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Fatal Tango

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When Giulietta Battin, ballerina at the conservative Berlin opera, falls in love with the dashing Argentinean tango champion, Damian Alsina, she unwittingly embarks on an intoxicating but dangerous journey. Having fled his country's political horrors, Damian has found sanctuary in northern Europe. But is he there for another reason? He is connected to Giulietta's powerful politician father – but neither man will tell her the truth of their association.

When Damian bizarrely starts sabotaging his own tango routines and then, without warning, flees to Argentina, Giulietta is determined to unravel the mystery once and for all and follows him. But he is nowhere to be found. In a desperate attempt to track down her lover and unlock her father's dark secrets, Giulietta embarks on an odyssey through the fascinating tango universe of Buenos Aires, where Damian's strange dancing style gradually reveals itself to be an elaborate code, a way of speaking about unspeakable horrors of the past... Thrilling and sexy, Fatal Tango combines art an passion and suspense into a highly original mix.

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

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317 people want to read

About the author

Wolfram Fleischhauer

24 books30 followers
Wolfram Fleischhauer is a German author and translator.

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5 stars
245 (37%)
4 stars
210 (32%)
3 stars
129 (19%)
2 stars
50 (7%)
1 star
15 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
754 reviews72 followers
July 28, 2016
This book was interesting and I don't recall reading anything quite like it. It took a good 40-50% before I was truly intrigued but it was really worth it in the end. The first half was pretty much all about dance, whether it was ballet or tango. The absolute best part of this half was the explanation that Argentinian Tango was homosexual from the start. I loved that bit. And then right around the 50% mark which was actually really cool. And then towards the end of it we got hit with a lot of info about an Argentinian coup and how it intersected with German/Soviet politics. That was also interesting.

So, the story. It opens with the 19 year old Giulietta Battin boarding a plane in Switzerland to fly to Buenos Aires. A couple of days before that her boyfriend had done something very strange involving Giulietta's father and Buenos Aires is the last place Damien was known to have been. Giulietta decides to fly there and track him down via the who's who of Tango.

The description of the book made me think that we would be seeing the seedy underbelly of Buenos Aires and the "underground" tango scene. This isn't even remotely close to the truth. She meets some people while she's searching for Damien and with the help of those people, mostly one woman, she attempts to track him down. In the meantime, her father is refusing to explain what happened between himself and Damien, and these evasions become increasingly odd.

This wasn't a riveting or suspenseful book but it was unique and therefore quite refreshing. How many books have tango, ballet, the coup that felled Isabel Peron, the roll that Germany played in this, communism, and... okay, I better not mention that last one. Seriously, it was an interesting book but probably would only work well for people who like hearing music and dance discussed extensively.
Profile Image for Sylvia.
247 reviews55 followers
September 13, 2018
4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book stays stuck in my mind. I keep thinking and thinking and thinking about it. The atmosphere was fantastic in this book and I would recommend everyone to listen to the song mentioned (Eugenia Léon – Preludio para el año 3001) while reading the second half. I don’t speak Spanish, but this book inspires me to learn it.

I could name a few things which bothered me about Giulietta or Damián, but every story has flaws. The historic aspect was exceptionally well done and I learned so much about Argentinia.

One of the best parts was also the dance aspects. I don’t dance (except in my room with no one watching of course), but I could see and almost feel it when I read about it. It made me want to stand up and just dance. I’ll remember this book and maybe then I’ll be... renaceré en Buenos Aires.
11 reviews
August 21, 2025
Joaaaaa n bissel langweilig. Ist ganz interessant, weil ich noch nie was über die Welt des Ballets und Tangos gelesen habe. Das Ende ist ganz schön.
Profile Image for Kim.
18 reviews
September 14, 2008
My favorite book.

