What do you think?
Rate this book
Dancing with Statues
Will our history always define us?
What does it take to move on from the past?
These are questions Laura has been avoiding since she was fifteen, since that day ten years ago when her mother took her own life. Until she meets Miguel, a lawyer investigating a bombing that took place days before her mother’s death, towards the end of the Northern Irish “Troubles”.
Initially, his love gives her hope for a brighter future. But when he starts delving into the past, asking questions about her mother and the circumstances surrounding her death, their relationship begins to unravel and Laura is finally forced to revisit her family’s history in search of answers of her own.
What does it take to move on from the past?
These are questions Laura has been avoiding since she was fifteen, since that day ten years ago when her mother took her own life. Until she meets Miguel, a lawyer investigating a bombing that took place days before her mother’s death, towards the end of the Northern Irish “Troubles”.
Initially, his love gives her hope for a brighter future. But when he starts delving into the past, asking questions about her mother and the circumstances surrounding her death, their relationship begins to unravel and Laura is finally forced to revisit her family’s history in search of answers of her own.
- GenresRomance
294 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2013
4 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Doherty de Novoa
5 books30 followersCaroline Doherty de Novoa was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Over the years she has called Bogotá, Manchester, Madrid, Oxford and London home. Her home is wherever she and her husband Juan are together.
Her first novel, Dancing with Statues was published in 2013. The Belfast Girl is her second novel.
You can find out more at www.carolinedohertydenovoa.com
Her first novel, Dancing with Statues was published in 2013. The Belfast Girl is her second novel.
You can find out more at www.carolinedohertydenovoa.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 27, 2013
This was a very interesting book. At first I thought it would be cliché. You know, a close friend of relative dies so the main character struggles to get though. Then a stunning guy or girl struts in the main characters life and helps then get through the death.
BUT this was different. I was interested from the beginning of the book to the end.
The only problem I had was that the cover of the book does not correspond with the two main people in the book. Laura is supposed to have long dark hair and pale skin. The woman on the cover is not pale, in fact the man is more pale than the woman, which leads me to Miguel. Miguel is NOT supposed to be pale, he is supposed to look Columbian. The guy on the cover looks like a vampire. Miguel is supposed to have thick,dark curly hair. The man on the cover looks the exact opposite as Miguel.
I did like how the cover intertwines with the title which goes with an event in the book.
BUT this was different. I was interested from the beginning of the book to the end.
The only problem I had was that the cover of the book does not correspond with the two main people in the book. Laura is supposed to have long dark hair and pale skin. The woman on the cover is not pale, in fact the man is more pale than the woman, which leads me to Miguel. Miguel is NOT supposed to be pale, he is supposed to look Columbian. The guy on the cover looks like a vampire. Miguel is supposed to have thick,dark curly hair. The man on the cover looks the exact opposite as Miguel.
I did like how the cover intertwines with the title which goes with an event in the book.
April 17, 2013
It was a pleasure to edit this novel from a unique and talented voice in contemporary literature. The story presents a cultural mingling that is at times hilarious as well as heartbreaking. The characters will stay with you long after the story ends. I look forward to more from this exciting writer.
February 16, 2015
I am a tough critic, I admit. Please place my rating above in the context of the fact that I have only given four 5/5 Star ratings and that I have given 4/5 Star ratings to momentous books such as George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and Hemmingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls." Dancing With Statues is thus in good company and has a lot going for it.
Dancing With Statues is set in post-Good Friday Accord Northern Ireland. Very often novels set there have the Troubles as its main driving narrative, but Caroline Doherty de Novoa has broken free of those shackles to write a very human story where the conflict in Northern Ireland is only an echo - albeit still a loud one - of a society that is moving forward into a different future. Where the historic conflict, its horrors and its oppression, appears is through the work of one of the two main characters within a truth commission investigating a horrible bombing as well as in flashbacks and discovered memories. This, for me, made for a compelling setting where characters could break from historic stereotypes and tell their own stories.
Now, at this point I must digress; Northern Ireland is my parents' homeland and I lived my first five years there. My intimate knowledge of it is dated as I have not been back since 1996, during the cease fire that followed the horrible Omagh Bombing. I have grown accustomed to "sides" and everyone having been affected by the Troubles in one way or another. The husband of one of my cousins once recounted to me how angry he felt that the man who killed his father had been released as part of the Good Friday Accords and yet he believed that such measures were important for Northern Ireland to be a better place in which his children could grow up.
