Ballroom - Paperback

by Alice Sherman Simpson (Author)

Told in interconnecting stories, Ballroom is a beautifully crafted debut novel--reminiscent of the works of Elizabeth Strout and Jennifer Haigh--about a group of strangers united by a desire to escape their complicated lives, if only for a few hours each week, in a faded New York City dance hall.

Time has eroded the glamour of the Ballroom, but at the end of the 1990s, a small crowd of loyal patrons still makes its way past the floor-to-ceiling columns which frame the once grand hall each Sunday evening. Sweeping across the worn parquet floor under a peeling indigo ceiling, these men and women succumb to the magic of the music, looking for love and connection, eager to erase the drab reality of their complicated lives.

Nearly forty and still single, Sarah Dreyfus is desperate for love and sure she'll find it with debonair Gabriel Katz, a dazzling peacock who dances to distract himself from his crumbling marriage. Tired of the bachelor life, Joseph believes that his yearning for a wife and family will be fulfilled--if only he can get Sarah to notice him. Besotted with beautiful young Maria Rodriguez, elderly dance instructor Harry Korn knows they can find happiness together. Maria, one of the Ballroom's stars, has a dream of her own, a passion her broken-hearted father refuses to accept or understand.

As the rhythms of the Ballroom ebb and flow through these characters' hearts, their fates come together in touching, unexpected ways.

Front Jacket

The Ballroom used to be a place to see and be seen, but the years have taken their toll. By the end of the 1990s, this Manhattan dance hall is a husk of its former self. A small crowd of loyal patrons still makes its way to the worn parquet floor every Sunday evening: although they each have their private reasons for returning again and again to the Ballroom, they all find solace within its walls--and in the magic of dance.

Nearly forty and still single, Sarah Dreyfus is desperate for love and sure she'll find it with debonair Gabriel Katz, who seduces the women he meets at the Ballroom to distract himself from his crumbling marriage. Lonely bachelor Joseph believes that his yearning for a wife and family will be fulfilled--if he can only get Sarah to notice him and see that he is in love with her. Obsessed with his building superintendent's beautiful daughter, Maria Rodriguez, elderly dance instructor Harry Korn is convinced that together they will find the happiness that has eluded him throughout his life. And Maria, who--thanks in part to Harry's instruction and encouragement--is one of the stars of Sunday nights at the Ballroom along with her partner, Angel Morez, has a dream of her own that her brokenhearted father refuses to accept or understand.

In this deeply felt debut, Alice Simpson deftly unfolds the lives of these men and women, entwining their stories into a profoundly human narrative about our instinctual longing to love and to be loved.

Back Jacket

The Ballroom used to be a place to see and be seen, but the years have taken their toll. By the end of the 1990s, this Manhattan dance hall is a husk of its former self. A small crowd of loyal patrons still makes its way to the worn parquet floor every Sunday evening: although they each have their private reasons for returning again and again to the Ballroom, they all find solace within its walls--and in the magic of dance.

Nearly forty and still single, Sarah Dreyfus is desperate for love and sure she'll find it with debonair Gabriel Katz, who seduces the women he meets at the Ballroom to distract himself from his crumbling marriage. Lonely bachelor Joseph believes that his yearning for a wife and family will be fulfilled--if he can only get Sarah to notice him and see that he is in love with her. Obsessed with his building superintendent's beautiful daughter, Maria Rodriguez, elderly dance instructor Harry Korn is convinced that together they will find the happiness that has eluded him throughout his life. And Maria, who--thanks in part to Harry's instruction and encouragement--is one of the stars of Sunday nights at the Ballroom along with her partner, Angel Morez, has a dream of her own that her brokenhearted father refuses to accept or understand.

In this deeply felt debut, Alice Simpson deftly unfolds the lives of these men and women, entwining their stories into a profoundly human narrative about our instinctual longing to love and to be loved.