I was recommended this book in 2003 and though I bought it I never got past the prelouge which is written in form of a police protocoll and simply didn't capture me.
After moving this was the only book I had not packed up so I started to read again... And after the first chapter couldn't put it down again.
W. Fleischhauer has a beautiful way of describing tango music, getting the emotions right without slipping into the ditch of melodrama or clichés. The historical facts used in this book were unknown to me and to most people I know and were quite surprising.
Profile Image for Arja.
82 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2021
De Ahfang isch ganz ok, aber ab de Hälfti wirds uu spannend. Gschicht isch mega komplex und mit de Ziit chasch alles zemmereime. De schluss haut eim um
Profile Image for Chequers.
593 reviews35 followers
April 22, 2018
Non ci siamo proprio:una storia che poteva essere non solo molto bella ma anche interessante trattata come il peggiore degli Harmony.
Dov'e' il Fleischhauer di "Un enigma color porpora" che mi aveva tanto affascinato?
L'inizio del libro e' , appunto, un vero e proprio "romance" , con esplicite descrizioni sessuali etc etc
Poi inizia la storia vera e propria, che pero' si dilunga in maniera ossessiva intorno al tango ed al suo signoficato, il tutto in una Buenos Aires cupa, pericolosa e piena di gente equivoca.
Il libro comincia a diventare interessante verso pagina 300, dove finalmente l'autore spiega cosa e' stata la dittatura argentina e l'orrore delle torture e degli assassinii degli argentini dissidenti ( e spesso neanche dissidenti, ma solo sfortunati) noti come i "desaparecidos" di triste memoria, del dramma dei bambini sottratti agli argentini assassinati, delle Madri e Nonne di Plaza de Mayo e di come tutto si e' risolto in una bolla di sapone per via dell'aministia concessa dal presidente Menem (amnistia che poi fu dichiarata incostituzionale piu' avanti).
Insomma temi importanti, ma che qui vengono trattati in modo sciatto, come se al centro del romanzo ci fosse comunque sempre e solo la storia d'amore dei protagonisti e tutto il resto sia un contorno colorito che serve ad arricchire la trama.
Anche il finale e' scontato e prevedibile. In conclusione, le mie due stelle sono solo per quelle 10 pagine che riassumono cos'e' successo in quegli anni. Peccato.
Profile Image for Buecherschnack.
355 reviews16 followers
January 10, 2021
3,5 🌟. Die ersten 100 Seiten haben mir gar nicht gefallen. Dann wurde es richtig spannend und es hat mich veranlasst mehr über die historischen Hintergründe zu lesen. Zwischendrin hatte es mich dann aber wieder verloren. Ich mochte die Metaphorik mit dem Tanzen sehr gerne.
178 reviews
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September 11, 2023
Inhoudelijk meer gevarieerd gevuld dan eerst gedacht, de tango- en balletwereld, maar ook de geschiedenis van Duitsland met Argentinië. Meer dan een simpel romannetje. Graag gelezen
Profile Image for gardienne_du_feu.
1,442 reviews12 followers
July 23, 2020
Ein Mann sitzt gefesselt in der Wohnung seiner Tochter, gefesselt von ihrem rätselhaften Freund, der spurlos verschwunden ist. Kurz darauf reist Giulietta ihm hinterher, in seine Heimat Argentinien.

Giulietta ist Ballettänzerin und gerade auf der Suche nach dem perfekten ersten Engagement, als sie den faszinierenden Tangospezialisten Damián kennenlernt und sich mit ihm in eine stürmische Beziehung stürzt. Eines Tages kommt es zu dem Vorfall zwischen Damián und ihrem Vater, Damián verschwindet, und Giulietta beschließt, ihn in seinem Heimatland zu suchen. Gleichzeitig ist dies auch ihre Chance, ihrem Vater zu entfliehen, dessen Nähe sie allmählich erdrückt.

