Dance: A Novel by Dave Bricker

Dave Bricker's first novel, The Dance, is a joyful, sexy, humorous and irreverent excursion that leaves few traditions unquestioned as its unusual cast of characters brazenly steals a peek under the skirts of life's magic to revel in its mystery. Hanns is a restless engineer, photographer and film-maker ready for his next adventure. Tino is a brilliant painter and flamenco guitarist. Anna is an uninhibited dressmaker and chocolatier who delights in life's absurdities. Antonio is an amateur bullfighter determined to prove himself in the ring. When inexplicable circumstances bring them together, they are catapulted off on a whimsical expedition to Southern Spain to create a documentary film and search for a magic guitar. Along with Kalimba; the son of an African witch doctor and a Christian missionary, the unlikely group journeys to music shops, island anchorages, gypsy camps, bull rings and bedrooms to discover the rules for breaking the rules. The Dance is a work of fiction based on a true story of a romp across Southern Spain in 1970. Its unusual group of characters seeks a replacement for a destroyed flamenco guitar while they shoot a documentary film about bullfighting amidst a swirling landscape of color and coincidence. A philosophical adventure, The Dance moves quickly, twisting and turning as its characters reconcile magic with reality, love with sexuality, faith with empiricism and tradition with human nature. <br><br> Lighthearted, humorous, irreverent, frank, uninhibited and entertaining, The Dance is a book for people who like to think, feel and question without getting lost in philosophical loops that obscure the joy of life's experiences. At the same time, The Dance never preaches or prescribes. It's more about seeking the right questions than settling on a set of answers, and caters to readers driven by both faith and philosophy. Aficionados and those opposed to toreo - bullfighting - will find themselves both fairly supported and challenged. In The Dance, bullfighting is revealed as a powerful metaphor that inspires the characters to consider the nature of killing, courtship, survival and love itself. Lovers of flamenco and acoustic guitar will find their world colorfully rendered as the characters seek a replacement for a very special guitar. Their quest takes them into flamenco clubs, guitar shops, gypsy camps and luthiers' workshops where traditional Spanish flamenco culture is brought to life. Like any art, The Dance is a personal work. Though I hope readers find it inspiring and enjoyable, it is not a "book product" written for a particular group or "target market." It has not been nipped and tucked to suit the tastes of a particular audience by a big publishing house. You won't likely find it on a table at your local bookseller or reviewed by major publications that eschew independent authors. It is, however, an authentic, creative effort; one I feel warrants sharing with readers whose tires are not stuck in the ruts of the mainstream.