She flees to California, marries the childhood friend who pined for her, and settles into motherhood far away from the glitter and cocaine of Studio 54-era New York City. Joan, meanwhile, is destined for a mediocre career in his shadow, so she makes a getaway of her own. He then becomes an international celebrity and, thanks to his jaw-dropping talent, the darling of the dance world. In the 1970s, Joan has a brief but steamy affair with a Baryshnikov-esque Russian dancer, Arslan Rusakov, whose getaway car she drives during his defection from the Soviet Union. That’s what happens to the unremarkable Joan in Astonish Me, the second novel from Maggie Shipstead, a writer who made her promising debut with the WASP wedding romp Seating Arrangements.
( Black Swan, anybody? ) An unforgiving combination of art and athleticism, it chews up and spits out anyone who’s not young enough, talented enough, or driven enough to compensate for either. When you strip away the tutus, dainty shoes, and pas de deux, the world of ballet can be brutal.
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