Ohne Spanischkenntnisse und ohne großen Plan versucht sie, sich mit den spärlichen Anhaltspunkten, die sie hat, in Buenos Aires zurechtzufinden - und in der Welt des Tango, dieses Tanzes, der ihr rätselhaft und fremd ist, während er für Damián alles bedeutet ...

Giuliettas Suche nach Damián ist auch eine Suche nach ihrer eigenen Familiengeschichte - ihr Vater verließ in den 70er Jahren die DDR, die er heute noch glühend hasst, doch mehr weiß sie nicht über seine Vergangenheit, über diesen Mann, der ihr mittlerweile so unangenehm ist. Auch ihre Beziehung zu Damián ist von Extremen geprägt, gipfelnd in seinem Angriff auf Giuliettas Vater und dem anschließenden Verschwinden.

In Argentinien setzt sich Giulietta mit dem Tango auseinander, weil sie nicht nur hofft, Damián in einer der vielen "milongas", den legendären Tangolokalen von Buenos Aires, wiederzufinden, sondern auch, ihn besser verstehen zu können, wenn sie in die Welt dieses melancholischen Tanzes eintaucht. Das fällt ihr jedoch relativ schwer - wie auch mir als Leserin. Die teils recht langen Exkurse in die Geschichte und Besonderheiten des Tangos sind nicht uninteressant, auf Dauer aber für Nicht-Tangotänzer etwas anstrengend. Man fühlt sich als Leser genauso fremd wie Giulietta in der heißen, vollen, andersartigen Großstadt.

Irgendwann, relativ spät, kommt dann jedoch ein Schwenk im Plot, der mich gefesselt hat. Puzzleteile fallen an ihren Platz, der Tango spielt zwar noch eine Rolle, aber nicht mehr so beherrschend, und die Familiengeschichten von Giulietta und Damián klären sich gleichermaßen auf, in eine Richtung, mit der ich zuvor überhaupt nicht gerechnet habe.

Das ganze Buch ist perfekt durchkonstruiert, kunstvoll gebaut, nichts, was zufällig aussieht, ist es wirklich - wie auch beim Tanz, bei dem jede Geste, jede Bewegung bedeutungsvoll und geplant ist. Ein bisschen fehlt deshalb die Lockerheit beim Erzählen, doch auch wenn zwischendurch das Konstruktionsgebälk etwas zu stark hinter den Geschehnissen knirscht, werden die Handlungsfäden so raffiniert und glaubwürdig miteinander verknüpft, dass das zum Ende hin, wenn das Buch an Fahrt und Spannung gewinnt, kaum noch eine Rolle spielt.
1,118 reviews
April 30, 2014
My mom read this for book club so I read it. I would probably give it like 3.8 stars overall. This book is historical fiction - and the fiction part is ok but the historical part makes me feel like even though I think I know a lot of history - I actually don't!! Did you know there was a mass killing in Argentina during the 1970s called the Dirty War? It is estimated up to 30,000 people were killed (including a lot of women and children). And that depressing historical fact aside - the history of the Tango is fascinating.

Anyway, this book is a great way to learn about a part of history that I bet you never knew existed. I definitely intend to read more!
Profile Image for K_Are_N.
59 reviews
September 26, 2015
Spellbinding!! The plot in itself is really, rather unspectacular but it was incredibly well presented, and incredibly well written. A real page turner. Skirts around the dance world - Berlin ballet and Argentinian tango - a bit of Argentinian history without going into great depth.

