buddhist practitioner, highlighting the many surprising similarities between the two spiritual, sensual healing practices. I learned a lot from Cusumano's journey and was cheering for her through each step, each breath.

[Dona Adante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author delves deeply into a culture, its food, people, quotidian customs while learning a lot about herself. I enjoy memoirs by women who are brave enough to share their strengths as well as foibles. And the exotic setting makes the read all the more captivating. This book makes me want to take some action, to learn tango, a dance that seems to come with a whole interesting culture. Or to go somewhere out of my comfort zone and be open and vulnerable to letting things happen.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camille Cusumano decided she needed a change in her life & ends up in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This is where her lifelong journey of the love of dancing the Tango begins. Not of course without its ups/downs.

I have loved music all my life. In the 60’s-beyond I must say I was quite the dancer. I loved clubs we called them. Last time I danced though was at my daughter’s wedding. Never took dance lessons & unfortunately never learned the Tango.
Camille puts you in her footsteps & her worldly cultural experiences.

Warning: This book contains graphic adult content, extreme violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive to some readers.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written Autobiographical memory book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great memoir movie, or mini TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Seal Press; Autographed; paperback book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Anika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thsi book so clearly wants to be 'Eat, Pray, Tango,' and yet reading this just highlights how well done 'Eat, Pray, Love' really is, and how not well done this book is. Cusumano tells the story of her year in Argentina dancing tango to heal a broken heart, and yet she manages to tell almost no story - you have no sense of any progressing narrative, you don't feel any change happening in her or her world, and perhaps worse of all, you don't have any great sense of tango; while her descriptions of the dance might sound right to someone familiar with tango, someone who isn't wished there were more basics. I wanted to hear about how the basic dance worked, how she started with it, how it progresses, not how many men she danced with and endless descriptions of tango and zen. Ultimately, I found myself not caring either about her or tango, which, considering the book is really only about those two things, makes it a big old flop in my book.

[AlliD · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was such a disappointment. I was really looking forward to reading it - I'd heard a review on the radio. I wanted to go to Argentina and escape into Tango - but I would have preferred another narrator. She was not a character I wanted to read about. And so I stopped midway. And I was embarrassed to have suggested it to book club.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the descriptions of Buenos Aires and the content about the dance of the tango. There were so many cultural and artistic insights, that kept me wanting to keep reading. I got a bit annoyed at times by the self absorption (although it is a memoir). Over all there was a lot I liked about this book.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not that interested in tango or zen (2 major focuses of the author), but I am interested in Buenos Aires and relationships. I liked this book. I did skim a bit at parts, but overall, I liked it.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting read if you're into Argentine tango. I got a chance to hear Camille talk about the book at an Argentine Tango bootcamp class I went to. Definitely a pleasure hearing her talk and it made the book that much more interesting to read.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar to Eat, Love, Pray but this time it involves Tango and Argentina (still plenty of meditation). This book is actually a little more cohesive. Sometimes the tango portion of this book got a bit tedious, but for the most part it was a very relatable story.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Camille Cusumano’s enthusiasm for both tango and Argentina shines, more than making up for the slightly tedious post-mortem of her 15 year relationship. I loved the way she connected dance with zen philosophy.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read along the lines of Under the Tuscan Sun...a woman reinventing herself as a mature adult.

[Meg]

enjoyed the zen and tango combo

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Somewhat boring. I won this book through goodreads.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

The parallels between tango and Zen resonated with me.