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Three Muses
Three Muses is a love story that enthralls: a tale of Holocaust survival venturing through memory, trauma, and identity, while raising the curtain on the unforgiving discipline of ballet. In post-WWII New York, John Curtin suffers lasting damage from having been forced to sing for the concentration camp kommandant who murdered his family. John trains to be a psychiatrist, struggling to wrest his life from his terror of music and his past. Katya Symanova climbs the arduous path to Prima Ballerina of the New York State Ballet, becoming enmeshed in an abusive relationship with her choreographer, who makes Katya a star but controls her life. When John receives a ticket to attend a ballet featuring Katya Symanova, a spell is cast. As John and Katya follow circuitous paths to one another, fear and promise rise in equal measure. Song, Discipline, and Memory weave their way through love and loss, heartbreak and triumph.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2022
35 people are currently reading
9650 people want to read
About the author
Martha Anne Toll
2 books213 followersMy fiction is about the emotional power of music and dance, the interplay of time and memory, the meaning of discipline, and love—always love—and death. I fell in love with the viola when I began studying with Max Aronoff, a founding member of the Curtis String Quartet. Max taught me three life lessons: (1) The music is in the rests; (2) if you break things into component parts, you’ll figure out how to put together the whole; and (3) practice, practice, practice.
Martha Anne Toll is a novelist and literary and cultural critic. Her debut novel, Three Muses, won the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction and was subsequently published by Regal House Publishing (2022). Her next novel, Duet for One, will appear in Spring 2025. Three Muses won wide praise from national outlets including the Washington Post, New York Magazine’s Vulture, NPR, and LA Parent, and was shortlisted for the Gotham Book Prize. She is a recipient of Fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Virginia and the South of France, Monson Arts, and Dairy Hollow. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and serves on the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.
A graduate of Yale, Toll holds a B.A. Degree in Music, and her classical music training informs her artistic practice. She holds a J.D. Degree from Boston University School of Law, and comes to writing professionally after a career dedicated to social justice. As the founding Executive Director of the Butler Family Fund, she developed and led programs to prevent and end homelessness, abolish the death penalty, and combat racial injustice and inequity in the U.S. criminal justice system; and established a partnership with the Oak Foundation in Geneva and London to achieve similar aims. She grew up in Philadelphia, and now lives with her climate activist husband in Washington, D.C. They are the parents of two daughters.
Book news!! My second novel, DUET FOR ONE, will be out in early 2025. Can't wait!
Martha Anne Toll is a novelist and literary and cultural critic. Her debut novel, Three Muses, won the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction and was subsequently published by Regal House Publishing (2022). Her next novel, Duet for One, will appear in Spring 2025. Three Muses won wide praise from national outlets including the Washington Post, New York Magazine’s Vulture, NPR, and LA Parent, and was shortlisted for the Gotham Book Prize. She is a recipient of Fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Virginia and the South of France, Monson Arts, and Dairy Hollow. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and serves on the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.
A graduate of Yale, Toll holds a B.A. Degree in Music, and her classical music training informs her artistic practice. She holds a J.D. Degree from Boston University School of Law, and comes to writing professionally after a career dedicated to social justice. As the founding Executive Director of the Butler Family Fund, she developed and led programs to prevent and end homelessness, abolish the death penalty, and combat racial injustice and inequity in the U.S. criminal justice system; and established a partnership with the Oak Foundation in Geneva and London to achieve similar aims. She grew up in Philadelphia, and now lives with her climate activist husband in Washington, D.C. They are the parents of two daughters.
Book news!! My second novel, DUET FOR ONE, will be out in early 2025. Can't wait!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
February 28, 2022
A Holocaust survivor, a ballerina, a love story.
Their alternating stories moving back and forth in time to their traumatic childhoods and as they grow up shedding light on the paths they’ve taken shaped by the memories that haunt them.
A beautifully told story of loss and grief and the gifts people give each other - the gifts of life, of art , of family, of self discovery.
Beautiful, sad , hopeful.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Regal Publishing through Edelweiss.
February 23, 2022
“To dance was to live. To till motion; to impart the joy that welled up every time she took to the stage, her body the vehicle for her art. The lights were blinding. As the music intensified, she skimmed the energy from the audience to breach another dimension. Transcending reason, she danced through raw emotion and spun toward a new center”.
…..a beautiful novel that spoke to me from the moment I first learn about it…..
and it didn’t hurt that more than four of my favorite authors highly endorsed this debut novel.
But….I would have read it anyway - without those endorsements.
We meet John Curtin …
When he was a boy, in 1948, growing up in Mainz, Germany, a Jew, he was called Janko…..later Johann (to sound more German - trying to survive the horrors of the Holocaust) …
His Mutti often called him Jankele.
But now as an adult in 1963 ….(where the start of this novel begins)….
John is simply John ….(an all-American name his ‘new’ American family called him) — after leaving Germany….after the loss of his family: Mutti, Papa, and little brother Max.
John was living in New York - in 1963 … a new psychiatrist. He had just arrived in Paris to attend a seminar— “World Congress on Psychiatry and Mental Health.
John was given a ticket to attend a Ballet performance. The New York Ballet was dancing “Three Muses” in Paris. ….Boris Yanokov, choreographer’s breakout work.
Katya Symanova was the elegant graceful star dancer.
John was entranced. He thought she was magnificent.
A complete stranger in town and to Katya Symanov…. At the end of the performance, he gave her a bouquet of white roses.
For Katya — she remembered that night — The evening that she had a feeling that somebody in the audience had really understood her. Had really heard ‘her’. Just one of those ‘odd’ powerful feelings that occasionally a person feels.
This novel weaves soooo beautifully together the fragility of life — art - discipline - memories- love - loss - death - hope - despair — choices - dance - control -
the four corners of stage > of our personal lives, and humanity….
As I kept reading - with pure pleasure…..i was struck with how ‘lovely’….really beautiful the writing was….
while at the same time — like building to an crescendo ….the story in this novel kept gradually increasing its intensity.
I was in tears twice towards the end.
Wonderful debut novel!
A little about the author:
Besides Martha Anne Toll being a novelist, she is also a book reviewer, essayist, and social justice advocate. She won the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted fiction and is forthcoming from Regal House Publishing on September 20th, 2022.
She is a reviewer for NPR books, the Washington Post, Pointe Magazine, The Millions, and elsewhere.
Martha graduated from Yale college and received a law degree from Boston University school of Law. She is married, lives in Washington DC and she and her husband have two daughters.
In my opinion AN AUTHOR is BORN….with this first novel from Martha.
She’s a pro …..nothing feels ‘newbie’.
I could share much more about this book and include dozens of excerpts….
but I’ll just leave one…..
Hoping this book finds a wide range of readers.
It’s a real treasure to discover a new talented author…..who completely engaged me in this dreamlike world.
Boris Yanakov was the man whom Katya Symanova devoted her life and art.
“He was her teacher, mentor, lover, and artistic partner”.
“Her personal life was apparently besides the point; or more accurately, he was her personal and public life, he was her career. He had put art above all else, forgetting—or denying— that great art is the triumph of the human spirit, and that the human spirit depends on love”.
…..a beautiful novel that spoke to me from the moment I first learn about it…..
and it didn’t hurt that more than four of my favorite authors highly endorsed this debut novel.
But….I would have read it anyway - without those endorsements.
We meet John Curtin …
When he was a boy, in 1948, growing up in Mainz, Germany, a Jew, he was called Janko…..later Johann (to sound more German - trying to survive the horrors of the Holocaust) …
His Mutti often called him Jankele.
But now as an adult in 1963 ….(where the start of this novel begins)….
John is simply John ….(an all-American name his ‘new’ American family called him) — after leaving Germany….after the loss of his family: Mutti, Papa, and little brother Max.
John was living in New York - in 1963 … a new psychiatrist. He had just arrived in Paris to attend a seminar— “World Congress on Psychiatry and Mental Health.
John was given a ticket to attend a Ballet performance. The New York Ballet was dancing “Three Muses” in Paris. ….Boris Yanokov, choreographer’s breakout work.
Katya Symanova was the elegant graceful star dancer.
John was entranced. He thought she was magnificent.
A complete stranger in town and to Katya Symanov…. At the end of the performance, he gave her a bouquet of white roses.
For Katya — she remembered that night — The evening that she had a feeling that somebody in the audience had really understood her. Had really heard ‘her’. Just one of those ‘odd’ powerful feelings that occasionally a person feels.
This novel weaves soooo beautifully together the fragility of life — art - discipline - memories- love - loss - death - hope - despair — choices - dance - control -
the four corners of stage > of our personal lives, and humanity….
As I kept reading - with pure pleasure…..i was struck with how ‘lovely’….really beautiful the writing was….
while at the same time — like building to an crescendo ….the story in this novel kept gradually increasing its intensity.
I was in tears twice towards the end.
Wonderful debut novel!
A little about the author:
Besides Martha Anne Toll being a novelist, she is also a book reviewer, essayist, and social justice advocate. She won the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted fiction and is forthcoming from Regal House Publishing on September 20th, 2022.
She is a reviewer for NPR books, the Washington Post, Pointe Magazine, The Millions, and elsewhere.
Martha graduated from Yale college and received a law degree from Boston University school of Law. She is married, lives in Washington DC and she and her husband have two daughters.
In my opinion AN AUTHOR is BORN….with this first novel from Martha.
She’s a pro …..nothing feels ‘newbie’.
I could share much more about this book and include dozens of excerpts….
but I’ll just leave one…..
Hoping this book finds a wide range of readers.
It’s a real treasure to discover a new talented author…..who completely engaged me in this dreamlike world.
Boris Yanakov was the man whom Katya Symanova devoted her life and art.
“He was her teacher, mentor, lover, and artistic partner”.
“Her personal life was apparently besides the point; or more accurately, he was her personal and public life, he was her career. He had put art above all else, forgetting—or denying— that great art is the triumph of the human spirit, and that the human spirit depends on love”.