Originally written in German, which title translates to be Three Minutes with Reality, but the English translation is titled "Fatal Tango". I am not sure why it was necessary to change the title. Fatal Tango does not quite represent what the story is about and loses some of the profundity which comes across with the original German title.
Profile Image for Heather Johnson.
14 reviews2 followers
October 5, 2015
How little I knew about German ballerinas, Tango and Argentine history. Sure it's fiction... but, I love stories that wrap historical references in with a decent story. I find it to be an awesome way to learn about other cultures and stay engaged in ways I wouldn't otherwise. This book was originally in German and is a page turner once it gets moving.
Profile Image for Sabine.
38 reviews1 follower
July 29, 2008
W. Fleischhauer wrote a Tetrology of cultural history. I have read three of them so far, and it is a history of events in our culture we never knew or prefered to forget. Packed into a suspenseful, exciting story. Intelligent and good reading.
Profile Image for Tanya Eby.
Author 978 books250 followers
Read
December 12, 2011
I'm narrating this book, so I won't rate it. I can say that I love the tone of it and the slow unfurling of mystery. It takes the reader to interesting places on a dark journey of the spirit. Lots of tango images and descriptions. Should be a lot of fun to narrate.
229 reviews
April 30, 2012
Kindle edition:
Learned a lot about the tango & Argentina. Don't want to visit there.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
1,219 reviews27 followers
March 3, 2017
I read this book because it was set in Argentina, full review will come on The Cubicle Escapee. IT was a good book it just took a bit of time to get really good.
Profile Image for Granny Sebestyen.
497 reviews23 followers
November 20, 2019
" Trois minutes avec la réalité " de Wolfram Fleischauer (480p)
Ed; Jacqueline Chambon

Bonjour les lecteurs...

Amateurs de tango, d'Argentine et de Buenos Aire, ce livre est fait pour vous.

Quand un danseur de tango rencontre une danseuse classique, le mélange est explosif et l'histoire qui aurait pu être simple prend un goût de sulfure.
Giulietta va rencontrer Damiàn à Berlin.
C'est le coup de foudre qui va mener cette jeune danseuse de ballets jusqu'à Buenos Ares, lieu de naissance du tango importé par des esclaves noirs.
Mais qui est Damiàn?
Damiàn n'est-il pas proche de la folie?
Quel est le secret du père de Giulietta, ancien de la RDA, dont personne ne connait le passé et qui est proche, bien trop proche, de sa fille au point d'envahir sa vie.
Dans quel guet-apens la jeune fille va-t-elle tomber à pieds jointsà l'autre bout de la terre ?
Parviendra-t-elle à résoudre les différents mystères qui gravitent autour d'elle?
Elle ne connait rien de cette ville, encore moins sur le tango.. les surprises vont être de taille!
Voici posées les bases d'une enquête dans le milieu très fermé du tango.

Intrigue bien ficelée sur fond d'événements historiques.
Que connait-on de Buenos Aires et de son atmosphère de terreur de la fin des années 70.
Que connait-on de ces disparus pour lesquels des mères et des grand-mères ( las locas, les folles comme on les appelle ) continuent régulièrement de manifester.
Que connait-on du tango de son histoire et de ses codes?
N'est-il pas vrai que seuls les "locos" ( les fous) l'apprivoisent ?

La suite, à vous de le découvrir.
Roman assez captivant, les 480 pages s'engloutissent rapidement malgré un vocabulaire parfois pointu au sujet de la danse et de ses complexités.

Belle découverte.

Wolfram Fleischauer (auteur de " la ligne pourpre") est un journaliste allemand passionné de ... tango !!!
Profile Image for Gab.
869 reviews20 followers
June 25, 2025
This is a difficult book to review as I almost gave up on it many times. The first half was about the story of Giulietta, a German ballet dancer and her Argentine lover, Damian, a tango dancer. There was a little too much detail about tango for me, and lots of strangeness in the way Damian chose to dance. The couple met in Berlin, where Damian was visiting from Argentina. They fall into a passionate affair, and just as soon as it started, it ended - with Damian leaving Germany without saying goodbye. Giulietta flies to Argentina, where she assumes he has gone. None of the people she meets knows where Damian could be, but they all talk about how crazy he is and what a strange style of dance he has. She meets a Canadian author who has come to learn more about tango and together they realise that Damian is communicating something through his unusual dance style. The second half of the book was much more interesting - it delved into the 'dirty war' in Argentina and the tens of thousands of young people who were disappeared.
Profile Image for Evicient.
6 reviews
January 3, 2025
This Book makes me absolutely insane. I have never disliked anything with such a passion. After finishing I was so mad I wrote a 4 page rant.
I will just let the books dialogue speak for itself, as I am too overrun with loathing to even begin to explain my (a lot of) issues.:

„Before becomming you brother, I wanted to be your man for one last time“

„But you are my man“

And then these (half)SIBLINGS proceed to kiss.
I AM GOING INSANE.

