Dance Lessons - by Áine Greaney (Paperback)

About the Book

A novel about a young widows quest for the truth about her husbands life.

Book Synopsis

A year after her husband's death in a sailing accident off Martha's Vineyard, Ellen Boisvert bumps into an old friend. In this chance encounter, she discovers that her immigrant husband of almost fifteen years was not an orphan after all. Instead, his aged mother Jo is alive and residing on the family's isolated farm in the west of Ireland. Faced with news of her mother-in-law incarnate, the thirty-nine-year-old American prep school teacher decides to travel to Ireland to investigate the truth about her husband Fintan and why he kept his family's existence a secret for so many years. Between Jo's hilltop farm and the lakeside village of Gowna, Ellen begins to uncover the mysteries of her Irish husband's past and the cruelties and isolation of his rural childhood. As Ellen reconciles her troubled relationship with Fintan, she discovers a way to heal the wounds of the past.

Review Quotes

Dance Lessons is filled with longing, and redemption. It is also filled with beauty and promise. The writing is lovely and poignant and begs the reader's empathy. Dance Lessons will leave the reader wanting more.-- "Story Circle Book Reviews"

Greaney's second novel depicts grief with trust in the reader's empathy. The author is able to capture emotional
nuance with minimal flourish; her characters emerge as strong individuals confronting unexpected pain.

-- "Publishers Weekly"

A beautiful examination of three women's lives, this novel deftly explores both relationships and solitude, with Ireland's gorgeous countryside as backdrop.-- "Booklist"

About the Author

Born and raised in County Mayo, Áine Greaney is a writer and editor living on Boston's North Shore. She is the author of the novel The Big House and the short story collection The Sheep Breeders Dance. In addition, she has written several award-winning short stories and numerous feature articles for the Irish Independent, the Irish Voice, Creative Nonfiction, and the Literary Review, among others