The Spectacular
BY Fiona Davis
In The Spectacular, Marion and Nathaniel go out for dinner one night, and Nathaniel orders a cheeseburger and a side of broccoli. Marion fondly remembers how Nathaniel eats broccoli with every meal because he thinks it’s the “key to longevity.” Bring a Spectacular dish to your book club by making this cracked out hot broccoli dip, courtesy of Plain Chicken. Between the broccoli, cheese, bacon, and other ingredients, it incorporates a little bit of everything that Nathaniel had on his plate into a delicious side dish.
Generations of Americans have grown up watching the Radio City Rockettes dance in their infamous kick line. I remember watching each Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade eager to see them take the stage. Millions more have seen them perform in their Christmas Spectacular. Their beauty and grace is only surpassed by their mesmerizing synchronized steps. The Rockettes truly are an American icon.
Fiona Davis explores this infamous dance troupe in her new book, The Spectacular, just in time for their real-life centennial anniversary. The story begins in 1956 when a young dancer by the name of Marion Brooks decides that she’s not ready to start the life her father wants her to have. She is teaching dance classes at a studio when she is suddenly fired for not being strict enough with her five-year-olds. That night, her boyfriend, Nathaniel, arrives home from college and a European tour. She finds out he is going to propose. Marion’s father, Simon, is very old-fashioned and thus expects her to marry or get a “respectable job” for a woman, such as being a nurse, teacher, or secretary.
Feeling constricted by the impending proposal, Marion goes upstairs to find her mother’s wedding dress. Instead, she finds a box marked “Mementos.” Her mother, Lucille, was an actress, and the box contained Playbills and programs from different acting jobs. The box causes Marion to discover that Lucille had been offered a role on Broadway. Simon was not supportive, and the two had agreed to break up. That’s when Lucille found out she was pregnant, causing her to give up her dream.
Marion was mad that Simon had never told her and her sister, Judy, about this. Out of anger and the feeling that her creative juices were being stifled, Marion decides to secretly try out for the Rockettes, who were holding auditions the next day. She makes the group. When Simon finds out, he kicks Marion out of the house until she agrees to quit the team.
With no place to go, Marion approaches one of the other Rockettes, Bunny. Bunny offers to let Marion room with her at the Rehearsal Club, a boarding house for girls in the arts. The first night that Marion arrives, Bunny takes her out to celebrate with Dale, Bunny’s married boyfriend, and Peter, his friend who works as a resident at Creedmoor State Hospital. Bunny and Dale explain to Marion that Peter has a knack for profiling people. They urge him to profile Marion, and he describes her down to the smallest detail. She is amazed and cannot stop thinking about the incident.
A few weeks later, Marion convinces Judy to come watch her perform at the Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular. Marion keeps looking at Judy while she was performing, and she notices a man in a trench coat sitting nearby. Toward the end of the performance, there is a sudden bang, and Marion’s life changes forever. It is through this lens that Marion is introduced to the Big Apple Bomber, who has been terrorizing the city for years. The police have had no leads for years. Marion’s mind keeps drifting back to her talk with Peter. Can profiling help give the police a clue to the bomber’s identity?
The Spectacular was just that– simply spectacular. There were many interesting historical facts about the Rockettes sprinkled throughout the book, and I loved learning more about their beginnings. Davis writes extensively about the requirements that went into being a Rockette, from the woman’s physical appearance to their brutal work schedule. But, this is really a historical fiction inside a historical fiction inside a historical fiction– Davis based her book on the real-life beginnings of criminal profiling, using a real terrorist to inspire the story of the Big Apple Bomber. For example, the first criminal profile really did correctly predict that the perpetrator would be wearing a double-breasted suit. There are so many historical components to this story that you’ll want to make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end. It’s definitely worth your time and attention.
If you’re looking for a story that mixes glitz and glamour with women’s rights and crime, then The Spectacular is the book for you. It is probably among my top 5 favorite books of the year.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Rating System Explained 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This was an amazing book, and I can't stop thinking about it. It impacted me emotionally or changed my perspective. My thoughts keep flickering back to it at random times throughout the day. I will absolutely recommend it to my friends or to one of my book clubs. 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This was a really good book. Parts of it stuck with me, and I might mention it in a conversation. There is a high likelihood that I will recommend it to my friends or to one of my book clubs. 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I liked this book. It allowed me to escape from reality for a while. While I might tell somebody about it if I think it will interest them, I will probably not suggest it to one of my book clubs. 2 Stars ⭐️⭐️: There's something about this book that I didn't like. I wasn't willing to go all the way down to a one-star rating, but I'm definitely not digging it. I may recognize that this book is not for me, but it might be for other people. I will not recommend it to my friends or one of my book clubs. 1 Star ⭐️: My rarest rating. I really didn't like this book. Something in the story line upset me, and I probably "hate-read" the majority of the book. Not only will I not recommend it, but I will actively tell people that I did not like it.
Baking Through Book Club 