A Ballroom for Ghost Dancing

John F. Duffy’s debut novel, A BALLROOM FOR GHOST DANCING, combines lyrical prose with gritty terrain. Adam cared for his brother dying of cancer, and hasn’t been able to recover from the horror and grief of those final months. His best friend and ex-bandmate, Mark, convinces him to go on a road trip from Illinois to South Dakota, so Mark can write an article about nuclear missile silos and track down the woman with whom he had an affair years ago, for whom he still longs. As they travel, unspooling old hurts and creating new ones juxtaposed with their deep bond of friendship, more secrets are revealed, hurtling them toward painful choices. The complexities, joys, and pain of decades-long friendship and its costs are explored through beautiful writing and well-chosen sensory detail.