Before the Blog: The Dead Don't Dance

The Dead Don’t Dance

by Charles Martin

Thomas Nelson Mass Market Paperback

ISBN 9781595543271

326 pages

Release Date: September 4, 2007

Available for purchase 

AMAZON          BARNES AND NOBLE

Why did you choose this book? A friend at church lent it to me and highly recommended it.

When did you read this book? Oct 2010

Who should read this book? readers of Christian fiction

Here is a synopsis of ‘The Dead Don’t Dance' from Goodreads, where it rates 4.09 stars.

A sleepy rural town in South Carolina. The end of summer and a baby about to be born. But in the midst of hope and celebration comes unexpected tragedy, and Dylan Styles must come to terms with how much he's lost. Will the music of his heart be stilled forever--or will he choose to dance with life once more, in spite of sorrow and heartbreak?

The Dead Don't Dance is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story--a tale of one man's spiritual journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope.

My Review 

This was a pretty good book, though it didn't draw me in as much I had expected. It basically starts with a man sitting next to his wife's bedside while she lies in a coma. Their son has just died during birth and she hemorraghed during childbirth. He is very loyal, sitting by her bedsides almost 24/7. He is told that the longer she remains in her coma, the less likely her chances are of recovery. He sits with his memories grieves as everyone tries to move him on. He receives support from his best friend and former high school football teammate, the sheriff, who pushes him into teaching at the local community college. One of his students, an aide at the hospital, also lends support. The story tells of his interaction with his students, and his coping with his wife's condition and his attempt to move on as he learns to deal with his wife’s condition and broken dreams. I did like the book, but it is not on my list of ‘must read’s. At times the story moved a little too slowly and I was ready to put the book down. The biggest motivator for me to continue was to learn whether or not his wife ever regained consciousness. I’m not going to tell you, because that would ruin the book for you if you choose to read it. 

My Rating:  ★★★ 3 Stars

Before the Blog is a meme hosted by YA Litwit. The idea here is that we have all been reading much longer than we have been blogging and have many books in our reading past that are worthy of blogging about. This is a way to 'rediscover' these gems by answering a few basic questions. For details check out Karis' YA Litwit blog.