April 30, 2023
This is a book that really surprised me. Not being a fan of the ballet I had some reservations about a book that appeared to be heavy on that art form. Instead author Martha Anne Toll has given us a very good psychological novel about 2 individual who have changed their names, who meet by happenstance in Paris and then later in New York and fall in love for a summer. John Curtin is a trained psychiatrist who as a boy was forced to sing for the Commandant of a Nazi prison camp where his mother and brother were killed (without his knowledge). He manages to survive and on his way to America he changes his birth name and upon arriving is placed with a loving Jewish couple whose son died fighting in Italy. Katya Symanova is an American born ballet dancer who has had her name changed succeed in that field. We examine both individuals, what makes them tick, what are their hopes and fears and in the end we are left with two damaged individuals who manage to make their way in the world, both together and apart. Very good effort by Ms. Toll and I look forward to her next book that will be set in the world of classical music. A surprisingly good 4**** effort especially considering my early trepidations.
July 14, 2022
I spent 10 years writing this book. It was a true labor of love, so I hope it’s ok that I rated it! I hope you’ll enjoy it!
I’m so excited that Three Muses earned a starred review on Kirkus. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
Super excited that Three Muses made The Millions' most anticipated second half of 2022 list. https://themillions.com/2022/07/most-...
I’m so excited that Three Muses earned a starred review on Kirkus. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
Super excited that Three Muses made The Millions' most anticipated second half of 2022 list. https://themillions.com/2022/07/most-...
December 6, 2023
Debut novel spanning the 1940's to the 1970's. It was painful, raw, and haunting. John/Janko's past as a child in the holocaust was terrifying. He later becomes a psychiatrist, and is reliving his own trauma as part of his training. During this time, he is given a ticket to the ballet, and feels an inexplicable pull to Katya/Katherine, a young dancer who is locked into trauma of her own. Eventually, their stories intersect, and they try to make sense of what they have each been through, are going through, and what it means for them moving forward. It was gripping, yet beautiful, yet painfully sad.
February 27, 2022
Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the chance to discover this story. Three Muses follows two characters with only one thing in common, music. Yet they couldn't have more different perspectives about it. The year is 1963 and each of them faces their past in New York. Katherine is a ballerina, the only life she knows is the stage. She works hard to make her dancing the most important thing in the world. She's been practicing since her mother's death when she was 10. Ad ever since she has had only time for practice and nothing else. John is a refuge from the war. As a jew in Germany, he had to live in a camp. Where he survives in the house of a general because of his singing voice. After the liberation when he learned that his family had been killed he could never sing again. He associates music with guilt, with sorrow, with pain. Yet when he by chance sees a ballet he falls in love with the performance of a ballerina.
As they move they force each other to see beyond themselves and face the past. A beautiful story about music, dance, and facing who you are. A tale filled with strong fillings.
As they move they force each other to see beyond themselves and face the past. A beautiful story about music, dance, and facing who you are. A tale filled with strong fillings.
February 22, 2022
Thank you to Regal House Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of Three Muses for reviewing! All opinions are my own.
'Three Muses' by Martha Anne Toll is a neat piece of historical fiction, that follows two main characters: Dr. John Curtin, formerly Janko, a man whose memories take him back to the time of the concentration camps in Germany, and how he was forced to sing to survive. Music evokes his worst memories. Katya Symanova is a flourishing ballerina, working under one of the best choreographers in the ballet world, and her one true love seems to be performance. This is the story of how the lives of a dancer and a man who is pained by music intersect, but also run parallel.
Firstly, I would like to commend the author for writing such compelling characters. A side character named Maya, of course, sarcastic and enthusiastic as she is, was my favourite through the book. Katya and John were also immensely complex, and all the others who revolved through the story made important contributions to it. This is a story driven greatly by its characters, and the author does a good job in reflecting that.
Martha Anne Toll's love and knowledge for dance really shines through the book. Katya's perspective is by far the most interesting, just because I have never come across such passion for ballet in writing. A dance form completely detached from my life, I found myself being intrigued by the way the choreography, the movements, and the settings were described.
The story is something that is really lovely and quite original, not quite romance, but also how can there be passion for dance with romance? It brings together worlds that I, as a reader, have not encountered together before this.
The part where the story really loses out for me is the writing. The beginning of the book is lackluster, and it takes quite a while to fall in step with the narration. Many parts are overwritten with description, and there are quite a few examples littered through the story of showing-not-telling, which I thought was slightly unfortunate, considering that it pulled you out of the memories of the characters. When words like "wending" or "plangent" were used, that don't normally show up in books, I had to take a moment to go look them up, but even then, they felt quite choppy in my head as I read to myself. Some examples of the "lay-everything-out" kind of sentences for me were:
1. "John felt calm, bathed in a pleasant sense of mystery." I don't know where the mystery came from, but the calm was already established by the setting.
2. "John was entranced." How did I know John was entranced? Not by this writing, but by every other action that he did before it being announced that he was entranced.
3. "He knew where his former neighbours were gone - they were murdered." It was already insinuated a bunch of times that the people in John's life were murdered. Spelling it out does nothing except for assuming that the reader hasn't kept up with everything before this.
4. "Katherine felt sad; the lesson was over." We know!
5. "The rice pudding tasted like warm milk and sugar." What... else does rice pudding taste like? This could've been a moment where there could've been a nicer metaphor, but we get to know that rice pudding, whose primary ingredients are milk and sweetener, taste like... well, milk and sugar.
This may seem a bit nitpicky, but it constantly took me out of the stream of thoughts that were otherwise so well laid out. The best part about the writing though, was that it progressively got better over the course of the book. I have little to no complaints about the middle section, and the epilogue was really something stunning, but if in the establishing section there are so many little distractions, it's a bit hard to keep your focus.
Three Muses is a novel with tons and tons of potential as a story, and I'm excited to see what the author comes up with next!
'Three Muses' by Martha Anne Toll is a neat piece of historical fiction, that follows two main characters: Dr. John Curtin, formerly Janko, a man whose memories take him back to the time of the concentration camps in Germany, and how he was forced to sing to survive. Music evokes his worst memories. Katya Symanova is a flourishing ballerina, working under one of the best choreographers in the ballet world, and her one true love seems to be performance. This is the story of how the lives of a dancer and a man who is pained by music intersect, but also run parallel.
Firstly, I would like to commend the author for writing such compelling characters. A side character named Maya, of course, sarcastic and enthusiastic as she is, was my favourite through the book. Katya and John were also immensely complex, and all the others who revolved through the story made important contributions to it. This is a story driven greatly by its characters, and the author does a good job in reflecting that.
Martha Anne Toll's love and knowledge for dance really shines through the book. Katya's perspective is by far the most interesting, just because I have never come across such passion for ballet in writing. A dance form completely detached from my life, I found myself being intrigued by the way the choreography, the movements, and the settings were described.
The story is something that is really lovely and quite original, not quite romance, but also how can there be passion for dance with romance? It brings together worlds that I, as a reader, have not encountered together before this.
The part where the story really loses out for me is the writing. The beginning of the book is lackluster, and it takes quite a while to fall in step with the narration. Many parts are overwritten with description, and there are quite a few examples littered through the story of showing-not-telling, which I thought was slightly unfortunate, considering that it pulled you out of the memories of the characters. When words like "wending" or "plangent" were used, that don't normally show up in books, I had to take a moment to go look them up, but even then, they felt quite choppy in my head as I read to myself. Some examples of the "lay-everything-out" kind of sentences for me were:
1. "John felt calm, bathed in a pleasant sense of mystery." I don't know where the mystery came from, but the calm was already established by the setting.
2. "John was entranced." How did I know John was entranced? Not by this writing, but by every other action that he did before it being announced that he was entranced.
3. "He knew where his former neighbours were gone - they were murdered." It was already insinuated a bunch of times that the people in John's life were murdered. Spelling it out does nothing except for assuming that the reader hasn't kept up with everything before this.
4. "Katherine felt sad; the lesson was over." We know!
5. "The rice pudding tasted like warm milk and sugar." What... else does rice pudding taste like? This could've been a moment where there could've been a nicer metaphor, but we get to know that rice pudding, whose primary ingredients are milk and sweetener, taste like... well, milk and sugar.
This may seem a bit nitpicky, but it constantly took me out of the stream of thoughts that were otherwise so well laid out. The best part about the writing though, was that it progressively got better over the course of the book. I have little to no complaints about the middle section, and the epilogue was really something stunning, but if in the establishing section there are so many little distractions, it's a bit hard to keep your focus.
Three Muses is a novel with tons and tons of potential as a story, and I'm excited to see what the author comes up with next!
April 13, 2022
An ARC was kindly provided to me by Netgalley.
I really wanted to love this book more and because of that I don't know if the problem was me or the book.
Based on the reviews at the start of the book, I believed I was in for something different within the genre of world war fiction, possibly along the lines of All the Light We Cannot See, but what I found was along the same lines as all the other fiction we have that has covered the same period and aftermath with the same cliches thrown into the dialogue and prose and I've just seen it too many times before that there's nothing new here.
The story revolves around two characters, one a Jewish boy who has been taken along with his mother and brother to a concentration/death camp and survives due to his ability to sing to those running the camp (his captors) and a young girl who loses her mother and finds ballet and changes her name to Katya and forms connection with a choreographer who is very much based on Balanchine (Mr B).
I thought we were getting something other than what we got and what we were getting was an insta love story, which is fine, but it wasn't really marketed as that. It was all a little cliched too, Katya, the ballerina, felt him in the audience before she'd even met him, I mean, really?
He falls in love with her whilst watching her on stage then waits for her at the stage door and he becomes obsessed with her. This is a little strange because it's not unlike a lot of people who DO feel as if they have fallen in love with performers after seeing their act and magic on stage, but somehow there is just a 'connection'. She accepts some flowers from him and that's it, she's obsessed with him too, she just knows it. The connection between them is tenuous at best.
And a lot of the things that happened were merely tools to force the connection between the two of them, for instance her father breaks his leg, which means they run into each other in the hospital, OK. Then when she goes back there intending to see John, she briefly thinks of her father just upstairs in traction, she asks if John is in, he is out for the week and she leaves the hospital without even seeing the poor father!
One very quick and cliched filled chat with Katya and John's demons of the holocaust are laid to rest and his peace made with everything, not the intensive therapy he’s been in. ‘Katya, not Dr Roth has returned Papa to John. She had led John to the edge of self-forgiveness and showed his profession to be worthy of papa.’ How? She asked him about his family and stated he was a child when it happened, it wasn’t any great revelation! And that’s just one example. There were depths that could have been explored here and the effects of PTSD, but they were left on the wayside and used merely as a device to thread the two characters together.
There were also a few bits I didn't like or understand even. The cast of characters are all white, then there's this line 'Several Black families were lined up to buy a meal before heading upstairs.' Why was their race relevant that it should be mentioned? Is it because there are no people of colour in the book? It just seemed redundant to throw in that they were black for no reason.
Also '"That was the first performance Mama didn't come to."' She didn't go to any, she was already dead before she took up ballet.
Sometimes the dialogue was all over the place, with them having a talk about one thing, throwing in a line about something randomly and then back to what they were talking about and I felt there was no real connection between the two of them.
I did enjoy the ballet part of the book, as an ex dancer and great ballet lover, it was on the whole well done.
I'm really sad to say this book wasn't for me, the premise seemed great and the cover is gorgeous, but I just found myself rolling my eyes far too much, I'm sorry to say.
I really wanted to love this book more and because of that I don't know if the problem was me or the book.
Based on the reviews at the start of the book, I believed I was in for something different within the genre of world war fiction, possibly along the lines of All the Light We Cannot See, but what I found was along the same lines as all the other fiction we have that has covered the same period and aftermath with the same cliches thrown into the dialogue and prose and I've just seen it too many times before that there's nothing new here.
The story revolves around two characters, one a Jewish boy who has been taken along with his mother and brother to a concentration/death camp and survives due to his ability to sing to those running the camp (his captors) and a young girl who loses her mother and finds ballet and changes her name to Katya and forms connection with a choreographer who is very much based on Balanchine (Mr B).
I thought we were getting something other than what we got and what we were getting was an insta love story, which is fine, but it wasn't really marketed as that. It was all a little cliched too, Katya, the ballerina, felt him in the audience before she'd even met him, I mean, really?
He falls in love with her whilst watching her on stage then waits for her at the stage door and he becomes obsessed with her. This is a little strange because it's not unlike a lot of people who DO feel as if they have fallen in love with performers after seeing their act and magic on stage, but somehow there is just a 'connection'. She accepts some flowers from him and that's it, she's obsessed with him too, she just knows it. The connection between them is tenuous at best.
And a lot of the things that happened were merely tools to force the connection between the two of them, for instance her father breaks his leg, which means they run into each other in the hospital, OK. Then when she goes back there intending to see John, she briefly thinks of her father just upstairs in traction, she asks if John is in, he is out for the week and she leaves the hospital without even seeing the poor father!
One very quick and cliched filled chat with Katya and John's demons of the holocaust are laid to rest and his peace made with everything, not the intensive therapy he’s been in. ‘Katya, not Dr Roth has returned Papa to John. She had led John to the edge of self-forgiveness and showed his profession to be worthy of papa.’ How? She asked him about his family and stated he was a child when it happened, it wasn’t any great revelation! And that’s just one example. There were depths that could have been explored here and the effects of PTSD, but they were left on the wayside and used merely as a device to thread the two characters together.
There were also a few bits I didn't like or understand even. The cast of characters are all white, then there's this line 'Several Black families were lined up to buy a meal before heading upstairs.' Why was their race relevant that it should be mentioned? Is it because there are no people of colour in the book? It just seemed redundant to throw in that they were black for no reason.
Also '"That was the first performance Mama didn't come to."' She didn't go to any, she was already dead before she took up ballet.
Sometimes the dialogue was all over the place, with them having a talk about one thing, throwing in a line about something randomly and then back to what they were talking about and I felt there was no real connection between the two of them.
I did enjoy the ballet part of the book, as an ex dancer and great ballet lover, it was on the whole well done.
I'm really sad to say this book wasn't for me, the premise seemed great and the cover is gorgeous, but I just found myself rolling my eyes far too much, I'm sorry to say.
September 24, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley & Regal House Publishing for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided.
Katya and John's stories dance throughout each other's timelines to create an incredibly unique narrative in Three Muses. Exploring horrific, soul-shattering grief from the kind of tragedy that feels impossible to survive and overcome, every concept, from dance to music to psychiatry, plays a role in teasing out their stories.
Katya's relationship with Mr Y is very difficult to overcome. It's worrying that, even though this is set primarily through the mid-'40s to mid-'60s, no one ever tries to address the obvious grooming. Though nothing happens until Katya is of age, their 'working' relationship is never appropriate. With the imbalance of power and Katya's hero worship, her vulnerability is easy to manipulate. Besides this, the rest of Three Muses is wonderful.
"A strange banker, he was, dealing in the peculiar coinage of patients' memories. There was both burden and benefit in managing that depository."
I enjoyed that the theme is repeated and replicated often, but with such a subtle touch that you have to be paying attention. Katya's artistry is tempered so well with John's science, their personal griefs may not be equal in magnitude, but they hold space for each other with respect and almost awe. My favourite part of their relationship is how much they appreciate their differences and are willing to learn from one another. There's something so precious about how they interact with each other, making their relationship feel light despite the depth it contains.
There are parts I love about Three Muses that can get lost or overshadowed. While the narrative lost its way a few times, there are some beautiful, thoughtful pearls here that make it well worth the read.
"John remembered his family; he would always remember them. He was the guardian of their memory. The agonizing past; the crowded, aching present; the vast uncertain proliferating future; the collapsing, imploding, chaotic spectrum of time unleashed by tragedy. Without John - son and brother, brother and son - his family were dust motes swirling in history's cyclone.
He would remember."
Review originally posted here on Britt's Book Blurbs.
Katya and John's stories dance throughout each other's timelines to create an incredibly unique narrative in Three Muses. Exploring horrific, soul-shattering grief from the kind of tragedy that feels impossible to survive and overcome, every concept, from dance to music to psychiatry, plays a role in teasing out their stories.
Katya's relationship with Mr Y is very difficult to overcome. It's worrying that, even though this is set primarily through the mid-'40s to mid-'60s, no one ever tries to address the obvious grooming. Though nothing happens until Katya is of age, their 'working' relationship is never appropriate. With the imbalance of power and Katya's hero worship, her vulnerability is easy to manipulate. Besides this, the rest of Three Muses is wonderful.
"A strange banker, he was, dealing in the peculiar coinage of patients' memories. There was both burden and benefit in managing that depository."
I enjoyed that the theme is repeated and replicated often, but with such a subtle touch that you have to be paying attention. Katya's artistry is tempered so well with John's science, their personal griefs may not be equal in magnitude, but they hold space for each other with respect and almost awe. My favourite part of their relationship is how much they appreciate their differences and are willing to learn from one another. There's something so precious about how they interact with each other, making their relationship feel light despite the depth it contains.
There are parts I love about Three Muses that can get lost or overshadowed. While the narrative lost its way a few times, there are some beautiful, thoughtful pearls here that make it well worth the read.
"John remembered his family; he would always remember them. He was the guardian of their memory. The agonizing past; the crowded, aching present; the vast uncertain proliferating future; the collapsing, imploding, chaotic spectrum of time unleashed by tragedy. Without John - son and brother, brother and son - his family were dust motes swirling in history's cyclone.
He would remember."
Review originally posted here on Britt's Book Blurbs.
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March 21, 2022
I could write an essay on this book and that makes me extremely happy.
Look, this book is a postmodern masterpiece. However, I think it is extremely mismarketed. This is not just a piece of historical fiction or a romance. Mind you, I’m not trying to degrade the romance genre. I’m just saying Three Muses should not be condensed into the (very amazing) romance between the main characters. Now, let me guide you through each beautiful aspect of this novel.
First off, the characters. Katya, John and even Yanakov. They are all so deep, three-dimensional that at some point, reading this, I was convinced this was nonfiction. All of them have struggles, their own distinct personalities. They are not detached from reality.
Talking about the characters, let us touch on the most perfect thing: the dual identities of each significant character. Katherine and Katya, J and John, Boris and Yanakov. John erased his initial identity himself, while Katya was stripped bare from it. John is running away from his old identity, while Katya is trying to find pieces of it in herself. But both of them, in their heads, switch back and forth in the most perfect times. Catching glimpses of Katya seeing herself as her young self and John’s disoriented wandering in his memories. In the same way, we see Yanakov’s dual identity in Katya’s perspective. Their distance, bond and profession all shape the name Katya refers to him with. And that brings us to the next point:
Character relationships and power dynamics. John’s contrasting family relationships with his adoptive and biological family. The contrasting dynamics between Katya and Yanakov vs Katherine and her father. The contrasting relationship of Katya and Yanakov vs Katya and John, especially where these two couples end up in the end.
THE PHILOSOPHY IN THIS BOOK. OH MY GOD. What shapes your identity? Can you run away from parts of your identity inherited from your parents, race, culture? Does changing your name erase your past life? Can you possess both identities at the same time, in peace? Love and career? Love or career? Types of love? Do you have to be together to love? WHAT IS LOVE?
The writing is so powerful. Simple in words, dense as fuck in meaning. Differences in the two main POVs like diction, use of according metaphors, syntax and thought process.
The symbolism! Music, dance, the rose petal, the muses, song. Oh god. so fucking gorgeous.
The allusions. The allusion to three muses arranged perfectly to fit the story’s plot and philosophy was just… wow. Allusions to songs from John’s cruel childhood.
At some point, ill add some favourite quotes from my huge list of screenshots with no page numbers. (thanks Netgalley for still not letting us highlight stuff.)
Look, this book is a postmodern masterpiece. However, I think it is extremely mismarketed. This is not just a piece of historical fiction or a romance. Mind you, I’m not trying to degrade the romance genre. I’m just saying Three Muses should not be condensed into the (very amazing) romance between the main characters. Now, let me guide you through each beautiful aspect of this novel.
First off, the characters. Katya, John and even Yanakov. They are all so deep, three-dimensional that at some point, reading this, I was convinced this was nonfiction. All of them have struggles, their own distinct personalities. They are not detached from reality.