I saw another review of Dancing With Statues in which the reviewer thought that Caroline Doherty de Novoa had treated the subject of the Troubles glibly. In my ignorance born from a dated understanding, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, there are only barriers in the mind - "sides," if you will - if we allow those barriers to exist, so she has simply portrayed a society in which those barriers are not as predominant as perhaps they used to be. Likewise, her own narrative voice strikes a tone that is just, balanced, and forward-looking. Ms. Doherty de Novoa thus hasn't treated the Troubles glibly, she has just decided that after more than fifteen years of imperfect coexistence, that her characters can move on to other things than obsessing over structural oppression and violent resistance. I firmly believe that this is the central success of the novel; building a human story out of the pain that defined our homeland while not having that pain define the story itself was wonderfully achieved.
As you may have guessed from the above, I found the central characters credible, well-rounded - flaws and all - full of the complexities that make us human, and guided by believable motivations. My one quibble is that the character of Laura didn't express much interest in Colombia, the homeland of the other main character, Miguel. Of course, a lot can happen "off-camera" as it were, but it might have been interesting to include a bit more of why a lawyer with experience in peace commissions was in Northern Ireland rather than working back home, in another country coming to grips with its violent past and trying to move on to a better future. I recognize that this is a quibble born out of my own interest in the country where I currently live and in subject matter that I deal with on a weekly basis. The story isn't about the conflict in Colombia, just as it isn't about the conflict in Northern Ireland; it's about something else.
Ms. Doherty de Novoa excels at the slow reveal. There is an early hint at the mystery behind Laura's adolescence, an insight that only transforms into meaning within a dozen pages of the end. In the final third of the book, the story takes twists and turns that are unexpected yet not unbelievable. Ms. Doherty de Novoa also resists taking the characters to full clarity. Will the characters put the final pieces of the puzzle together? Will they solve the puzzle that is their own muddled lives? The author takes us to a point where the reader knows more than the characters and the irony of their interaction ignites the imagination of the reader, leaving the reader thinking, pondering, wondering.
Finally, I loved that Colombian character knew more about Van Morrison than the Northern Irish one did! Way to go, Miguel, knowing Into The Mystic! That speaks highly of you!
It was a very good read and I heartily recommend it!
Ian McKinley
Dancing With Statues is set in post-Good Friday Accord Northern Ireland. Very often novels set there have the Troubles as its main driving narrative, but Caroline Doherty de Novoa has broken free of those shackles to write a very human story where the conflict in Northern Ireland is only an echo - albeit still a loud one - of a society that is moving forward into a different future. Where the historic conflict, its horrors and its oppression, appears is through the work of one of the two main characters within a truth commission investigating a horrible bombing as well as in flashbacks and discovered memories. This, for me, made for a compelling setting where characters could break from historic stereotypes and tell their own stories.
Now, at this point I must digress; Northern Ireland is my parents' homeland and I lived my first five years there. My intimate knowledge of it is dated as I have not been back since 1996, during the cease fire that followed the horrible Omagh Bombing. I have grown accustomed to "sides" and everyone having been affected by the Troubles in one way or another. The husband of one of my cousins once recounted to me how angry he felt that the man who killed his father had been released as part of the Good Friday Accords and yet he believed that such measures were important for Northern Ireland to be a better place in which his children could grow up.
I saw another review of Dancing With Statues in which the reviewer thought that Caroline Doherty de Novoa had treated the subject of the Troubles glibly. In my ignorance born from a dated understanding, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, there are only barriers in the mind - "sides," if you will - if we allow those barriers to exist, so she has simply portrayed a society in which those barriers are not as predominant as perhaps they used to be. Likewise, her own narrative voice strikes a tone that is just, balanced, and forward-looking. Ms. Doherty de Novoa thus hasn't treated the Troubles glibly, she has just decided that after more than fifteen years of imperfect coexistence, that her characters can move on to other things than obsessing over structural oppression and violent resistance. I firmly believe that this is the central success of the novel; building a human story out of the pain that defined our homeland while not having that pain define the story itself was wonderfully achieved.
As you may have guessed from the above, I found the central characters credible, well-rounded - flaws and all - full of the complexities that make us human, and guided by believable motivations. My one quibble is that the character of Laura didn't express much interest in Colombia, the homeland of the other main character, Miguel. Of course, a lot can happen "off-camera" as it were, but it might have been interesting to include a bit more of why a lawyer with experience in peace commissions was in Northern Ireland rather than working back home, in another country coming to grips with its violent past and trying to move on to a better future. I recognize that this is a quibble born out of my own interest in the country where I currently live and in subject matter that I deal with on a weekly basis. The story isn't about the conflict in Colombia, just as it isn't about the conflict in Northern Ireland; it's about something else.
