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The Forgotten Waltz [Paperback]

Anne Enright
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

29 Mar 2012

Shortlisted for The Orange Prize for Fiction 2012

If it hadn't been for the child then none of this might have happened.

She saw me kissing her father.

She saw her father kissing me.

The fact that a child got mixed up in it all made us feel that it mattered, that there was no going back.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage (29 Mar 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099539780
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099539780
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.5 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 54,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"An achingly brilliant piece of writing on passion and delusion. Comparisons to Madame Bovary are not overblown, not because it is a wry, clever, philosophical take on adultery - although it is - but because it makes you re-evaluate everything a novel can be... This book is enough to restore your faith in the power of fiction" (Viv Groskop Independent )

"An important novel... It is a rare thing: the literary page turner... An acutely tender depiction of the complex familial bonds joining us, a delicate portrait of love, loss and hope, from a formidably talented writer" (Claire Kilroy Financial Times )

"A love story for our times... In a single sentence [Enright] conjures up that violent pendulum swing of emotion that can blow whole worlds apart... This is the great pleasure of reading Enright: her sheer virtuoso control of language, those compact sentences, with their occasional flares of lyrical beauty and emotional force" (Irish Times )

"A luminous novel... Haunting, dreamy, sexy and with flashes of salty wit this is one of those novels that you are sorry to see end. It is very much an Irish novel and much of its time but the anatomy of desire and passion are timeless" (Jennifer Selway Daily Express )

"The real pleasure of the book is the dancing, delicious prose" (Evening Standard )

Book Description

A powerful, moving book of secrets, longing and loss, from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Gathering.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 42 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars "The Things We Do For Love" 25 April 2011
By Ripple TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Set in modern day Dublin, Gina recalls the events that led to an affair that wrecks two marriages. Anne Enright's 2007 Booker prize winning "The Gathering" addressed the gloomy subjects of the three D's; death, depression and dysfunctional families. Her latest book, "The Forgotten Waltz", set in Dublin in 2009, sees her turning her attentions to a love affair. A more uplifting subject you might think. Well only up to a point. The affair in question you see is that of her narrator, Gina, who is already married to the generally good, if undynamic, Connor, while on the other end, the subject of the affair is the older, Seán, also married and neighbour of Gina's sister. In case your moral compass isn't stretched quite enough by this, Seán and his wife Aileen, also have a young daughter who suffers from epilepsy.

What Enright does so well is identify the little gestures. The story is told by Gina as a recollection of what happened and the narrator acknowledges that this memory is not always infallible. There's a very self-aware sense to Gina's voice and there's also plenty of wry humour about family and about what we might call the middle age crisis. Gina, we sense, knows she's in the wrong in both thought and deed, but her justification of her actions are endearing and it's hard not to sympathise with her, not least as we only get her view of things. But while Gina has her flaws, she acknowledges at least most of them and recognizes when she's being unfair or unreasonable, which makes it a more enjoyable read.

Another nice touch is that each relatively short chapter has a "love song" title, ranging from "Paper Roses" and "In These Shoes?" to "Money (That's What I Want)". Fittingly the final chapter is entitled "The Things We Do for Love".

Enright has a clear writing style and the book gallops along at a brisk pace. Although hints of the outcome are apparent from the start, you still want to find out how the relationship between Gina and Seán develops. Will they get caught? If so, what will be the reaction of friends, family and work colleagues? It's not a long book and for at least two thirds of the book, this is the main focus of events. Seán's daughter, Evie, who ages from about four to twelve during the story, is largely a side issue.

Illness and death again feature in this book. At the start it is clear that Gina's mother is unwell, and her father died when Gina was a teenager. Once the relationship between Gina and Seán reaches a certain point (he said trying not to give anything away!) the pace of the narration slows down and specifically there is a chapter devoted largely to Gina's recollection of her father. Then in the final part, Evie starts to play more of a role as Gina tries to explain Seán's character and actions. Although I liked the ending very much, the final third of the book seemed to change tack slightly too much for me. I was, by then, caught up in the relationship developing but once it reached its destination, the story too seemed to lose its punch.