Talking about the characters, let us touch on the most perfect thing: the dual identities of each significant character. Katherine and Katya, J and John, Boris and Yanakov. John erased his initial identity himself, while Katya was stripped bare from it. John is running away from his old identity, while Katya is trying to find pieces of it in herself. But both of them, in their heads, switch back and forth in the most perfect times. Catching glimpses of Katya seeing herself as her young self and John’s disoriented wandering in his memories. In the same way, we see Yanakov’s dual identity in Katya’s perspective. Their distance, bond and profession all shape the name Katya refers to him with. And that brings us to the next point:
Character relationships and power dynamics. John’s contrasting family relationships with his adoptive and biological family. The contrasting dynamics between Katya and Yanakov vs Katherine and her father. The contrasting relationship of Katya and Yanakov vs Katya and John, especially where these two couples end up in the end.
THE PHILOSOPHY IN THIS BOOK. OH MY GOD. What shapes your identity? Can you run away from parts of your identity inherited from your parents, race, culture? Does changing your name erase your past life? Can you possess both identities at the same time, in peace? Love and career? Love or career? Types of love? Do you have to be together to love? WHAT IS LOVE?
The writing is so powerful. Simple in words, dense as fuck in meaning. Differences in the two main POVs like diction, use of according metaphors, syntax and thought process.
The symbolism! Music, dance, the rose petal, the muses, song. Oh god. so fucking gorgeous.
The allusions. The allusion to three muses arranged perfectly to fit the story’s plot and philosophy was just… wow. Allusions to songs from John’s cruel childhood.
At some point, ill add some favourite quotes from my huge list of screenshots with no page numbers. (thanks Netgalley for still not letting us highlight stuff.)
February 25, 2022
Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review!
The biggest strength of this books is the beautiful writing, particularly how it described and really allowed you to picture Katya dancing on stage, but also the suffering the two protagonists, Katya, and John especially, experienced. The author does a great job fleshing out the characters, allowing us to get to know them and how they’ve come to be the people they are, so we can understand the decisions they make. Considering how long the book spans over, from the protagonists’ childhood to when they meet in their adulthood, it is very well paced. It is quite hard for a book to keep my attention (especially considering I’m diagnosed with ADHD), but the book managed to pack so much, not dwelling on anything for too long, but long enough for us to understand the impact and feel for the characters.
The ways at which the events of the Holocaust were explored through the lens of John, the only one to survive out of his family, and how he’s grappled with trying to move forward, dealing with his survivor’s guilt after having to “entertain the enemy” just to stay alive, and really learning to forgive himself. It introduced an interesting perspective. I do have gripes with John’s character though, I felt as if his personality was quite bland, and often gave of generic “nice guy” energy, paired along with some objectifying descriptions of women’s bodies (specifically Anna who he occasionally hooked up with) while also telling his friends that they should “treat women as people!”. Thankfully, these descriptions weren’t excessive, but it did happen quite early on in the book which put me off. Nonetheless, I did end up connected to his character, especially his relationship with Katya.
Katya’s storyline also introduced very potentially interesting subject matters and themes. She had looked up to and worked under Yankov since she was an impressionable child and he took advantage of it. It is very clear that she was groomed. How she struggles to define her relationship with him, and seeing her guilt for being with John when Boris “made” her, or how he could have loved her; it was all written perfectly. I had fully expected it to be addressed and explored, and to see Katya finally free herself from that abuse from this older man who was supposed to be her authority figure and find happiness. However, we never get to see that. While I know that many times, those who are groomed never get that closure, but I feel it was important to see it addressed. The most we see it framed as a negative thing by other characters was by her best friend Maya simply calling him a gross geezer and John being envious. That especially frustrated me that John was more concerned that she “cheated” when he also recognised that Yankov has had authority over her most her life and was clearly taking advantage of her. That is really what disappointed me with this book, more so since I actually really liked Katya as a protagonist and how she was characterised. I thought she was a very strong lead with clear ambitions, but also flaws.
I did feel adequately content with the ending, despite how bittersweet it was– I think it suited the tone of the book. Despite its flaws, I do think it is beautifully written and has so much to say.
The biggest strength of this books is the beautiful writing, particularly how it described and really allowed you to picture Katya dancing on stage, but also the suffering the two protagonists, Katya, and John especially, experienced. The author does a great job fleshing out the characters, allowing us to get to know them and how they’ve come to be the people they are, so we can understand the decisions they make. Considering how long the book spans over, from the protagonists’ childhood to when they meet in their adulthood, it is very well paced. It is quite hard for a book to keep my attention (especially considering I’m diagnosed with ADHD), but the book managed to pack so much, not dwelling on anything for too long, but long enough for us to understand the impact and feel for the characters.
The ways at which the events of the Holocaust were explored through the lens of John, the only one to survive out of his family, and how he’s grappled with trying to move forward, dealing with his survivor’s guilt after having to “entertain the enemy” just to stay alive, and really learning to forgive himself. It introduced an interesting perspective. I do have gripes with John’s character though, I felt as if his personality was quite bland, and often gave of generic “nice guy” energy, paired along with some objectifying descriptions of women’s bodies (specifically Anna who he occasionally hooked up with) while also telling his friends that they should “treat women as people!”. Thankfully, these descriptions weren’t excessive, but it did happen quite early on in the book which put me off. Nonetheless, I did end up connected to his character, especially his relationship with Katya.
Katya’s storyline also introduced very potentially interesting subject matters and themes. She had looked up to and worked under Yankov since she was an impressionable child and he took advantage of it. It is very clear that she was groomed. How she struggles to define her relationship with him, and seeing her guilt for being with John when Boris “made” her, or how he could have loved her; it was all written perfectly. I had fully expected it to be addressed and explored, and to see Katya finally free herself from that abuse from this older man who was supposed to be her authority figure and find happiness. However, we never get to see that. While I know that many times, those who are groomed never get that closure, but I feel it was important to see it addressed. The most we see it framed as a negative thing by other characters was by her best friend Maya simply calling him a gross geezer and John being envious. That especially frustrated me that John was more concerned that she “cheated” when he also recognised that Yankov has had authority over her most her life and was clearly taking advantage of her. That is really what disappointed me with this book, more so since I actually really liked Katya as a protagonist and how she was characterised. I thought she was a very strong lead with clear ambitions, but also flaws.
I did feel adequately content with the ending, despite how bittersweet it was– I think it suited the tone of the book. Despite its flaws, I do think it is beautifully written and has so much to say.
March 25, 2022
this was really gooood.
John and Katya, the main characters have something in common. Music. but the meaning of it for each of them is worlds apart. Katya thrives in music, it means life and happiness to her, but to John music is pain, sorrow and loss. Katya is an ballerina and all she knew her hole life was stage , dancing and practicing. since her mother has died she's been practicing and trying to be the best of the bests. but one night, after performing on one of the New York stages she receives a bouquet of white roses and she feels that's the only time someone has seen "her". it's John who has sent the flowers. as a survivor of the WWII and a jew, he's had his own share of devastating moment. moments that was woven with music. he's only survived the Holocaust because of his good voice and his beautiful way of singing. but when he was finally free and found out hid mother, father and brother have been killed, he refused to sing ever again.
Until he met Katya and her stunning way of dancing. until he felt a flicker of light in his heart.
during the story both John and Katya face their past and their memories.
very amazing. a beautiful and emotional read. defiantly recommend it .
this review will be published on NetGallery and Goodreads.
thanks to NetGallery for providing my copy.
John and Katya, the main characters have something in common. Music. but the meaning of it for each of them is worlds apart. Katya thrives in music, it means life and happiness to her, but to John music is pain, sorrow and loss. Katya is an ballerina and all she knew her hole life was stage , dancing and practicing. since her mother has died she's been practicing and trying to be the best of the bests. but one night, after performing on one of the New York stages she receives a bouquet of white roses and she feels that's the only time someone has seen "her". it's John who has sent the flowers. as a survivor of the WWII and a jew, he's had his own share of devastating moment. moments that was woven with music. he's only survived the Holocaust because of his good voice and his beautiful way of singing. but when he was finally free and found out hid mother, father and brother have been killed, he refused to sing ever again.
Until he met Katya and her stunning way of dancing. until he felt a flicker of light in his heart.
during the story both John and Katya face their past and their memories.
very amazing. a beautiful and emotional read. defiantly recommend it .
this review will be published on NetGallery and Goodreads.
thanks to NetGallery for providing my copy.
February 26, 2022
I still do not know what to say about this book, because honestly, nothing I say will do this book justice. It was beautifully written with a dual narrative that reads like poetry, it is so stunningly lyrical it is mind blowing, the story was emotive and the characters were well developed. I loved it and I will be thinking about it for a long time to come.
June 24, 2022
I really wanted to love this book, however this novel felt like 2 distinct stories that were brought together by very loose, unlikely threads. I did enjoy the ballet element of the novel but really it could have been 2 standalone books The book was nicely written and good characters. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.
November 7, 2022
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is now published m.
Stunning, simultaneously heartwrenching and heartwarming debut from Toll. Consider me perfervid for her next story.
What’s Going On?
John is a Holocaust survivor dedicated to becoming a psychiatrist. Katya is a prima ballerina dedicated to her art but entangled with her choreographer, who groomed her since childhood and now essentially controls her life purpose. She stars as ‘Discipline’ in the Company’s Paris production of Three Muses. In it, Song and Discipline are united until torn apart by Memory, crafting a story from the Greek mythology the muses originated from. John, on a conference in Paris, attends the ballet. Katya utterly bewitches John. The story goes on to show how their lives weave toward each other.
What Works?
• My ballerina soul is happy. The healing power of dance ... the beauty of someone understanding your art ... 🤍
• The ballerina in me also loves the ballets, obviously. They are unique and purposeful. Even though the author isn’t a dancer herself, she’s a dance appreciator and explains the movements succinctly yet not oversimplifying them — in such a way that I’m sure non-dancers can still craft the picture, so no worries!
• lovely lyrical writing
• you would think that since I cry a lot, I would cry while reading, but nope. Rarely. In this book though, I Almost Cried a record six times.
• I adore them both. I connected to and rooted for these characters. John’s depressed stream-of-consciousness regarding his trauma and the world (esp a post WWII one) is so well-done.
