REVIEW: The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan
From the wildly popular bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things: a heartfelt and inspiring story about a wealthy widow who revives a beloved famous local landmark—and restores joy and sparkle to her own life in the process.
It’s never too late to start dancing again…
For fifty years, Venetia Hargreaves’s world revolved around her husband. She built their life around his big career, with dinner on the table at six, a lovely home, and a dutiful son just as business-minded as his father. Now Venetia’s a wealthy widow left with a beautiful but empty home, an enviable bank balance, and a distinct feeling that she missed the boat. Once upon a time, she was a dance instructor who dreamed of opening her own ballroom school with a fellow teacher who won her heart. Instead, Venetia chose the safer path.
So, at seventy-four years of age, Venetia declares her independence, first with a makeover, and then by adopting a new dog. But something is still missing…until on one of her dog walks by the river she passes by a building she remembers all too well. In her youth it was the spectacular Phoenix Ballroom, where she used to teach waltzes and tangos. These days it’s a community center and spiritualist church, funded by a mysterious benefactor who only pays for the upkeep.
Eager to revive at least one meaningful thing from her past, Venetia buys the Phoenix Ballroom, and finds a supportive and loving community of lost souls who become a delightful multigenerational family-by-choice.
As the ballroom regains its former glory, the community and Venetia’s humdrum life are revived as well…proving wonderful things can come from the darkest of places.
CW/TW – heroine was sexually assaulted years ago
Dear Ms. Hogan,
When I requested this novel, I thought from the blurb that I was going to be getting something very different. I’d never read any of your books but there seems, from other reviewers’ comments, to be a pattern of character focused, lower stakes stories. I have to agree with another person who dubbed this book “relentlessly positive.” Some tragedy occurs (Vanetia’s husband of 50 years dies, Liberty’s mother dies, Kite’s boarding school has bullies, a homeless man has no family) but no one lets these things keep them down or depressed. Vanetia suffered some (and we can figure out what it was) event long ago that caused her hair to fall out? Wigs look great on her. Liberty Bell’s (yes, that’s her name) mother left her practically nothing when Liberty got fired from her job after a years long booty call affair with her boss? A job advert led her to this wonderful found family. Kite loathes his school, running away after kicking another student (who sounds like an asshole)? Doing this gets him allowed to live with his beloved grandmother.
There’s also a lot more religion in the story than I was expecting from the description. At first the “church” seemed more of a community center of lovely, endlessly caring people, ready with cups of hot tea and digestive biscuits to solve the world’s problems but then Christmas arrives and they’re all filled with even more sugary sweet community love. And Kite’s just a wonder with all these old folks. Even Vanetia’s rescue German Shepherd dog – saved from a neighborhood “grow house” and honestly he’s just so good tempered – gets along with everyone. The only fly in the ointment is Vanetia’s slightly overbearing son but he only rarely pops into the narrative and because he doesn’t, things are actually better!
In the second half of the book, lots of background information on these characters is unloaded on the reader as long info-dumps. Venetia (who has been left oodles of money and is conflicted about this as she never did anything to earn it) agonizes over whether to buy the ballroom building because is this all about her memories of her youth or a chance to assist the community. Her sister-in-law Swan (the family names itself after birds) is like aristocratic Maggie Smith without hearing aids and speaks mostly in exclamation points (and never suffers “mornings after” despite the quantities of gin she slugs back). She urges Venetia to do what she wants with her money because why can’t Venetia’s plans be both good for her and the community? Liberty’s mother’s will has the solicitor checking up on Liberty looking for things he can’t tell her in order to inherit something he also can’t tell her but the overall feeling I get is that this will end up well for her.
Even though they’re not, the plot points come across as just very low stakes – speed bumps in the road (the kind you don’t even have to slow down much to get over) instead of roadblocks. There’s no sense that anything will end badly for these people. No tension and no spice. For readers looking for a book that is the equivalent of a dozen sugary donuts, washed down with sweet ice tea while gently swinging in a hammock on a not too humid or hot day, this should fit the bill. But, knowing that I’m going to sound like a curmudgeon for saying this, I struggled to stay interested in something that is basically a Christmas Hallmark movie. It does have a gorgeous cover, though. C
~Jayne
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