This was a reread for me and I loved it the second time as well. ( )

I didn't care for the style of writing. I never finished this book. ( )

Draft dodging piano tuner on the run teaches tango in a cave. What more do you need to know?
A beautifully told story about two families, separated by a generation and an ocean, Here At the End of the World We Learn to Dance really captures the spirit of tango. And did I mention it stars a piano tuner? ( )

If you like intricate plots, interesting characters, foreign settings, and historical accuracy, this is a book for you. I knew absolutely nothing about Japanese/Chinese relations or Manchuria during the war and I must admit I had to reread chapters in the first part of the book to gather an understanding of the history of the times, but after that I was totally pulled in.

The first chapter is so compelling and demonstrates the effect stories and imagination can have on the human condition. And then as the book unfolds, one begins to see how stories (movies) can have an effect on an entire nation; are they stories for the imagination or propaganda or both.

Although Ri Koran (or Shirley Yamaguchi or whatever her name could be) is the center of the story, the three men that tell her story at three different times in her life are the most interesting. They provide perfect foils to her personality as she evolves from someone who is knowingly manipulated to someone who manipulates those around her. All of this set in three different parts of the world in vastly different circumstances.

I loved this book. I loved the fact that real historical characters play a part (Truman Capote comes to mind), and the authenticity of the historical events as they unfolded in China, Japan, United States, and Lebanon. There are so many characters in this book and so many little unique connections between them, it was a fascinating read. ( )

Towards the more literary end of the spectrum, but not too erudite. An interesting story and not at all predictable. ( )