• Their. Relationship. I want to cry at the gentleness between them. Come on: “Maybe he did want to cry in front of her.” LOVE
Honestly, THE WAY HE LOVES HER IS HOW I WANT AND NEED TO BE LOVE. (Does that make me a primadonna? I don’t care. I already am) I debated putting an excerpt of their first kiss for an example, but it would be sacrilegious to put it out of context. Read it. The very picture of devotion.
• Even though it’s in the mid 20th century, the story is not woven with racist ideologies and attitudes. Of course racism exists, it’s not like the book is “color-blind,” but the book itself is not discriminatory. Thank you, Martha Anne Toll. She mentions in her author bio how committed she is to BIPOC social justice, and she delivers. (Could she have had more diversity? Definitely. BIPOC aren’t numerically represented here, but they are qualitatively. I’m sure (and hoping) she will feature more in her future works.)
Many authors don’t understand that just because it’s a period piece doesn’t mean you have to write it as if we’re in that time and perpetuate discriminatory practices. (Unless that’s the point of the book and they’re actively calling it out and deconstructing it.) Toll acknowledges black characters as black and writes them as humans. As people. Not caricatures. BIPOC don’t need to be portrayed negatively or in oppressed situations bc they are not their oppression. Portray them as if they’re real. Because we are.
• Three muses are interwoven throughout. Song. Discipline. Memory. They form central themes for the story.
• Discipline & Song, bound yet controlled by memory...healed through each other. To master Memory, they must reshape their relation to Memory.
• Another theme I love? NAMING. Their original names, Janko and Katherine, embody their traumatic, unaccessible past. John had the privilege of renaming himself, but Katya’s name was chosen for her. She grew into it, yes, but it can’t be ignored that it was imposed on her — and ultimately binds her. John’s frees him. Though their new names represent unequal positions, their original names go from curses to gifts for them as they exchange them with each other. It’s together they can name themselves...and name each other, which also further names themselves. Yup.
• Bonus content, for personal reasons:
“‘C’mon, Dad, you’re not old.’ He was younger than Mr. Yanakov.” LMAO GFKLDEL. Not to romanticize it but I ✨felt that✨
What Needs Work?
• A few consistency errors (ie: sitting but the next second standing in a scene)
• Character development was rough for Katherine at start. John and Katya have distinct voices, but at times it felt hers wasn’t developed enough. I’m content with how it ultimately turned out, though.
• My other ones involve slight spoilers and will be discussed in the second bullet point in the “Slight Spoiler Section” at the end.
Who Should Read This?
Historical fiction & romance lovers are great reader candidates for this one. Also, art (especially dance) lovers. Creative souls unite.
Slight Spoilers Section
• Why, oh, why, couldn’t they master Memory? :(
• The ending man. This isn’t even a criticism because I get it, I really do. It hurts a lot though, and maybe that’s when I rarely cry at books because when something that personally hits me like that I mask it with anger and rage. Anywho. I was going to rate it 4.5 and round it up to 5, but now it’s a 4 because that ending kicked me and had me crawling to comfort read scenes in Pride & Prejudice. In all honesty, it’s still a 4.5, just with a different feel. Authors don’t owe us happy endings :) and mad respect to Martha Anne Toll for not giving me one, when I thought it was guaranteed
• When I realized the hidden meaning, I gasped. I suppose it could be easy (but no less effective) to figure out, but I didn’t until it was revealed. Lol. Simple, yet everything.
Stunning, simultaneously heartwrenching and heartwarming debut from Toll. Consider me perfervid for her next story.
What’s Going On?
John is a Holocaust survivor dedicated to becoming a psychiatrist. Katya is a prima ballerina dedicated to her art but entangled with her choreographer, who groomed her since childhood and now essentially controls her life purpose. She stars as ‘Discipline’ in the Company’s Paris production of Three Muses. In it, Song and Discipline are united until torn apart by Memory, crafting a story from the Greek mythology the muses originated from. John, on a conference in Paris, attends the ballet. Katya utterly bewitches John. The story goes on to show how their lives weave toward each other.
What Works?
• My ballerina soul is happy. The healing power of dance ... the beauty of someone understanding your art ... 🤍
• The ballerina in me also loves the ballets, obviously. They are unique and purposeful. Even though the author isn’t a dancer herself, she’s a dance appreciator and explains the movements succinctly yet not oversimplifying them — in such a way that I’m sure non-dancers can still craft the picture, so no worries!
• lovely lyrical writing
• you would think that since I cry a lot, I would cry while reading, but nope. Rarely. In this book though, I Almost Cried a record six times.
• I adore them both. I connected to and rooted for these characters. John’s depressed stream-of-consciousness regarding his trauma and the world (esp a post WWII one) is so well-done.
• Their. Relationship. I want to cry at the gentleness between them. Come on: “Maybe he did want to cry in front of her.” LOVE
Honestly, THE WAY HE LOVES HER IS HOW I WANT AND NEED TO BE LOVE. (Does that make me a primadonna? I don’t care. I already am) I debated putting an excerpt of their first kiss for an example, but it would be sacrilegious to put it out of context. Read it. The very picture of devotion.
• Even though it’s in the mid 20th century, the story is not woven with racist ideologies and attitudes. Of course racism exists, it’s not like the book is “color-blind,” but the book itself is not discriminatory. Thank you, Martha Anne Toll. She mentions in her author bio how committed she is to BIPOC social justice, and she delivers. (Could she have had more diversity? Definitely. BIPOC aren’t numerically represented here, but they are qualitatively. I’m sure (and hoping) she will feature more in her future works.)
Many authors don’t understand that just because it’s a period piece doesn’t mean you have to write it as if we’re in that time and perpetuate discriminatory practices. (Unless that’s the point of the book and they’re actively calling it out and deconstructing it.) Toll acknowledges black characters as black and writes them as humans. As people. Not caricatures. BIPOC don’t need to be portrayed negatively or in oppressed situations bc they are not their oppression. Portray them as if they’re real. Because we are.
• Three muses are interwoven throughout. Song. Discipline. Memory. They form central themes for the story.
• Discipline & Song, bound yet controlled by memory...healed through each other. To master Memory, they must reshape their relation to Memory.
• Another theme I love? NAMING. Their original names, Janko and Katherine, embody their traumatic, unaccessible past. John had the privilege of renaming himself, but Katya’s name was chosen for her. She grew into it, yes, but it can’t be ignored that it was imposed on her — and ultimately binds her. John’s frees him. Though their new names represent unequal positions, their original names go from curses to gifts for them as they exchange them with each other. It’s together they can name themselves...and name each other, which also further names themselves. Yup.
• Bonus content, for personal reasons:
“‘C’mon, Dad, you’re not old.’ He was younger than Mr. Yanakov.” LMAO GFKLDEL. Not to romanticize it but I ✨felt that✨
What Needs Work?
• A few consistency errors (ie: sitting but the next second standing in a scene)
• Character development was rough for Katherine at start. John and Katya have distinct voices, but at times it felt hers wasn’t developed enough. I’m content with how it ultimately turned out, though.
• My other ones involve slight spoilers and will be discussed in the second bullet point in the “Slight Spoiler Section” at the end.
Who Should Read This?
Historical fiction & romance lovers are great reader candidates for this one. Also, art (especially dance) lovers. Creative souls unite.
Slight Spoilers Section
• Why, oh, why, couldn’t they master Memory? :(
• The ending man. This isn’t even a criticism because I get it, I really do. It hurts a lot though, and maybe that’s when I rarely cry at books because when something that personally hits me like that I mask it with anger and rage. Anywho. I was going to rate it 4.5 and round it up to 5, but now it’s a 4 because that ending kicked me and had me crawling to comfort read scenes in Pride & Prejudice. In all honesty, it’s still a 4.5, just with a different feel. Authors don’t owe us happy endings :) and mad respect to Martha Anne Toll for not giving me one, when I thought it was guaranteed
• When I realized the hidden meaning, I gasped. I suppose it could be easy (but no less effective) to figure out, but I didn’t until it was revealed. Lol. Simple, yet everything.
July 9, 2022
This is a beautiful, bittersweet, touching romance in which love conquers all.
It’s a piece of historical fiction that juxtaposes the brutality and misery of the WWII holocaust with new beginnings in New York, from which, over a few decades and much hard work on the part of a young ballerina, springs liberty, hope, success, and intense mutual love and affection.
Thoroughly recommended!
My thanks to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It’s a piece of historical fiction that juxtaposes the brutality and misery of the WWII holocaust with new beginnings in New York, from which, over a few decades and much hard work on the part of a young ballerina, springs liberty, hope, success, and intense mutual love and affection.
Thoroughly recommended!
My thanks to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 28, 2022
**content warning: grooming**
This beautifully written novel tells the stories of Katya and John as they meet and fall in love. Katya, originally named Katherine, is a ballerina, she is also the muse and lover of her choreographer, who has groomed her from a young age. John, originally named Janko, is a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the USA when he was young.
By far, the novel's greatest strength is the writing style. It is rich and engaging, hooking readers from the very beginning. It is also well researched, without bogging readers down with technical terms. Martha Anne Toll is very knowledgeable about dance and history and it shows.
However, I found in this book a flaw that many debut novels have. That is, the author has many ideas, plenty of themes they want to explore and a lot to say, but not all of it fits well in one book. I found this was the case with each of our protagonist's stories : each would have been a good stand alone story. Combining them made them feel somewhat incomplete.
That said, I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction about art and post-war USA,
Thank you NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This beautifully written novel tells the stories of Katya and John as they meet and fall in love. Katya, originally named Katherine, is a ballerina, she is also the muse and lover of her choreographer, who has groomed her from a young age. John, originally named Janko, is a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the USA when he was young.
By far, the novel's greatest strength is the writing style. It is rich and engaging, hooking readers from the very beginning. It is also well researched, without bogging readers down with technical terms. Martha Anne Toll is very knowledgeable about dance and history and it shows.
However, I found in this book a flaw that many debut novels have. That is, the author has many ideas, plenty of themes they want to explore and a lot to say, but not all of it fits well in one book. I found this was the case with each of our protagonist's stories : each would have been a good stand alone story. Combining them made them feel somewhat incomplete.
