City of Night Birds: A Reese's Book Club Pick

I’m sad and annoyed that book is over ☹️ I’ve got a book hangover. Juhea Kim’s City of Night Birds sweeps you into the enchanting and ruthless world of contemporary Russian ballet. That alone is a difference from other ballet books with this setting, all of which tend to be Soviet era. You get a first person POV in Natalia Leonova, the rags to riches prima ballerina who meets with a tragic accident. You’ll see the various loves in her life, and how art consumes them all to the point where dance is her only love. The true tension in this book isn’t from an outside source, it’s interior. While it’s never a focus of the book, just an accepted fact, you’re fully immersed in the world of elite ballet and all that comes with it: bloody feet, no eating, rivalries, ambition that’s so overwhelming its self-destructive. But somehow, it’s all beautiful because after all – it’s ballet.The setting of this novel is controversial right now for obvious reasons, but I thought that Kim approached it well, especially seeing as she was probably working on this book for YEARS before Russia invaded Ukraine. The bits involving it do feel 'added in' but important nonetheless. Can art be separated from the political? The artist from the art? How can one enjoy art, participate in art, create or view art, spend money & time on art while war and travesties wage on? There aren’t necessarily answers between these pages but a lot to mull over. It made me think of athletes and just the general question of individuals being banned from competing because of the actions of a state. How, or even can, the two be separated? There’s a pretty good example in freediving which people are of two minds that I won’t get into here - but anyway…City of Night Birds is not just a story about ballet or a story about a Russian; it's a profound meditation on love, forgiveness, and the making of an artist in a turbulent world.

I adored this read and have been recommending it to my dancer friends and novel-loving friends. Can't wait for them to finish so we can discuss! City of Night Birds was stunning, gorgeous, gritty, soaring, and acutely painful. Vivid from coastal logging to the stages, ballet classes, apartments, hotels and restaurants. I think I actually existed within this story, and I think a part of me is still there. The understanding of relationships over time, of yearning, of teacher-student dynamics, of ballet critic reviews, of competitions, it all flew in another realm that somehow made my non-dance realm more real. I loved Juhea Kim's first novel, Beasts of a Little Land, and this highly anticipated second novel from her exceeded my expectations. Thank you Juhea for breathing life into this story and bringing us all into a hopeful future, one peppered, at least in this reader's life, with more ballet.

This book has its great moments, don't get me wrong and had many quotables, but after a while it started to feel a bit drawn out for me

If you are a former dancer who seriously studied ballet, you will adore this book. I started reading it yesterday and am only halfway through, but I find myself picking it up whenever I have a free moment. Lovely prose.

It was a good book. It came fast in the mail.

This story was well done bouncing between the current and past. Its not mutated when it bounces timelines by notes opens chapters. Paying attention is necessary especially with all the names. Overall, a wonderful realistic fiction focused on a woman's journey through art.

A delightful and descriptive read. A book that reads with the peace and movement of a ballet, that helps you feel as well as let go

Not what I was expecting.

I absolutely loved this book. The author’s writing style was poetic and gives you such an insightful point of view into the mind of this professional ballet dancer. She writes about how art is the link between truth and beauty and it just resonated with me.

Fascinating view of the world of ballet and the toll it takes. Great discourse on the power of art.A glossary of ballet terms and food would have been helpful. Also the switch between time frames tends to often be confusing. But overall a moving story which kept me reading long after my usual bedtime.

This was really good. I liked far better than I thought I would. Very interesting with Russia and Paris. The back and forth between the past and present was interesting but confusing at times too. If you like ballet I recommend this book.

Great book, quick read!

This book was sort of a surprise because of the level of detail in regard to ballet. The brief bio of the author did not say she is a dancer herself, so she must have done extensive research about the ballet companies and the technical details of dancing. The story is pretty good, about one specific dancer and her relationships with the others in the various companies. I enjoyed most of it. There was a long section toward the end that seemed to go on forever, but otherwise the story moved along fairly quickly and was interesting. I would especially recommend it to fans of ballet.

The perfect read to launch me back into my love of books. Have been starting and quitting many books recently and this one captivated me from start to finish and had so many enriching cultural references. I YouTubed the ballets referenced and found a new appreciation for what I was seeing through this book’s narrator. Overall it was moody but not hopeless and beautifully written.

I liked the book since I was always fascinated by ballet dancers after taking lessons when I was very young. A lot of Natalia’s life takes place in St.Petersburg, where I’ve been fortunate to visit, but not see a ballet. I read it and used an audiobook which I really like to do to hear the characters.

Best Book I've Read in Years...It was simply incredible. Magical. Transformative. Entertaining. Everything!I loved it SO much. It was the rare overlap of it being a FAVORITE read as well as a WELL WRITTEN read. Sometimes, nowadays, a book is not both loved and "good." This is GREAT. LOVED IT

I enjoyed this book.

The life of a poor Russian girl who finds her way into ballet …deeply intense with an inside view of the rigors, work and drama to achieve the status of a prima ballerina. A beautiful book that may move a bit slowly for some but is rich in emotion, detail, and the complex personalities that make up the world of ballet.

I have been disappointed by so many modern novels lately. Too many of them contain unlikeable or unrelatable characters, silly plots and tortured metaphors.This book hooked me from the first page and made me feel completely immersed in another world. The imagery was vivid and beautiful, the main character sympathetic and relatable, and the plot kept me fully engrossed until the last satisfying page.Many thanks to the author for the talent and hard work that went into this fine piece of work.

This book was so unique, original and relevant. It was poignant and had a twinge of sadness and pain throughout. It regaled the extreme sacrifices and challenges artists go through. It also highlighted the ongoing difficulties of being a performer, particularly a ballet dancer. Although there was a little bit of predictability, there were also vast surprises in the book. I could tell the traits of some of the main characters of the book, even though they haven’t been revealed it. Sometimes the time line was difficult to follow, but it made sense overall. This is a very moving book, a true work of art!