The characters are all nicely sketched rather than being deeply explored, but all are recognizable and have a realistic mix of flaws and strengths. Ultimately, no matter who each sees as the villains of the piece, all are victims in these situations. It's an enjoyable read. Then again, maybe I just like gossip!
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Dull and grubby 21 May 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A minority view I know, but I just don't get Anne Enright. This was my second attempt at one of her novels and I found this as depressing as the last. Fair enough, she has a good turn of phrase and handles language well, but there is no plot to be bothered with here, and I found the characters unsympathetic and/or unbelievable. But more than that, she paints a picture of a grubby, charmless world devoid of anything to provide a bright counterpoint to her sad and unattractive characters. In some ways Enright's world reminds me of Ian McEwan's works - Cement Garden etc, (though without his added twist of psycho). I suppose I found Gina and Sean's affair so hard to care about because they didn't seem to care about each other. They certainly don't love each other and he's hardly attractive - even seen through Gina's eyes. He's a paunchy, gauche, middle-aged salesman. And as for the fat and precocious child Evie, she struck me as something rather slimy and horrid. The relationship between Gina and her sister starts to warm up, but dies away just as quickly when Gina's affair is discovered and her sister takes the moral high ground. The one and only character I thought seemed sympathetic in any way was Gina's jilted husband Conor. Basically, this seems to be the story of a girl who's a bit of an idiot, surrounds herself with horrible people and lives a very lonely life.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Waltz 17 Aug 2012
By JDavies
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was reviewed in the Guardian so I picked it up from Amazon and once I started reading I couldn't stop. It's a page-turner and you could find yourself on holiday devouring its economic prose and exquisitely drawn characterisation. I recommend this to anyone who loved Enright's Gathering Light which was as equally enthralling.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Trying....
I tried so hard to like this book. I really did. But the author just tries too hard to be 'literary'. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Mellie Jellie
1.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten waltz
I started to read this book four times trying to find the story.
I haven't found it yet. Very disappointed.
Published 1 month ago by Beth
3.0 out of 5 stars A modern novel that reflects the lack of emotional commitment of the...
The quotes on the book do not fit the story we read. Tender? No. Achingly brilliant? No. It is, however, as the Irish Times put it, "A love story for our times. Read more
Published 2 months ago by noveletta
3.0 out of 5 stars A light easy read
This was not too taxing - very predictable - a good read while lying on a beach if nothing better is to hand.
Published 3 months ago by Maeve O'Neill
2.0 out of 5 stars Straight to the Oxfam Bookshop
As I am unlikely to want to re-read this book it is going straight to the Oxfam bookshop: maybe it'll find there a reader who might enjoy it more than I did. Read more
Published 4 months ago by annastam
3.0 out of 5 stars Good at the time
I have read previous novels and enjoyed them, I like the style of writing and the setting being in Ireland. Read more
Published 4 months ago by fishface
5.0 out of 5 stars An all-consuming read
Only very occasionally are you lucky enough to find a book that not only resonates with you, but that teaches you things about yourself that you sort of knew but couldn't quite... Read more
Published 8 months ago by H. Eaton
2.0 out of 5 stars What was all the hype about
Another book group book that I really didn't enjoy. Ann Enright can write but what a mind numbingly boring story.
There was nothing insightful about it. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Pixiebri
5.0 out of 5 stars It was a delicate business, being the Not Wife
This novel, in much the same way as her Man Booker Prizewinner was, is a book of the voice. You cannot but hear the voice of the main protagonist and it is every bit as... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Eileen Shaw
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst. Book. EVER!
This book, overall, was dull, with poor characters and an overall lack of empathy in the narrative voice made it hard to like any character, especially her. Read more
Published 9 months ago by HawkRider
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