That said, I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction about art and post-war USA,
Thank you NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 27, 2022
I think I had too high expectations for this book. It just didn’t captivate me the way I had hoped. I wanted the characters fleshed out more. We never do find out the backstory of Boris. Ending was too quickly wrapped up. I wasn’t moved by the story of the holocaust or the love story.
February 22, 2022
Do not miss this novel! It is beautiful orchestrated using the elements of the Three Muses. A great read.
July 9, 2022
“World War II has come and gone, and John Curtin is still grappling with his guilt over singing for the Nazi kommandant who murdered his family. He wants to set up his own psychiatry practice but can’t keep his own demons at bay, haunted by his past and a fear of music.
After the sudden loss of her mother, Katya Symanova found solace in dance lessons and worked her way into the New York State Ballet. Blinded by infatuation, she finds herself in a toxic relationship with her mentor, choreographer Boris Yanakov, who must be in control at all times.
On a trip to Paris, John receives a ticket to a brand new ballet called Three Muses, and the featured ballerina Katya enraptures him. After a brief meeting at the stage door, they cross paths again back home in New York City and immediately connect over the childhood trauma they’ve both experienced. As they open up to one another, they establish a trust that neither have experienced before. Their relationship is rapidly progressing, but, perhaps, too good to be true because Katya has a secret that could derail the budding romance. Are they destined to last or just two ships passing in the night?”
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Regal House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
The prologue introduces readers to psychiatry resident John Curtin and ballerina Katya Symanova, and we see their first meeting in Paris in 1963. The following chapters go back in time to flesh out their respective childhood trauma and young adulthood struggles, starting with eleven-year-old Janko Stein in a concentration camp and seven-year-old Katherine Sillman mourning the sudden loss of her mother. When the first few pages felt longer than they actually were, I was prepared to struggle through forty-two chapters at a snail’s pace. To my surprise, I flew through the first half in less than two days. I like the parallels between the struggles John and Katya experienced such as grief, growing up, and dating. The insights into life as a ballerina had me geeking out as a former dancer, and despite the jarring Holocaust imagery, the pieces of Jewish culture felt like a warm, familiar hug.
The characters and character development are intriguing, but Katya’s decision-making infuriated me. Her relationship with Boris is a blindspot on purpose so I’m trying to let it go. Just know, I have many thought and many feelings. The writing is fine, but some of the transitions from scene to scene are so abrupt that it took me a moment to recalibrate as I was reading. The romance is what truly derails the story. Both John and Katya desired an emotional connection coming into their relationship, but they only connect up to a certain point. The dialogue and interactions are awkward, and beyond understanding one another over shared grief, there’s no chemistry.
The ending being what it is, my indifference towards the romance is unfortunate because it detracted from the underlying message. I understand what happened and why, but I’m not on board with the vehicle that got us there. Though John and Katya help each other find some peace, it still feels like a puzzle piece is misplaced. I can appreciate authors who take the road less traveled, but confusion is not a good feeling as a reader, especially at the end of a book that deals with such heavy subject matter. If something flew over my head, I accept that; perhaps I’m not compatible with Martha Anne Toll’s writing. The redeeming qualities earned a three-star rating, but I consider “Three Muses” a low three stars and something I don’t envision myself picking up again. I think it lacks re-readability, but it’s not a long read so give it a chance if a historical fiction romance set in post-WWII New York City with a heavy sprinkling of ballet piques your interest. Maybe you’ll glean more from it than I did.
*NOTE: The expected publication date is September 20th, 2022.
•
Content Breakdown:
*Disclaimer: I read an uncorrected ARC so certain things might be different in the final copy.
*Disclaimer 2: This section of my review is thorough and might contain SPOILERS.
Abandonment Issues: John’s mother told a Nazi soldier he could sing & begged for him to be taken somewhere where he could entertain. He didn’t understand why his mother pushed him away to be alone in the care of Nazis while she stayed with his little brother Max.
Katya didn’t find out about her mother’s alcoholism until she was older. She struggled with the revelation because it felt like her mother left on purpose, choosing alcohol over family which ultimately got her killed.
Abuse & Grooming: As a choreographer and teacher, Boris Yanakov is more hands-on than necessary, touching his dancers as much as he sees fit. While molding Katya into a prima ballerina, he touched her in inappropriate places under the guise of class corrections while she was a minor. She developed a girlhood crush and dreamed about his touch, wanting him to desire her despite an age gap of 20+ years. As an adult, she entered into a relationship with Boris, adapting to his sexually-charged creative process even though it made him behave in a frenzied manner at work and behind closed doors. He is self-centered & controlling, showing very little consideration for Katya’s feelings; he also has a reputation for sleeping with numerous women wherever he travels. He never gets violent, but there are times when he physically hurts Katya.
Example 1: When Boris wanted to leave a conversation, he squeezed Katya’s arm hard enough to make her wince despite her asking him to leave her be for a moment or two (“New York” chapter 16).
Example 2: When they slept together for the first time, Katya was a virgin, & Boris was not sensitive to that, leaving her in quite a bit of pain. She excused herself to cry in the bathroom (“Feast and Famine” chapter 13).
Alcohol & Smoking: Alcoholism, Bloody Marys, Bourbon, Cigarettes, Cigars, Drinking, Intoxication, Jack Daniels, Liquor, Smoking, Whiskey, Whiskey Sours, & Wine
Katya’s mother was an alcoholic and died while drunk. Katya tells John that she feels abandoned by her mother, and he reveals that recent science classified alcoholism as an illness, implying that her mother was sick & had little to no control over her actions.
Blood, Death, & Violence: John’s life story is told in detail throughout the book, describing his experience as a German Jew before, during, and after the Holocaust. There are mentions of Jews who died inside gas chambers, trains, & trucks as well as descriptions of dead bodies. John’s father was shot for violating curfew, & while John was the personal prisoner of a Nazi kommandant, his mother & brother Max died inside a gas chamber. When the concentration camp was seized by the Allies, John saw the remaining prisoners, all of them bald, emaciated, and disoriented.
Drunk and desperate for more alcohol, Katya’s mother was hit by a truck while crossing the street, dying instantly.
Katya falls during a performance and bleeds through her tights.
There is one mention of John attending his anatomy class and discussing the cadavers with classmates, one of which is a thirty-year-old woman who died of cancer. He describes her outer appearance and observes that her uterus shows signs of birth, meaning she left behind a child.
Brief mention of knife fights in Katya’s neighborhood
Brief mention of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination
Bullying & Insensitivty: After her mother’s death, a classmate tells Katherine she’s only being favored by Mrs. Slattery because “your mom croaked.”
Selma’s niece Rachel is described as a “short, big-breasted girl” which could be interpreted as a reference to weight or having a mature body at a young age.
When Rachel says she wants to be a teacher, Moe remarks “Nice profession for a woman.”
While learning the English language, John endured jokes about his accent and mistakes as a non-native speaker.
Maya doesn’t revere Boris Yanakov the way Katya does, calling him a variety of names such as “dictator” & “winter warhorse.” He isn’t a good man by a long shot, but these particular names coud be interpreted as culturally insensitive toward a person of Russian heritage.
Cheating: PLOT SPOILER - When Boris Yanakov & John Curtin meet, they realize that Katya has been in a relationship with both of them simultaneously.
Foster Parents: As a young teen rescued from a concentration camp with nowhere to live, John is taken in by Barney and Selma Katz, a Jewish American family.
Gossip: Before she knew the whole story about her mother’s struggles with alcohol which led to her death, Katherine heard people at church talking about it.
Language: D*mn, G*odd*mn, H*ll, & J*sus
Loss: Barney and Selma’s son Buddy died fighting in Sicily during World War II. John’s parents and brother were killed during the Holocaust, leaving him on his own at the age of eleven. Katya’s mother died when she was seven, leaving her to be raised by a single father. Selma & John lose Barney to a sudden stroke; the gravesite service takes place in “Veiled Road” chapter 2.
Prejudice: Brief mention of a British choreographer who was thrown out of London for being homosexual
Psychiatry: I don’t have the knowledge or experience to critique how this subject was handled so I’ll just lay out what I observed:
The term “headshrinker” is used quite a few times, including by John’s college classmates in jest.
John refers to his residency patients as “New York’s refuse pile given over to his care.” A few of them are described: Elton Miller is obsessed with the Catholic church & expects the Pope to call him. Former choir director Candida Jackson thinks she’s a singer at the Metropolitan Opera House, constantly talking about her fellow performers who don’t exist & needing to keep time to music that isn’t playing; these detailed fantasies give her headaches. There’s no description of Louisa Matthew’s condition, but after an episode of running down the halls & screaming, she’s restrained by two men while a nurse sedates her; John calls her “a living cadaver, all sinew & bone” & mentions that she has no family.
John’s training psychiatrist Dr. Roth leads him through sessions going over his childhood during the Holocaust. The process is grueling, & John thinks a dentist’s drill would be preferable. The doctor remains professionally emotionless & uses “we” as though he’s also reliving the horrific memories, irking John enough to want to quit several times. John refers to his younger self in third person & tries to show no emotion. Because he was forced to sing for a Nazi kommandant, he has an aversion to music. It’s never stated that he has PTSD, but I would assume he does, music being a major trigger. Eventually Dr. Roth pushes him to “face the music” & sing which is an extremely emotional experience. When their sessions come to an end, John knows he’s made progress, but he credits his relationship with Katya, not the doctor.
Racism & Segregation: John was rescued from the concentration camp by Black soldiers, but on the ship to America, he observes that the mess staff is Black, and the sailors are white. He later mentions that Americans refer to Black people as “n*gro*s.”
Rape: As a live-in prisoner of a Nazi kommandant, John saw female prisoners from the concentration camp enter the house and heard noises after they went upstairs with the soldiers, implying those women were being raped.
Religion: John’s biological and foster parents are Jewish so there are descriptions of Jewish holidays and the corresponding traditions.
Katherine’s mother was Catholic and attended Sunday mass, but she questioned some of Father Paul’s sermons. After her mother’s death, Katherine questioned why Jesus let such a tragedy happen. Her single father continued to take her to mass on Sundays in a small parish church. As an adult, she visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral for some peace & time to reflect.