Ms. Doherty de Novoa excels at the slow reveal. There is an early hint at the mystery behind Laura's adolescence, an insight that only transforms into meaning within a dozen pages of the end. In the final third of the book, the story takes twists and turns that are unexpected yet not unbelievable. Ms. Doherty de Novoa also resists taking the characters to full clarity. Will the characters put the final pieces of the puzzle together? Will they solve the puzzle that is their own muddled lives? The author takes us to a point where the reader knows more than the characters and the irony of their interaction ignites the imagination of the reader, leaving the reader thinking, pondering, wondering.
Finally, I loved that Colombian character knew more about Van Morrison than the Northern Irish one did! Way to go, Miguel, knowing Into The Mystic! That speaks highly of you!
It was a very good read and I heartily recommend it!
Ian McKinley
May 11, 2013
Dancing with Statues is a sweet story with a punch. Two different people on different paths, but with a common thread between them. Miguel lost his mother when he was young, as did Laura. But while Miguel's mother died from illness, Laura's took her own life.
Now, years later, Miguel is investigating the bomb that took Laura's mother's life. He's only visiting for a short six months before he must return to his homeland. So when he first admires Laura and approaches her, she doesn't look any deeper into it. She doesn't have time for a relationship since she takes care of her father. But Miguel is persistent and before long, they find themselves falling in love. But then Miguel starts asking some hard questions about Laura's past, her mother's death. Laura will have to face her past if she hopes to have a future with Miguel, but sometimes the truth is a hard pill to swallow.
An engrossing read, Dancing with Statues is easy to read and become immersed in the lives of Laura and Miguel. I love the cover, but it's the writing within that held me riveted for hours. I became invested in their story and wasn't sure how everything would turn out. I won't ruin it for you but I'd recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys stellar contemporary fiction!
Now, years later, Miguel is investigating the bomb that took Laura's mother's life. He's only visiting for a short six months before he must return to his homeland. So when he first admires Laura and approaches her, she doesn't look any deeper into it. She doesn't have time for a relationship since she takes care of her father. But Miguel is persistent and before long, they find themselves falling in love. But then Miguel starts asking some hard questions about Laura's past, her mother's death. Laura will have to face her past if she hopes to have a future with Miguel, but sometimes the truth is a hard pill to swallow.
An engrossing read, Dancing with Statues is easy to read and become immersed in the lives of Laura and Miguel. I love the cover, but it's the writing within that held me riveted for hours. I became invested in their story and wasn't sure how everything would turn out. I won't ruin it for you but I'd recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys stellar contemporary fiction!
November 12, 2013
Miguel is a lawyer who comes to Northern Ireland to take statements and do research re. a terrorist bombing years ago for The Tribunal investigating it.
Laura is a school teacher who had a pretty dull existence caring for her father who has not left the house since his wife's suicide a few days after the bombing.
Miguel and Laura connect and they both start healing from the past and moving forward with their lives.
An engrossing and enjoyable journey.
Laura is a school teacher who had a pretty dull existence caring for her father who has not left the house since his wife's suicide a few days after the bombing.
Miguel and Laura connect and they both start healing from the past and moving forward with their lives.
An engrossing and enjoyable journey.
November 7, 2013
Wonderful book well written with just enough
Descriptive info to remind you of the troubles in Ireland but written in such a great way that the main focus was the emotions and relationships between the characters, it was very easy to grow to care about the main characters due to the way their relationship developed. A great first novel, hopefully more to come.
Descriptive info to remind you of the troubles in Ireland but written in such a great way that the main focus was the emotions and relationships between the characters, it was very easy to grow to care about the main characters due to the way their relationship developed. A great first novel, hopefully more to come.
November 9, 2013
i really enjoyed reading this book i couldnt put it down it had a bit of everything in the story love death history iwas able to relate to places in the book which i knew although its many years since i myself lived there i hope there will be another book by the author an look forward to reading it also what more can i say this is a really lovely book to read.
April 27, 2013
A fabulous story written with warmth and intelligence and populated by complex, flawed but resilient characters. The author's love for the country of her birth is evident on every page. I adored this book and look forward to much much more from this brilliant new writer.
June 6, 2013
Really enjoyed it as a great holiday read and liked the illustration of life in N. Ireland now and then.
September 2, 2015
Loved it! A great story.
August 9, 2013
This story revolves around the heroine's discovery that her mother, following her suicide, was a bigot. I am not going to say any more because that would spoil the story. It is very easy to read despite the subject matter. It just struck me as a little bit glib.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews