THE MODEL

by Robert Aickman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 1987

A short, fantastical, posthumous novel from the author of the weird story collections Cold Hand in Mine (1977) and Painted Devils (1979). Elena, a young girl in pre-revolutionary Russia, dreams of becoming a ballerina; in the attic of the vast house where she lives with her newly impoverished father and vaguely ailing mother, she builds a model ballet theater out of old odds and ends. Her father urges her to marry Rurik, the son of a rich count, and thus recoup the family fortunes; instead, a stranger, Irash, appears, bringing Elena a set of wooden dancer-puppets, and tells her to go to Smorevsk to become a ballerina. When Elena sets forth, she is given a ride in Prince Lexi's carriage, complete with his retinue of ghostly dogs. Elena does indeed dance (in the model theater that she herself built?), has various odd adventures, returns home, and finally sets forth once more. All this, however, doesn't really capture the sheer strangeness of Aickman's work. Nothing is quite what it seems; the distinction between dreams, reality, and imagination blurs. The novel might be read as a parable about growing up, though in any event, the writing is delicate and beautifully turned, the characters charming and lifelike. But readers impatient with dreamlike ambiguity will find little to chew on here.

Pub Date: April 28, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Arbor House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION