The Dancer Upstairs: A Novel
by Nicholas Shakespeare
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Book Summary Information
Author: Nicholas ShakespeareEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-02-05
ISBN: 0385721072
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of The Dancer Upstairs: A Novel
Book Review: Nicholas Shakespeare Takes on Life and Terror
Summary: 5 Stars
In "The Dancer Upstairs," author Nicholas Shakespeare poses questions both personal and universal in his telling of the tracking and capture of Ezequiel, a Peruvian revolutionary (modeled on the real Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman, who was eventually captured in September 1992). The essence of the book lies most strongly with the central dilemma: Can you ever really know some one?
The story is a retelling by the police colonel who tracked Ezequiel for more than twelve years. While the tale is completely fictional, Shakespeare does a yeoman's duty in bringing to life the atmosphere of a country in terror. Through his writing, readers come to feel what it's like to fear the unknown around every corner, to be lying in wait for the next horrible thing to occur.
In the story, as police colonel Agustin Rejas follows the clues and as he gets closer to the terrorist, he also begins to feel how the reign of terror has intersected in a very personal way with his own life, from a massacre in his own home village near the Amazon to the connection with his own romantic feelings toward his daughter's ballet teacher (the "dancer" of "The Dancer Upstairs").
Rejas has agreed to tell his tale to journalist John Dyer, whose employer (a British newspaper) has recently decided to close the South American bureau at which he works, citing a lack of interest on the part of the rest of the world. Peru is alone with its problems. Making the situation worse is the government's attempt to take action, wielding a heavy-handed response by the military, whom the people see as little better (and perhaps even worse, in some cases) than the revolutionary group they are fighting.
Author Nicholas Shakespeare's writing is strong, and his tale unnerving. Living in the grips of daily blackouts, car bombs, and the brutal savagery of symbolic killings with their political messages, the author makes us feel the terror of a society on the edge of collapse. The experience of the ordinary citizen is shown here through Rejas's family life and their extended social network.
Some ignore the terror, trying to live out their lives as normally as possible. Some flee the country. Some believe that the terror can't touch them. In the end, the terrorists and their victims are nearly interchangeable, as shown so symbolically in the portraits at the dance theater near the end of the story.
What gives the book life and its power are the realistic portraits Shakespeare draws of his main characters. The Maoist revolutionary Ezequiel is plagued with a skin disease (whose signposts eventually lead to his capture), his revolutionaries are the sons and daughters of farmers and the middle class whose lives have been ruined by the government, the police are compromised and tainted. In the end, no one's hands are clean. Despite the best of intentions, the revolution and the government seeking to stop it are both guilty of heinous acts in the name of their cause. "The Dancer Upstairs" is not an easy book to read, but it's an important one as long as terrorism exists.
Summary of The Dancer Upstairs: A Novel
The Peruvian guerilla leader Ezequiel is responsible for tens of thousands of fiendishly cruel murders, yet he consistently eludes capture. But in Agustn Rejas he has an indefatigable pursuer. From secluded city streets to the paths of a mountain village the policeman persists, tracking and anticipating Ezequiel's every move. Rejas' only reprieve is his love for his daughter's beautiful dance teacher--until he begins to pick up unmistakable signals that her circles--and Ezequiel's--intersect.Based on the extraordinary manhunt for the leader of Peru's notorious guerilla organization, The Shining Path, The Dancer Upstairs is a story reminiscent of Graham Greene and John LeCarr--tense, intricate, and heartbreaking.
Striding purposefully out into vintage Graham Greene and John le Carré territory, British novelist Nicholas Shakespeare tells a haunting, violent story about a military policeman from a country very much like Peru and his lifelong mission to track down an infamous rebel leader very much like the head of the Shining Path terrorist group. The tension builds slowly but beautifully, as a journalist in search of a story becomes instead an important player in the history of an embattled country.
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