While telling Katya about his journey to America & being taken in by a loving family, John says “It was as if the gods were looking after me.”
When John opens up to Katya about feeling like he failed his late mother, she says “I wish I could provide absolution like a priest. Jewish don’t do that, do they?” In the Catholic church, “absolution” is a formal release from guilt (obligation or punishment as well).
Sensual/Sexual: In the “Paris” prologue, John daydreams about his coworker Ann, imagining her naked body from head to toe. He observes her physical assets & mentions his attraction a few other times in the book.
After his horrific experience inside a concentration camp, John tried to replace his bad memories with good ones, imagining himself back at school mischieviously trying to look up girls’ skirts.
As a college student, John notices the way classmates and women on the train fill out their clothing, but he doesn’t know how to handle this attraction, too shy to approach one of them and broach the subject of dating. He frequently describes physical assets (breasts, legs, etc.)
After so many years under Boris’ influence, Katya considers her style & movements as a dancer as “sexual” in nature.
During a date, John feels Katya pressing her leg against his.
There are three kisses: “New York” chapters 9, 10, & 11.
There are four sex scenes: “Paris” prologue, “Feast and Famine” chapters 12 & 13, & “New York” chapter 11
There are four more brief sexual moments: “New York” chapters 2, 5, 7, & 12
Suicide: There is a brief mention of Jews who jumped out of windows when Nazis took over.
After the sudden loss of her mother, Katya Symanova found solace in dance lessons and worked her way into the New York State Ballet. Blinded by infatuation, she finds herself in a toxic relationship with her mentor, choreographer Boris Yanakov, who must be in control at all times.
On a trip to Paris, John receives a ticket to a brand new ballet called Three Muses, and the featured ballerina Katya enraptures him. After a brief meeting at the stage door, they cross paths again back home in New York City and immediately connect over the childhood trauma they’ve both experienced. As they open up to one another, they establish a trust that neither have experienced before. Their relationship is rapidly progressing, but, perhaps, too good to be true because Katya has a secret that could derail the budding romance. Are they destined to last or just two ships passing in the night?”
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Regal House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
The prologue introduces readers to psychiatry resident John Curtin and ballerina Katya Symanova, and we see their first meeting in Paris in 1963. The following chapters go back in time to flesh out their respective childhood trauma and young adulthood struggles, starting with eleven-year-old Janko Stein in a concentration camp and seven-year-old Katherine Sillman mourning the sudden loss of her mother. When the first few pages felt longer than they actually were, I was prepared to struggle through forty-two chapters at a snail’s pace. To my surprise, I flew through the first half in less than two days. I like the parallels between the struggles John and Katya experienced such as grief, growing up, and dating. The insights into life as a ballerina had me geeking out as a former dancer, and despite the jarring Holocaust imagery, the pieces of Jewish culture felt like a warm, familiar hug.
The characters and character development are intriguing, but Katya’s decision-making infuriated me. Her relationship with Boris is a blindspot on purpose so I’m trying to let it go. Just know, I have many thought and many feelings. The writing is fine, but some of the transitions from scene to scene are so abrupt that it took me a moment to recalibrate as I was reading. The romance is what truly derails the story. Both John and Katya desired an emotional connection coming into their relationship, but they only connect up to a certain point. The dialogue and interactions are awkward, and beyond understanding one another over shared grief, there’s no chemistry.
The ending being what it is, my indifference towards the romance is unfortunate because it detracted from the underlying message. I understand what happened and why, but I’m not on board with the vehicle that got us there. Though John and Katya help each other find some peace, it still feels like a puzzle piece is misplaced. I can appreciate authors who take the road less traveled, but confusion is not a good feeling as a reader, especially at the end of a book that deals with such heavy subject matter. If something flew over my head, I accept that; perhaps I’m not compatible with Martha Anne Toll’s writing. The redeeming qualities earned a three-star rating, but I consider “Three Muses” a low three stars and something I don’t envision myself picking up again. I think it lacks re-readability, but it’s not a long read so give it a chance if a historical fiction romance set in post-WWII New York City with a heavy sprinkling of ballet piques your interest. Maybe you’ll glean more from it than I did.
*NOTE: The expected publication date is September 20th, 2022.
•
Content Breakdown:
*Disclaimer: I read an uncorrected ARC so certain things might be different in the final copy.
*Disclaimer 2: This section of my review is thorough and might contain SPOILERS.
Abandonment Issues: John’s mother told a Nazi soldier he could sing & begged for him to be taken somewhere where he could entertain. He didn’t understand why his mother pushed him away to be alone in the care of Nazis while she stayed with his little brother Max.
Katya didn’t find out about her mother’s alcoholism until she was older. She struggled with the revelation because it felt like her mother left on purpose, choosing alcohol over family which ultimately got her killed.
Abuse & Grooming: As a choreographer and teacher, Boris Yanakov is more hands-on than necessary, touching his dancers as much as he sees fit. While molding Katya into a prima ballerina, he touched her in inappropriate places under the guise of class corrections while she was a minor. She developed a girlhood crush and dreamed about his touch, wanting him to desire her despite an age gap of 20+ years. As an adult, she entered into a relationship with Boris, adapting to his sexually-charged creative process even though it made him behave in a frenzied manner at work and behind closed doors. He is self-centered & controlling, showing very little consideration for Katya’s feelings; he also has a reputation for sleeping with numerous women wherever he travels. He never gets violent, but there are times when he physically hurts Katya.
Example 1: When Boris wanted to leave a conversation, he squeezed Katya’s arm hard enough to make her wince despite her asking him to leave her be for a moment or two (“New York” chapter 16).
Example 2: When they slept together for the first time, Katya was a virgin, & Boris was not sensitive to that, leaving her in quite a bit of pain. She excused herself to cry in the bathroom (“Feast and Famine” chapter 13).
Alcohol & Smoking: Alcoholism, Bloody Marys, Bourbon, Cigarettes, Cigars, Drinking, Intoxication, Jack Daniels, Liquor, Smoking, Whiskey, Whiskey Sours, & Wine
Katya’s mother was an alcoholic and died while drunk. Katya tells John that she feels abandoned by her mother, and he reveals that recent science classified alcoholism as an illness, implying that her mother was sick & had little to no control over her actions.
Blood, Death, & Violence: John’s life story is told in detail throughout the book, describing his experience as a German Jew before, during, and after the Holocaust. There are mentions of Jews who died inside gas chambers, trains, & trucks as well as descriptions of dead bodies. John’s father was shot for violating curfew, & while John was the personal prisoner of a Nazi kommandant, his mother & brother Max died inside a gas chamber. When the concentration camp was seized by the Allies, John saw the remaining prisoners, all of them bald, emaciated, and disoriented.
Drunk and desperate for more alcohol, Katya’s mother was hit by a truck while crossing the street, dying instantly.
Katya falls during a performance and bleeds through her tights.
There is one mention of John attending his anatomy class and discussing the cadavers with classmates, one of which is a thirty-year-old woman who died of cancer. He describes her outer appearance and observes that her uterus shows signs of birth, meaning she left behind a child.
Brief mention of knife fights in Katya’s neighborhood
Brief mention of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination
Bullying & Insensitivty: After her mother’s death, a classmate tells Katherine she’s only being favored by Mrs. Slattery because “your mom croaked.”
Selma’s niece Rachel is described as a “short, big-breasted girl” which could be interpreted as a reference to weight or having a mature body at a young age.
When Rachel says she wants to be a teacher, Moe remarks “Nice profession for a woman.”
While learning the English language, John endured jokes about his accent and mistakes as a non-native speaker.
Maya doesn’t revere Boris Yanakov the way Katya does, calling him a variety of names such as “dictator” & “winter warhorse.” He isn’t a good man by a long shot, but these particular names coud be interpreted as culturally insensitive toward a person of Russian heritage.
Cheating: PLOT SPOILER - When Boris Yanakov & John Curtin meet, they realize that Katya has been in a relationship with both of them simultaneously.
Foster Parents: As a young teen rescued from a concentration camp with nowhere to live, John is taken in by Barney and Selma Katz, a Jewish American family.
Gossip: Before she knew the whole story about her mother’s struggles with alcohol which led to her death, Katherine heard people at church talking about it.
Language: D*mn, G*odd*mn, H*ll, & J*sus
Loss: Barney and Selma’s son Buddy died fighting in Sicily during World War II. John’s parents and brother were killed during the Holocaust, leaving him on his own at the age of eleven. Katya’s mother died when she was seven, leaving her to be raised by a single father. Selma & John lose Barney to a sudden stroke; the gravesite service takes place in “Veiled Road” chapter 2.
Prejudice: Brief mention of a British choreographer who was thrown out of London for being homosexual
Psychiatry: I don’t have the knowledge or experience to critique how this subject was handled so I’ll just lay out what I observed:
The term “headshrinker” is used quite a few times, including by John’s college classmates in jest.
John refers to his residency patients as “New York’s refuse pile given over to his care.” A few of them are described: Elton Miller is obsessed with the Catholic church & expects the Pope to call him. Former choir director Candida Jackson thinks she’s a singer at the Metropolitan Opera House, constantly talking about her fellow performers who don’t exist & needing to keep time to music that isn’t playing; these detailed fantasies give her headaches. There’s no description of Louisa Matthew’s condition, but after an episode of running down the halls & screaming, she’s restrained by two men while a nurse sedates her; John calls her “a living cadaver, all sinew & bone” & mentions that she has no family.
John’s training psychiatrist Dr. Roth leads him through sessions going over his childhood during the Holocaust. The process is grueling, & John thinks a dentist’s drill would be preferable. The doctor remains professionally emotionless & uses “we” as though he’s also reliving the horrific memories, irking John enough to want to quit several times. John refers to his younger self in third person & tries to show no emotion. Because he was forced to sing for a Nazi kommandant, he has an aversion to music. It’s never stated that he has PTSD, but I would assume he does, music being a major trigger. Eventually Dr. Roth pushes him to “face the music” & sing which is an extremely emotional experience. When their sessions come to an end, John knows he’s made progress, but he credits his relationship with Katya, not the doctor.
