A Company of Swans: Book Review

• Author: Eva Ibbotson  
• First Published: 1985  
• Genre: Historical Fiction  
• Rating: ★★★★★

How does a girl who grew up sheltered in a loveless, cold household in England end up a beautiful and talented ballerina performing in Brazil? Through hardship, betrayal, and perseverance - and with the help of her company of swans of course.

Eva Ibbotson weaves a beautiful and tragic narrative of a girl growing up in a household where she was shown no love, had no freedoms, and whose family was wound so tight and misogynistic that her future seemed very bleak indeed. That is, until fate, and a mere mention of an opportunity to pursue ballet professionally caused her to strike out on her own path and abandon her frigid family. Deep in the heart of the Amazon with her ballet company and some unexpected encounters, she transforms from a quiet and obedient cygnet to a beautiful and vibrant swan; here she finds and can be her true self.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've had this book for a decade on my shelf, perpetually putting it off because it didn't seem that interesting despite my liking of Eva's work in the past. The first chapter or two are slow, and if you, like me, haven't read many of the scholarly classics that well-educated Cambridge folk had back in the early 1900s, it can get a bit pedantic. The real excitement starts as soon as our fair Harriet sets sail for Brazil; from here, I could barely put the book down, staying up well into the night to finish the last half of the book after work. After finishing the book, I can understand and respect why the beginning was so dry and slow, as it gives weight to the changes that take place from beginning to end.

In retrospect, the only things that I didn't like about this book are exactly the things that I wasn't supposed to like - some of the characters. They're so well-crafted in their misogynistic, opportunistic, nosy, and prudish ways that they would burrow under the skin and make you want to reach through the book and shake them. The other thing is communication - so many issues in this book wouldn't have been issues if there had been better communication. That being said, it reflects the time period and our protagonist's innocence fantastically and is not an actual criticism, but a reflection of how we tend to jump to conclusions - often due to emotions - without fully thinking the situation through.

All-in-all, this is a fantastically written book, albeit one you may need Google open in order to search the plethora of ballet, zoology, and horticultural terms used. I highly recommend this to anyone who is searching for something that is potentially different from their typical reads, but wants something that is uplifting and makes you feel good at the end.

Have you read this book before? Does it seem like something that would interest you?

Cheers!