What: The Oscars are less than one week away, so you might be hearing even more than usual about award frontrunners like The King's Speech, The Social Network, . . . Black Swan. If you saw Black Swan and now can't get enough ballet, or if (more likely) you didn't see Black Swan because it looks terrifying and kind of ooky but you want to feel like you experienced some of it, you should read Adrienne Sharp's collection of stories about professional ballet dancers. Sharp mixes stories centered on wholly fictional creations with stories highlighting real ballet legends like Fonteyn, Nureyev, and Farrell. The writing is gritty and honest and beautiful.
Comparable to: Like Natalie Portman in Black Swan, these dancers experience pain, sacrifice, and obsession. Unlike Portman, they don't get really, really stabby.
Representative quote: "I've got a heating pad on my knee, an ice pack on my ankle, and I'm smoking a cigarette, which I shouldn't be doing, but Ridley's making me nervous. He's dancing tonight, not me, but that's not what's on his mind. He wants to talk."
You might not like it if: You didn't think you'd ever care about ballet, but then you saw Black Swan, and now you know you'll never care about ballet.
How to get it: I cannot fathom why the publisher did not take this opportunity to reprint and promote the heck out of this book. Other than the fact that the book is available for your Kindle, a new edition hasn't come out since 2002. Still, libraries!
Connection to previous Wreckage: I suggested another Oscar-bait supplement with Rec. #10: Territory.
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