(I translated this Dialoge since I read it in German. I do not know if this is the exact translation in the english book aswell)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
119 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2021
° ein Roman, der von einer großen Liebe und Verständnis des Autors zum Tanz/Tango/Ballett zeugt, was leider manchmal zu Längen führt
° in der zweiten Hälfte wird hier die Geschichte der Hauptprotagonisten mit der tragischen Vergangenheit von Argentinien/Buenos Aires verflochten - darüber hätte ich so gern viel, viel mehr erfahren
1 review
April 13, 2021
Ich konnte es nicht aus der Hand legen. Viele Informationen über Tango und Argentinien waren mir neu. Sehr unterhaltsam und lesenswert!
7 reviews
January 28, 2024
Sehr spannend gegen Ende. Durch die ersten 200 Seiten habe ich mich aber eher gequält. Teilweise etwas langatmig erzählt
Profile Image for Evelyn.
33 reviews1 follower
March 7, 2024
Durch diesen Roman bin ich mit dem Tango, seinen Ursprüngen und seiner Bedeutung in Berührung gekommen und seitdem höre ich diese Musik immer wieder. Sie hat mich gepackt!
Argentinien's Geschichte ist auch Thema, aber diese furchtbare Seite kannte ich schon aus kompetenter Quelle.
Für mich war es ein Highlight und der Autor auf meiner want-to-read Liste.
Ich habe mir vorgenommen, es jetzt noch einmal zu lesen, nach mehr als 10 Jahren.
1 review
February 15, 2025
I have never read any other book like this. The historical background information and the look into the dance world of tango and ballet made it special for me.
167 reviews3 followers
August 25, 2022
I loved this book, the plot twists, the characters all had me hooked. I recommend listening to the tango music mentioned in the book, Libertango, Escuala etc. Adds another dimension to the story.
Profile Image for Debora M | Nasreen.
591 reviews65 followers
July 19, 2011
E' uscito proprio in questi giorni l'ultimo romanzo dell'autore [nazionalità] Wolfram Fleischhauer. "L'ombra dell'ultima rosa" è un romance dai toni misteriosi, quasi magici, che affonda le sue radici nel sensuale mondo della danza.

Incontriamo Giulietta Battin, giovane ballerina di danza classica ormai in procinto di affermarsi, che una serie di circostanze, forse persino un po' magiche, finisce per fare coppia con Damián Alsina.

Damiàn è un ballerino promettente, affascinante ma sicuramente dal carattere complesso. E' una stella nascente della danza e questo basta, ad entrambe, per entrare subito in sintonia; una sintonia che andrà ben oltre la semplice collaborazione professionale.

Purtroppo le cose fra loro non saranno facili e soprattutto ci sarà qualcuno che, testardamente, deciderà di rovinare il loro amore e rovinarsi la vita. Damiaàn, infatti, dopo il fallimento della sua ultima tournèe, deciderà di sparire, lasciare Giulietta e non farsi più vedere.

La ragazza, però, che in quanto a testardaggine non ha nulla da invidiare a Damiàn, decide di mettersi sulle sue traccie e di ritrovarlo per riportarlo da lei.

A questo punto il romanzo s'impenna e da storia romance viene introdotto un elemento avvincente e thriller che accompagnerà Giulietta nel "mondo" di Damiàn che, fra un criminali e contrabbandieri, cercherà di nuotare del complicato ambiente argentino cercando di rimanere viva e di ritrovare il suo amore.

