Book Review of "Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love" by Anne Thomas Soffee

TITLE: Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love
AUTHOR: Anne Thomas Soffee
ISBN: 9781556524585
PUBLISHER: Chicago Review Press Inc.

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RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

BOOK BLURB:

This hilariously uplifting memoir follows an Arab'"American woman's merry life as she shimmies her way from getting dumped by her tattoo-artist boyfriend to coming to grips with being single, ample, and 30. In the tradition of Bridget Jones's Diary but true, this uniquely American story is filled with colorful characters such as Rosie, the corn-rowed truck-driving belly dancer; Fahed, cologne-doused rich loser; Too-Tall Mary, a member of an amateur belly dancing troupe; and Gimmel, the author's Jewish great-uncle.

While searching online for a sexy sheik to save her from her lackluster existence, Soffee finds a belly dancing class in a catalog and, against the wishes of her Lebanese-American extended family, enrolls in an attempt to find her roots and heal her heart. Her life will never be the same as she discovers the riotous world of American belly dancing, a warm and welcoming subculture where younger and thinner are not necessarily better. Surprised to find happiness among the zils and trills of attending classes and performing in moose lodges and county fairs, she finds true love along the way.

BOOK REVIEW:

Bought this from the author at the first James River Writer's Festival way back in 2003. I enjoyed it a lot -- the author has a wonderful voice and a very wry, humorous outlook on life to which I can relate. It didn't hurt that 99.9% of the book is set in Richmond VA, where I live.

There was a lot about belly dancing, as you can gather from the title, and perhaps a bit more about the author's failed love life than I wanted to know about, but overall, I enjoyed the book immensely. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that she spends so much time bemoaning the relationships that didn't work (and going into great detail about them from start to finish) that when she finally found Mr. Right, I felt his story was brushed over and rushed. I wanted more details about him, but I can understand why, if she was still in a relationship with him when the book went to print, she wouldn't necessarily want to divulge too much.

Still, very enjoyable. I look forward to reading another book by the author soon.