Review by Maulyne -- The Dancing Barber by AC Michael
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Maulyne
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Review by Maulyne -- The Dancing Barber by AC Michael
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Dancing Barber" by AC Michael.]
3 out of 4 stars
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This is a historical fiction book .Its context is the 1960s after The great famine hits Ukraine , a famine that's actually manmade by the Soviet Union under Khrushchev and Stalin.This is actually thirty years after the famine .Those that survived are the ones the author uses to give his story of what exactly happened. The author uses Bible verses at the beginning of every act to give a preview of happens in the book. His story starts during Good Friday per the Christian custom and ends few days after the Easter Monday. The story spans around two countries; Ukraine and England. This means that those who escaped or survived the famine left Ukraine and settled in a town Bradford in England. Millions of people die as a result of the famine.
The author uses different characters to put his massage across .The Ukrainians in Chaplinka culture changes as a result ,they even eat rats to quench their hunger something they never did before as told by Lenka and Zena , Halyna's twin sisters. Taras the main character is a ballet master who teaches children ballet dancing with his daughter Sophia included. It surprises me that he doesn't believe in his daughters abilities ,he even prefers another girl who though is best at dancing ballet His wife Halyna is on strike so to make him be responsible. He earns the title ''The dancing Barber''after his first dance that he performs during the Easter celebrations which he boasts about.
Taras lives with Klem in his house who occupies the attic .Klem spend thirty finding out the truth behind the great famine and when he gets it he sends it to the TV stations. He has a cat he names Mr Pushkin. Others who live in Bradford include a wealthy landlord who gets his wealth through fraud, he lives with his mother the head of gossip mongers with his daughter Oksana . The other people in Bradford are introduced by the author one by one.
The twins make an impromptu visit to Halyna .They give her news that their mother died and their father is alive with the disguise of being their uncle Viktor. He did that to escape the Soviet authorities. The twins journey is worthy tormenting to other trravels who travel alongside them because of their smell of which they do not care about.
The book revolves around the Ukraine during and after the great famine. Millions of people die and others leave Ukraine. Some of them live under false identities .For instance when reading the book you wonder who Voloshin is because he is not known and people in the book have him as their only hope of liberation from the Soviet Union. With reference to Ephesians 4:25 at the last Act that ''Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully, He reveals the Identity of Voloshin as Taras when Klem shaves him off and takes a picture of him sending it to the dailies. Viktor neighbour knows his (Viktor) identity and he also reveals that he took someone's identity.
I liked the book very much as it gave me some knowledge about Ukraine that I knew nothing about .His wit in using humour for instance through he uses Sophia in showing how the twins ears are dirty, ''their wax can be used in making candles which can be used for a year'' when they make a comment on Sophia hearing . The author also connects the story in such away that you are able to put the pieces together and understand the whole novel
I give this this book a rating of 3 out of 4 and I recommend it to anyone willing to read that they will never be disappointed. Its book that particularly explains the history of Ukraine
******
The Dancing Barber
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3 out of 4 stars
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This is a historical fiction book .Its context is the 1960s after The great famine hits Ukraine , a famine that's actually manmade by the Soviet Union under Khrushchev and Stalin.This is actually thirty years after the famine .Those that survived are the ones the author uses to give his story of what exactly happened. The author uses Bible verses at the beginning of every act to give a preview of happens in the book. His story starts during Good Friday per the Christian custom and ends few days after the Easter Monday. The story spans around two countries; Ukraine and England. This means that those who escaped or survived the famine left Ukraine and settled in a town Bradford in England. Millions of people die as a result of the famine.
The author uses different characters to put his massage across .The Ukrainians in Chaplinka culture changes as a result ,they even eat rats to quench their hunger something they never did before as told by Lenka and Zena , Halyna's twin sisters. Taras the main character is a ballet master who teaches children ballet dancing with his daughter Sophia included. It surprises me that he doesn't believe in his daughters abilities ,he even prefers another girl who though is best at dancing ballet His wife Halyna is on strike so to make him be responsible. He earns the title ''The dancing Barber''after his first dance that he performs during the Easter celebrations which he boasts about.
Taras lives with Klem in his house who occupies the attic .Klem spend thirty finding out the truth behind the great famine and when he gets it he sends it to the TV stations. He has a cat he names Mr Pushkin. Others who live in Bradford include a wealthy landlord who gets his wealth through fraud, he lives with his mother the head of gossip mongers with his daughter Oksana . The other people in Bradford are introduced by the author one by one.
The twins make an impromptu visit to Halyna .They give her news that their mother died and their father is alive with the disguise of being their uncle Viktor. He did that to escape the Soviet authorities. The twins journey is worthy tormenting to other trravels who travel alongside them because of their smell of which they do not care about.
The book revolves around the Ukraine during and after the great famine. Millions of people die and others leave Ukraine. Some of them live under false identities .For instance when reading the book you wonder who Voloshin is because he is not known and people in the book have him as their only hope of liberation from the Soviet Union. With reference to Ephesians 4:25 at the last Act that ''Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully, He reveals the Identity of Voloshin as Taras when Klem shaves him off and takes a picture of him sending it to the dailies. Viktor neighbour knows his (Viktor) identity and he also reveals that he took someone's identity.
I liked the book very much as it gave me some knowledge about Ukraine that I knew nothing about .His wit in using humour for instance through he uses Sophia in showing how the twins ears are dirty, ''their wax can be used in making candles which can be used for a year'' when they make a comment on Sophia hearing . The author also connects the story in such away that you are able to put the pieces together and understand the whole novel
I give this this book a rating of 3 out of 4 and I recommend it to anyone willing to read that they will never be disappointed. Its book that particularly explains the history of Ukraine
******
The Dancing Barber
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Maulyne's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Small Change by Keddie Hughes
