Book Review - Dance Move - Wendy Erskine
I was a huge fan of Wendy Erskine’s previous short story collection ‘Sweet home’ so have been eagerly anticipating the release of ‘Dance move’ for a while. It doesn’t disappoint.
There’s a wonderful flow to each of the stories, so much so that I had to restrict myself to one at a time, to make them last that bit more. The dialogue is so wonderfully crisp and it feels like you have you have been parachuted into the lives of the characters.
Characters
What is it that Wendy Erskine does so well? In each story we seem to be heading somewhere in the characters past, somewhere that explains their current thoughts, actions or emotions a bit better. They all seem so real - you can go from laughter, to tears and the ridiculous within a few pages. All of lifes rich tapestry is here.
Loneliness is certainly a factor in some of the characters lives, from the cleaner who makes a shocking discovery whilst working for a shady employer in ‘Mathematics’ to the grief of the mother taking down the missing posters of her son in ‘His mother.’ There’s also grief in the emotional ‘Momento Mori’, one of my favourites, ( ‘She’d never really liked cut flowers. They sucked the water greedily from the vase but they knew they were on the way out, dying as everyone admired their beauty) which also comes with a satisfying punch in the mouth delivered. I think the author makes a Hitchcock style cameo here too.
There’s also a creeping sense of unease in ‘Bildungsroman’ about a teenage boy going to lodge with a stranger, and ‘Max and Gloria’ about an academic going on a road trip with a care home worker.
Vernacular
The wonderfully titled ‘Secrets Bonita Beach Krystal Cancun’ features a trip to Portrush that set off a few memories of a rainy afternoon of my own, whilst ‘Nostalgie’ about a faded singer went a direction I didn’t expect. (“He swallows the vocals, embarrassed and impatient to be done, looking with envy at that balloon, aloof, where the wall meets the ceiling.’) I loved the local vernacular when it popped up and some of the settings could only be in the north of Ireland.
One of the most unsettling stories in ‘Dance move’ for me was the longest one, ‘Cell’, I think because it took me a while to work out what was happening. When I did, it left me more uneasy; it’s all about feeling lonely and joining a group and falling under their spell, with disastrous consequences. The title story is also another favourite, the mother struggling with her daughter getting older as well as realising she’s probably going to be becoming a carer in her later years.
A number of times whilst reading these stories I remembered the old adage about not to be judging a person before walking a mile in their shoes. With small details, Wendy Erskine does a fine job of writing these characters in a way that you don’t sit in judgement on them, as their thoughts and feelings seem all too real. I can’t recommend ‘Dance Move’ or ‘Sweet home’ enough.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan macmillan for the Advanced Reader Copy. in return for an honest book review.
If you’re around Belfast, make sure you pop into ‘Noalibis’ and pick up a copy. Or maybe your local bookshop can order it in. Amazon links included for those who don’t have those options.
Book review - Dance move by Wendy Erskine
Published 17th of February - Pan MacMillan
224 Pages