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Hungarian Dances (Paperback)

by Jessica Duchen (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Hungarian Dances + Alicia's Gift + Rites of Spring
Price For All Three: £16.94

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  • This item: Hungarian Dances by Jessica Duchen

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  • Alicia's Gift by Jessica Duchen

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton General (24 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340933585
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340933589
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 114,397 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Katie Fforde

Jessica Duchen writes about families, the arts and their sometimes devastating combination with such skill and passion that her books are unputdownable. It is very rarely that I find a new writer whose work I love so much.


Review

‘Jessica Duchen's debut novel is captivating, imaginative and fascinating. As a musician and a mother, I recognized many of the scenarios and found the questions that were posed very poignant, both from a musical and personal perspective. The pace builds powerfully to a dramatic and ultimately very moving conclusion. Completely gripping!’

 

(Tasmin Little on RITES OF SPRING )

'Adam and Sasha appear to have the perfect life - good jobs, a nice home, money and three perfect children. But as their marriage begins to unravel, their ballet-crazy daughter starts staving herself - and her parents are too preoccupied to notice. A haunting, heartbreaking novel.'

(Closer on RITES OF SPRING )

'A sensitive and thought-provoking novel that will resonate all the more for those with musical leanings.'

(Femke Colborne, MUSO on RITES OF SPRING )

'Duchen skilfully balances the conventions of the genre with the authority of a writer who really knows her subject. ALICIA's GIFT is a wonderful read. But make sure you keep the Kleenex handy when you tackle it.'

(Music Teacher on Alicia's Gift )

'This is a very well written study of the problem of being and having a child prodigy.... it's a gripping read and it's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of wanting Alicia to succeed... I enjoyed this book a lot'

(Muso on Alicia's Gift )

'I suggest you give Hungarian Dances a whirl.'

(South China Morning Post )
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Hungarian Dances
78% buy the item featured on this page:
Hungarian Dances 4.9 out of 5 stars (12)
£5.98
Rites of Spring
7% buy
Rites of Spring 4.8 out of 5 stars (10)
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Songs of Triumphant Love
7% buy
Songs of Triumphant Love 4.9 out of 5 stars (9)
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Alicia's Gift
4% buy
Alicia's Gift 5.0 out of 5 stars (7)
£5.49
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I cannot recommend this book highly enough., 10 Dec 2008
By Katherine Marriott (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Hungarian Dances is a marvellous, intelligent, thought-provoking meditation upon the human condition; it explores the themes of identity, whether national or sexual, of the possibilities of love, of betrayal, and of the deep meaning of music, whilst carrying you along on a beautifully-crafted story that is utterly absorbing. It may be a cliché to say "I couldn't put this book down", but in my case it is a quite literal statement of fact. I read it throughout the night despite having several urgent matters to attend to and desperately needing my sleep! (Warning: clear your diary before picking this up!)

This is a wonderfully-written book; nothing in the prose jarred, nothing was extraneous. Don't let the slightly girly cover put you off - this is seriously good literature. As a professional opera singer, I am used to hurling any books which mention classical music at the wall in irritation; this one, with its accurate portrayals of the frustrations, disappointments, and sublime joys of music-making, resonated strongly in my soul.

If you like your novels to make you think, without being overtly pushed to do so, this is not to be missed. Glorious!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dancing to freedom, 21 May 2008
By Francis Norton (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Hungarian Dances (Hardcover)
Jessica Dutchen has written her best book yet, the story of Karina, a violinist, mother, wife and lover, and the chasms in her life and background - an immigrants' child married to Julian from the manor, her parents Denes and Erszebet fleeing oppression and their own country, her grandmother Mimi a brilliant violinist from the despised Roma - that only love and music can even hope to cross.

Some books will open your eyes to another world - this one is even more generous. The story takes us from the inequities of pre-war Budapest, the glitter of war-time New York, and the brutalities of post-war communist Hungary to a London train crash and the cynical dynamics of 21st century public transport policy.

Reading it the first time, I just wanted to keep turning the pages because I was so involved with the characters and the story. Re-reading the last few chapters to write this, I found myself sucked in once again, but more able to appreciate how the story works as well as it does because it too leaps these chasms, and takes us with it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars EXHILARATING!, 23 April 2008
This review is from: Hungarian Dances (Hardcover)
I found this a most exciting and gratifying book for the plot as well as for its treatment of two passions of mine: music and Budapest. Jessica Duchen is well known as a writer on music and as a very successful novelist. She also has one of the best-run blogs on the net: you will find a lot about this book there, including photos of places in Budapest described in the book. You can also make the acquaintance of her cat Solti!
Like all good communicators, Jessica Duchen wears her learning lightly and writes in a limpid, flowing style which makes one want to keep reading. She manages to keep several plots going at once without ever losing the reader and always judges perfectly the right moment to move on so as to maintain suspense.
She has a vivid eye for detail and one easily empathizes with the characters: the scene in the run-down Budapest café where the gypsy father of Mimi, whom she wants to invite to her concert at the Liszt Academy, refuses furiously from the humiliation he feels at being dirty and unwashed and therefore unworthy of going to such a place is quite heartbreaking.
This book could be classed as "popular fiction", "a good read", "a real page-turner" but I think this would be to underestimate such a well-crafted and profound novel. Highly recommended. A paperback version is now available.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars surprisingly very good! (not a chick lit!)
I picked this book up because I was going on holiday to Budapest and wanted to read a novel about Hungary (surprisingly difficult to find novels set in Hungary and written in... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Mellor

5.0 out of 5 stars Hungarian Dances Rocks
A really good read. I enjoyed Hungarian Dances very much -and I admired it enormously too. Jessica Duchen brings Hungary vividly alive for the English reader,which is a great and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mary Hamer

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic gripping story!
I loved Hungarian Dances. I felt I knew the characters so so well and at the end I wanted to phone them up! Ms. Duchen has a wonderful ability of bringing fiction to life. Read more
Published 15 months ago by T. Saiten

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure pleasure!
Jesssica Duchen's third novel is an enchanting read. The characters are so vibrant and touching, they became friends I was sorry to part with. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lady Dahrendorf

5.0 out of 5 stars I didn't want it to end!
This story gripped from the first page to the last. Although the central family in the story is Hungarian and musical, you don't need to be either to get totally caught up in... Read more
Published 15 months ago by MRF

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful story
I LOVED this book. By the end I was frantically page turning.

It's a wonderful story, really captivating and you care enormously about the four generations of... Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. N. Brickwood

5.0 out of 5 stars EXHILARATING

I found this a most exciting and gratifying book for the plot as well as for its treatment of two passions of mine: music and Budapest. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Nemo

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful!
A definite 'best yet' from Jessica Duchen. Having already really enjoyed her first two novels, this story was totally different, yet even more absorbing if that could be possible... Read more
Published 18 months ago by R. K. Lloyd

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful story
I LOVED this book. By the end I was frantically page turning.

It's a wonderful story, really captivating and you care enormously about the four generations of... Read more
Published 19 months ago by A. N. Brickwood

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