Tunes for Dancing Bears

By (author): Irena Karafilly

Every year, 2.6 million babies are stillborn around the world; in Canada, one in every 125 pregnancies ends in a stillbirth. It is September 1991 and Lydia has just given birth to a stillborn child in Montreal. As she and her husband, Dr John Gabriel, grapple with its after effects, their lives and relationship come under inevitable scrutiny. Lydia, the daughter of poor Greek immigrants, fears she has failed her husband as well as his more prosperous Greek family. Their marriage had been shaky from the start and the stillbirth seriously threatens its very foundations, including John?s commitment to fidelity. Tunes for Dancing Bears plunges deeply into the complexities of grief and the limits of our self regard. A touching story of family, immigration, hope, and what it really means to make a life for ourselves.

AUTHOR

Irena Karafilly

Irena Karafilly is an award-winning Montreal writer, poet, and aphorist. She is the author of several acclaimed books and of numerous stories, poems, and articles, which have been published in both literary and consumer magazines, as well as in newspapers such as the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. Some of her stories have been anthologized and/or broadcast, winning literary prizes such as the National Magazine Award and the CBC Literary Award. For more information, please visit: www.irenakarafilly.com


Reviews

Irena Karafilly has written a beautiful and moving addition to the literature of loss and grief William Kotzwinkle author of Swimmer in the Secret Sea

PRAISE FOR ARRESTED SONG

I enjoyed this book immensely Karafilly succeeds brilliantly where I had decided not to even try A very accomplished novel Louis de Bernieres

A gripping powerfully evocative chronicle of Greek island life Nothing is black and white here least of all her feisty iconoclastic heroine hard to put this book down Sofka Zinovieff

Arrested Song is a wonderful novel fully realized and absorbing Anna Porter

An epic pageturning story of longing and bravery Arrested Song is a must read Nadia Marks

Beautifully written and riveting Carol P Christ

Arrested Song is a highly accomplished thoroughly researched and compelling read Dean Kalimniou

One of the best novels Ive read about modern Greece A truly original work Diana Farr Louis

A beautifully written superbly detailed and addictive historical novel mostly set on the island of Lesvos I savoured every word Peter Barber

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Details

Dimensions:

180 Pages
8.00in * 5.00in * 1.00in
350.00gr

Published:

May 01, 2025

Publisher:

Baraka Books

ISBN:

9781771863810

Book Subjects:

FICTION / General

Language:

eng

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