Ma cosa nasconderà il passato di Damiàn? Chi è veramente? E perchè, prima di abbandonare Giulietta, Damiàn decide di compiere quell'ultimo, inspiegabile, atto?

Senza dubbio è un romanzo forte, ben scritto e, presumo, abbastanza accurato, per quanto riguarda il ritratto fornito dallo scrittore, di un paese come l'Argentina, un paese fatto di luce e ombre e degli spettri della dittatura che ancora si insuano fra i vicoli di Buenos Aires.

Lo stile è diretto, pulito ma molto accurato. L'autore riesce a evocare e trasmettere al lettore le tensioni, la sensualità di un ballo o il dolore per un amore perduto. Le parole non ci raccontano semplicemente dei fatti sterili ma li trasmettono e li rappresentano con eleganza ed energia.

Intrecciare la "durezza" del mondo della criminalità organizzata argentina con il lato "musicale" della danza e della natura della stessa Giulietta ha reso il romanzo ricco di contraddizioni e avvincente, una dolce tensione che ricorda il tango. La Storia si intreccia perfettamente con le vite e le vicende dei personaggi, rendendo il romanzo ricco di tensione, intrigante e assolutamente da leggere.

Elemento negativo? Molto probabilmente il prezzo. 19,60€ per un libri 409 pagine è esagerato. E' esagerato per qualcunque romanzo e in ogni caso ma un prezzo del genere è veramente proibitivo ed è un peccato visto che la copertina, invece, è molto bella ed elegante.
4 reviews
August 1, 2011
Dies ist eines der Bücher auf meiner ultimativen Top Liste. Auf diese Liste kommen nur Bücher die wirklich etwas bewegt haben in mir, nach deren Lektüre man erst einmal für ein paar Tage kein anderes Buch anfassen mag, weil man sich denkt, nichts kommt an das gerade Gelesene heran.

Der Schreibstil von Wolfram Fleischhauer ist für mich perfekt und unnachahmlich. Doch aufgepasst dieses Buch hat Tempo. Und mit Tempo meine ich Rasanz. Es lässt den Leser atemlos. Man muss einfach noch eine Seite mehr lesen und ehe man sich versieht sind zwei Stunden um. Spannend wie ein Thriller sein sollte und gleichzeitig hintergründig und einfühlsam der dahinterstehende Romanze gerecht werdend.

Worum geht es also. Guilietta Battin ist 19 Jahre alt und angehende Ballerina an der deutschen Staatsoper. In einem Hinterhoftheater lernt sie den jungen argentinischen Tangotänzer Damián Alsina kennen, welcher dort mit seiner Tangogruppe gastiert. Die Beiden verlieben sich leidenschaftlich in einander. Von Anfang an ist Guilietta fasziniert von Damián, dem Tango und der mystischen Energie welche beide umgibt. Doch diese Harmonie ist nur von kurzer Dauer. Damián sabotiert die Premiere seines eigenen Stückes und verschwindet nach einer gewaltsamen Auseinandersetzung mit Guiliettas Vater urplötzlich und scheinbar spurlos.
In ihrer Verzweiflung und dem Unverständnis im Hinblick auf die Ereignisse macht sich Guilietta auf die Suche nach Spuren ihres Geliebten in Argentinien. Dort erfährt sie Dinge die sie niemals für möglich gehalten hätte und mitten in einen Strudel aus Intrigen und Geheimnissen....

Faszinierend ist nicht nur wie die weibliche Hauptperson Guilietta im Verlauf all dieser Geschehnisse zu einer durch und durch erwachsenen Frau wird, sondern auch welche zentrale Rolle der Tango in der Geschichte spielt. Gleichzeitig bekommt der Leser einen Einblick in die deutsch-argentinische Historie.

Ich liebe intelligent geschriebene Bücher und dieses ist eines davon.
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