‘If you haven t fallen in love by the end of the dance you haven t danced the tango.’ So says Rosa, fiery Argentinean restaurateur, to her 19-year-old kitchenhand and bumbling dance partner Lionel. As a story of the most captivating nature unravels, their unlikely union on the dance floor develops into a bond of love and obsession - fierce and all encompassing, and so it mirrors the dance. As they dance, Rosa tells Lionel the story of her grandfather Paul Schmidt and his lover Louise. A secret love that spanned decades; from their time during the First World War hiding out in a cave on New Zealand’s West Coast - to Buenos Aires, where they continue their affair, dancing the tango endlessly in her barren room.
The language is beautifully crafted, the imagery strikes straight to the heart. And while the old story is being told we become aware of the uncanny parallel with the present- between Schmidt’s granddaughter Rosa and Lionel the dishwasher. This is Jones at his finest.
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