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Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.<\/em><\/p>\n This is part two of Whitehead\u2019s planned trilogy set in Harlem. Part 1 was \u201cHarlem Shuffle,\u201d set in the 1960s. This one is set in the 1970s and follows many of the same characters. But a new decade spells new escapades for our hero, Ray Carney, who vowed at the end of Part 1 to walk away from his criminal associates and all the dangers those relationships held. Easier said than done, particularly when Ray\u2019s daughter has her heart set on scoring tickets to see the Jackson 5 at Madison Square Garden. Ray thinks, \u201cI know a guy \u2026,\u201d and we\u2019re off. Whitehead has an eye for the details of this decade, especially in describing the hip clothing popular then in Harlem, like houndstooth flare pants worn with a thigh-length leather jacket. Readers of a certain age will be able to visualize those outfits vividly. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut that was the beauty of books, wasn\u2019t it? They took you places you didn\u2019t know you needed to go.\u201d \u201cNo Two Persons\u201d shows the numerous ways a book slips into our lives. Bauermeister uses a mirage of a book (Theo) to portray the effect of one story on a variety of readers — author, agent, audiobook narrator, bookseller and others. As we skid along this trail, we glimpse tantalizing views of\u00a0 Theo, alluring enough that I wish it were next on my bookshelf. Not all these readers\u2019 stories end definitively, but, as one character, Nola, says,\u201c I just don\u2019t think life gets tied up with a bow very often.\u201d Some of the characters slip into more than one story, and the resolutions here are sufficient for the novel to be coherent and, more, satisfying. We are left with questions to ponder, but not left feeling cheated. I\u2019ve read several of Bauermeister\u2019s novels, and they feed my heart. \u201cNo Two Persons\u201d won\u2019t be the last. \u2013 3 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker<\/em><\/p>\n This is the biography of the choreographer whose life was bookmarked by the major events of the 20th century. Born in 1904 Tsarist Russia, Balanchine was part of the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg in 1913 and witnessed the 1917 Communist revolution. He escaped to Europe in the 1920s and arrived in the United States in the 1930s as fascism overtook Europe. He created more than 400 ballets in his lifetime and helped co-found the New York City Ballet. Homans links the development of his choreography with his beliefs as they were shaped by world events. The author, a former dancer herself and the former dance critic of The New Yorker, had access to many of Balanchine\u2019s dancers and his extensive papers. A riveting read for those interested in dance. –– 3 stars (out of 4); Susan Tracy, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cCrook Manifesto,\u201d by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday, 2023)<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n\u201cNo Two Persons,\u201d by Erica Bauermeister (St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2023)<\/h4>\n
“Mr. B: George Balanchine in the Twentieth Century,” by Jennifer Homans (Random House, 2022)<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n\u201cGood Luck With That,\u201d by Kristin Higgins (Berkley, 2018)<\/h4>\n