Spinifex Press
Remember the Tarantella - Finola Moorhead
Remember The Tarantella is a remarkable work. It’s learned and frivolous, female not feminine, silly and serious. Written in several strands of narrative, story does not seem to be the main objective of this novel. The many characters create a space as if reading were a dance party. Private conversations and thoughts are always within earshot of the rhythm of others, like the stamping of feet and the beat of the music. But what is outstanding is the quality of the prose, which achieves a kind of concerto-like poetry, many instruments of different tones assist the reader to know who is who.
The tarantella of the title is not the mating dance, but the ruse of the women who did not want to be burnt as witches. At the reputed bite of the spider, they went into some kind of mania and danced themselves into the sea to drown instead. Moorhead’s Remember The Tarantella is truly a work of feminist fiction. A delight, to be read again and again, as one would listen to music over and over.
Not for sale
Subscribe to our RSS feed
Follow us on Twitter