Racism & Segregation: John was rescued from the concentration camp by Black soldiers, but on the ship to America, he observes that the mess staff is Black, and the sailors are white. He later mentions that Americans refer to Black people as “n*gro*s.”
Rape: As a live-in prisoner of a Nazi kommandant, John saw female prisoners from the concentration camp enter the house and heard noises after they went upstairs with the soldiers, implying those women were being raped.
Religion: John’s biological and foster parents are Jewish so there are descriptions of Jewish holidays and the corresponding traditions.
Katherine’s mother was Catholic and attended Sunday mass, but she questioned some of Father Paul’s sermons. After her mother’s death, Katherine questioned why Jesus let such a tragedy happen. Her single father continued to take her to mass on Sundays in a small parish church. As an adult, she visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral for some peace & time to reflect.
While telling Katya about his journey to America & being taken in by a loving family, John says “It was as if the gods were looking after me.”
When John opens up to Katya about feeling like he failed his late mother, she says “I wish I could provide absolution like a priest. Jewish don’t do that, do they?” In the Catholic church, “absolution” is a formal release from guilt (obligation or punishment as well).
Sensual/Sexual: In the “Paris” prologue, John daydreams about his coworker Ann, imagining her naked body from head to toe. He observes her physical assets & mentions his attraction a few other times in the book.
After his horrific experience inside a concentration camp, John tried to replace his bad memories with good ones, imagining himself back at school mischieviously trying to look up girls’ skirts.
As a college student, John notices the way classmates and women on the train fill out their clothing, but he doesn’t know how to handle this attraction, too shy to approach one of them and broach the subject of dating. He frequently describes physical assets (breasts, legs, etc.)
After so many years under Boris’ influence, Katya considers her style & movements as a dancer as “sexual” in nature.
During a date, John feels Katya pressing her leg against his.
There are three kisses: “New York” chapters 9, 10, & 11.
There are four sex scenes: “Paris” prologue, “Feast and Famine” chapters 12 & 13, & “New York” chapter 11
There are four more brief sexual moments: “New York” chapters 2, 5, 7, & 12
Suicide: There is a brief mention of Jews who jumped out of windows when Nazis took over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2025
a bit boring
December 25, 2022
Pretty good but I was sad that they didn’t end up together in the end :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2022
A short, yet difficult book about surviving the holocaust and being a successful ballerina. We start with the characters as they are quite young, we learn of their difficulties in life and how they adjusted to live in spite of these difficulties/tragedies in their lives. The ending is quite abrupt. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
August 9, 2022
Thanks NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this story.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about a Holocaust survivor and a ballerina who work through their loss, grief and trauma and help each other heal.
I loved the main characters and their family members.
Although the story kept me engaged all the way through, I did like the first half of the book (the individual stories/backgrounds, especially John's) better than the second half. That Mainz was an important geographical place in the story surprised me, as I've just visited the city last month. It might have helped me paint the picture even more vividly.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about a Holocaust survivor and a ballerina who work through their loss, grief and trauma and help each other heal.
I loved the main characters and their family members.
Although the story kept me engaged all the way through, I did like the first half of the book (the individual stories/backgrounds, especially John's) better than the second half. That Mainz was an important geographical place in the story surprised me, as I've just visited the city last month. It might have helped me paint the picture even more vividly.
February 28, 2022
Book 33 of 2022 — Three Muses by Martha Anne Toll
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. It has a publish date of September 20, 2022. I chose the book based solely on the cover which has a ballet dancer. I love stories about the ballet and have read many, both fiction and nonfiction. As an opera singer and a terrible dancer myself, I love seeing the backstage parts of something I have little to no first-hand experience with!
“I love the behind-the-scenes view of the ballet.”
This book centers around Janko, a young Jewish boy and his growth following World War II and Katherine, a young American girl who becomes a ballet dancer. Janko becomes “John” when he emigrates to America and Katherine becomes Katya as she becomes a solo dancer. Katya’s relationship with her choreographer is strongly reminiscent of Victoria Page and Boris Lermontov from the 1948 film “The Red Shoes”.
Upon starting this book, I felt it was more a history and less a fictional story. It isn’t until about 60% of the way in that the reader sees the connection between the two main characters.
There are lots of ballet terms throughout, as there should be for realism in the dance world. If you are unfamiliar with these terms, YouTube and Google will be your best friend. This will help to paint the picture of the rigors of ballet training at the highest level.
I finished this book in a single day after I got to the halfway mark. The growth of the two characters is absolutely riveting. Watching John face his past and start to grieve is both heartbreaking and liberating. I felt it even more deeply due to the continued Ukrainian conflict.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of historical fiction, dance, and a deeply involved love story between two polar opposites who find themselves magically in each other’s orbit. Brava to Ms. Toll for a magnum opus. The afterword describes the years of work and research that went into writing this book and boy, does it show!
5⭐️/5
#ThreeMuses #NetGalley
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. It has a publish date of September 20, 2022. I chose the book based solely on the cover which has a ballet dancer. I love stories about the ballet and have read many, both fiction and nonfiction. As an opera singer and a terrible dancer myself, I love seeing the backstage parts of something I have little to no first-hand experience with!
“I love the behind-the-scenes view of the ballet.”
This book centers around Janko, a young Jewish boy and his growth following World War II and Katherine, a young American girl who becomes a ballet dancer. Janko becomes “John” when he emigrates to America and Katherine becomes Katya as she becomes a solo dancer. Katya’s relationship with her choreographer is strongly reminiscent of Victoria Page and Boris Lermontov from the 1948 film “The Red Shoes”.
Upon starting this book, I felt it was more a history and less a fictional story. It isn’t until about 60% of the way in that the reader sees the connection between the two main characters.
There are lots of ballet terms throughout, as there should be for realism in the dance world. If you are unfamiliar with these terms, YouTube and Google will be your best friend. This will help to paint the picture of the rigors of ballet training at the highest level.
I finished this book in a single day after I got to the halfway mark. The growth of the two characters is absolutely riveting. Watching John face his past and start to grieve is both heartbreaking and liberating. I felt it even more deeply due to the continued Ukrainian conflict.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of historical fiction, dance, and a deeply involved love story between two polar opposites who find themselves magically in each other’s orbit. Brava to Ms. Toll for a magnum opus. The afterword describes the years of work and research that went into writing this book and boy, does it show!
5⭐️/5
#ThreeMuses #NetGalley
April 8, 2023
It was all right I guess, but nothing more than that. The time jumps that go on for almost half of the book were way too unasked for, I could not follow one story for more than a few pages until suddenly the place and time changed again.
The story might have had an interesting foundation and set up, but all in all, I think some important things were just missing, like you knew there was more to a scene but could not pinpoint it clearly.
Also, maybe it’s just me, but it all felt like I was reading a movie. How scenes and movements are described and depicted was just too bold and unspecific and therefore too confusing and in all honesty, even if I don’t know anything about a topic, if it is written with passion and it has a great depiction/explanation so anyone can understand, I can enjoy any type of book. Don’t get me wrong, I think the story, characters and places sure must’ve looked gorgeous and majestic in the author’s imagination, but I just think it wasn’t brought to paper the way it should have so everyone can enjoy that art.
I really wished this was a movie, maybe then it could be appreciated more, because it really has potential in my opinion.
The story might have had an interesting foundation and set up, but all in all, I think some important things were just missing, like you knew there was more to a scene but could not pinpoint it clearly.
Also, maybe it’s just me, but it all felt like I was reading a movie. How scenes and movements are described and depicted was just too bold and unspecific and therefore too confusing and in all honesty, even if I don’t know anything about a topic, if it is written with passion and it has a great depiction/explanation so anyone can understand, I can enjoy any type of book. Don’t get me wrong, I think the story, characters and places sure must’ve looked gorgeous and majestic in the author’s imagination, but I just think it wasn’t brought to paper the way it should have so everyone can enjoy that art.
I really wished this was a movie, maybe then it could be appreciated more, because it really has potential in my opinion.
November 30, 2024
Bittersweet and beautiful. A story of how the most acute pain can be transformed into something good, through perspective as muses that feed our art, weaving straw into gold.
A bit slow to get into, but once I did I couldnt put it down. As a Jewish person the holocaust backstory made it all the more poignant and gripping. There is a Jewish saying, 'Gam Zu L'Tovah' meaning this too is for the good. Even when horrible things occur, they can lead to wonderful things, such is the nature of this bizzare world we live in. I think this story demonstrates this philosphy quite beautifully.
Highly recommend.
A bit slow to get into, but once I did I couldnt put it down. As a Jewish person the holocaust backstory made it all the more poignant and gripping. There is a Jewish saying, 'Gam Zu L'Tovah' meaning this too is for the good. Even when horrible things occur, they can lead to wonderful things, such is the nature of this bizzare world we live in. I think this story demonstrates this philosphy quite beautifully.
Highly recommend.
November 12, 2022
Objectively this is a well-thought-through book with some really good writing, especially when it came expressing a passion for ballet, but I struggle to say anything more about it. I do not regret reading it, I am not overjoyed I have read it either. It was not I had envisioned going into it and the ending felt unsatisfactory (though I get why certain choices were made etc). I like to be rewarded after a ton of bricks have been thrown at me.
April 28, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I cannot express how incredible this book is. As I librarian I can already think of 5 patrons who need this book in their hands. It was poignant and beautiful. The artful use of time as a character itself added to this gorgeous story. I truly felt that the story in itself was a moving ballet full of push, pull, and plenty emotion. John's growth throughout the book is raw and powerful. Memory is a tricky thing and I feel Toll has encapsulated what it is to find memories after trauma and learn to embrace them. Katya is such an interesting and poetic character. I feel as though the descriptions of the ballets were so vivid I felt as if I was sitting next to John in the audience. Even though the ending broke my heart, I still feel it was true to the story. Thank you for such an incredible story. I can't wait to recommend it to every person I can!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2024
The ballet world at mid century is ripe for literary fiction- there’s passion, madness, substances, ego. This book sees that, and even throws in the Holocaust for added pathos, but thematic potential is squandered in the name of purple prose (that I think is looking to capture the sensuous and ephemeral in dance and music) and thinly drawn characters. On the plus side, one could make a delightful drinking game out of uses of the word “buttocks.”
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