The dance of the fireflies
The fireflies dance —Firefly lane, by its original English title—is a contemporary novel written by the American jurist and author Kristin Hannah. The work was first published in 2008. Later, it received several translations into other languages. In Spanish, it has versions by the publishers Suma and Debolsillo, published in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Upon release, the volume stayed for 28 weeks on the best-seller list of the New York Times. In 2021, Kristin Hannah's work became popular again thanks to a self-titled film adaptation produced by Netflix. The film was developed by Maggie Friedman, and featured performances by Katherine Heigl, Ali Skovbye, Sarah Chalke, and Roan Curtis.
Synopsis of The fireflies dance
Reminiscences
The fireflies dance dbeginning with a monologue by Tully, a woman in her forties who has just broken up with Kate, her best friend, whom she has known for thirty years. As he thinks about how much he misses her, Tully's mind goes back to the XNUMXs. In that way, Kristin Hannah takes voters back to the hot summer of 1974, where it all began. The book is divided into three stages: the seventies, the eighties and the nineties.
The seventies
Kate Mularkey a fourteen-year-old girl, came to the conclusion that she feels at peace with the fact that she has become the invisible girl from his school. She lives in Washington, in a small town, confined to a street called The Dance of the Fireflies. Kate has two parents who take care of her and love her, but she doesn't get to make any friends. She enjoys reading a lot, but she feels an emptiness in her heart, which is going to be filled unexpectedly.
One night, Kate is on the edge of the street and discover to Tully Hart, the most charming and popular girl in school. However, behind all that brightness there is a darkness that threatens to destroy the young woman.
Tully doesn't know her father, and is in the care of a virtually absent mother, a drug-addicted hippy who abandons her at every opportunity. Neither of the two girls expected anything from the meeting, but it changed their lives.
The promise
During his talk, and without any scruples, Tully breaks down in tears and explains to Kate everything that is happening to her. The other young woman understands her, but she doesn't quite understand why someone beautiful, intelligent, outgoing and courageous like Tully would want to strike up a conversation with her. In this sense, the truth is that the brilliant girl is looking for a refuge, a place where she can be loved and accepted, and Kate is completely willing to do it.
After breaking the almost idyllic image of the perfect teenager, Tully makes Kate promise that they will be best friends forever., to which the young woman accepts, delighted. From then on they become inseparable, and build a friendship of steel. They accompany each other in every terrible moment, and they witness their growth, their sentimental failures, their professional successes, their failures and their achievements.
The eighties
As it is possible to notice, Kristin Hannah prepares to tell the lives of Kate and Tully, in addition to the bond they share. The eighties are presented as her university days. During this period, her personalities are a bit more defined, albeit in a different way than might be expected given her initial introduction. Both are interested in journalism and reporting, so they sign up for the same career.
Around this time, Tully shows great passion for success in all of her classes. She can be seen studying hard, because she wants to be a great professional. On the other hand, Kate tries to socialize more and date some boys, since one of her goals is to find love. It is in this part of the book where the friends find their first job in a newsroom. In addition, Kate meets her first love, and also suffers for him.
The nineties
already as adults, Kate and Tully live very different lives: Kate is a mother, and Tully is totally focused on her professional career. Despite the distance and routine, it seems that friends still have that special bond. However, a betrayal leads them to separate. This event causes them to wonder how strong their friendship is, and if she is capable of withstanding a storm of such magnitude.
Kristin Hannah's Narrative Style
Kristin hannah she owns that kind of prose that knows how to connect readers to the story. Despite a length of 616 pages, the one with the fireflies does not represent a burden. The book is full of life, moments of great joy and absolute sadness. In it, the author addresses topics such as friendship, family, love, broken idols, the passage of time, the breaking of affective ties and the reach of fullness.
The novel can become tender, dramatic, funny or painful, just like existence itself. Kate and Tully are two well-constructed characters that demonstrate the importance of friendship between women, and how having that person with you is capable of saving you from chaos, but there is also an allusion to change and detachment.
About the author, Kristin Hannah
Kristin hannah
Kristin Hannah was born in 1960, in Garden Grove, southern California, United States. She received a law degree from the University of Washington. However, the release of her first novel and the success that came with it inclined her to dedicate herself to letters professionally.
within this field has published several romance novels, thanks to which she has been awarded some awards, such as The Golden Heart or The National Reader's Choice.
Other books by Kristin Hannah
Novels
- A Handful of HEaven (1991);
- The Enchantment (1992);
- Once in Every Life (1992);
- If You Believe (1993);
- When Lightning Strikes (1994);
- Waiting for the Moon (1995);
- Home Again (1996);
- On Mystic Lake (1999);
- Angel Falls (2000);
- Summer Island (2001);
- Distant Shores (2002);
- Between Sisters (2003);
- The Things We Do for Love (2004);
- Comfort and Joy (2005);
- Magic Hour (2006);
- Firefly lane (2008);
- True Colors (2009);
- Winter Garden (2010);
- Night Road (2011);
- home front (2012);
- Fly Away (2013);
- The Nightingale (2015);
- The Great Alone (2018);
- The Four Winds (2021)
Anthologies
- Liar's Moon in Harvest Hearts (1993);
- Of Love and Life (2000);
- Liar's Moon in With Love (2002)