The Sugarless Plum

By Zippora Karz

Book Overview

It started as the perfect story. Zippora Karz was a member of the famed New York City Ballet by the age of eighteen. By twenty she was starring as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker , dancing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0692659943
• ISBN13: 9780692659946
• Release Date: March 2016
• Publisher: Zippy Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A story about drive and personal strength

What I know about ballet can be written with a very large marker on a very small whiteboard...which is to say, almost nothing. Still, I found Zippora Karz' story fascinating. The book is almost split into two themes, the first being her growth from a talented child into an extraordinarily powerful dancer; the second being her struggles with ill-health as she developed diabetes and went through the physical and mental coping process. As another type 1 diabetic, I recognized in her some of the same thoughts that I went through...the "this can't be happening" denial, acceptance and followed by a determination to not let diabetes run your life. It was appalling to read about the poor quality of medical care that she initially received. Having had some phenomenal doctors myself, there's a warning intrinsic to her story about the importance of getting proper care. The Sugarless Plum is well written and a quick read. It would be a perfect book for a ballerina of any age except for one scene that was a bit too sexual...I'd be a bit cautious if your daughter is under 14 or so. It's certainly not a book that's targeted just toward diabetics. On the contrary, it's a story about internal drive, maintaining focus and doing what's necessary to be a success. Highly recommended.

Outstanding book that I could not put down

It seems like I've been dishing out those five star ratings lately, but the books I've reviewed for the Vine program have been exceptional. The book The Sugarless Plum is another one of those outstanding books. I started reading this book last night, stayed up way too late, and finished this book tonight. Author Zippora Karz provides a backstage view of the ballet world while educating readers about diabetes. She does this in a most entertaining yet educational way. Perhaps it helps to be interested in ballet, as I am, to like this book. I don't think so. The writing is very clear even when encountering discussions about the different forms of diabetes and how it's treated. The dance information is explained clearly so if you've never had a ballet lesson you would understand the different ballet positions, etc. Karz is a not only a graceful dancer, as depicted in the book photos, she is a gifted author. Highly recommend.

I couldn't put this book down ...

I read this book in one day. It hooked me completely. I felt Zippora Karz conveyed her story with simplicity and elegance. I do have an intense interest in its major subject areas: ballet and diabetes. I was in love with ballet as a young person. Karz brought me back to the world of dance. I could even hear the music my teacher used to play. The Sugarless Plum beautifully illustrates the tensions and competition of the high end of dance. The book reads like a "Who's Who" of the ballet world, with luminaries mentioned on every page. Through the author's words, I got the sense of the ferocious drive and discipline a dancer must have to reach the heights. Her treatment of her diabetes was just as compelling. Juvenile diabetes took my cousin's life. After witnessing my cousin having a low sugar episode, I thought, "How could anyone live with that?" I was most interested in reading about a dancer living the grueling life demanded by her profession AND coping with diabetes. I found her initial journey from doctor to doctor and brush with an unscrupulous practitioner riveting. Having known several people with cancer who went into denial in their own ways, I appreciated the courage with which Karz discussed her own denial and how it could have cost her life. Finding adequate medical treatment, even in a sophisticated place like NYC, proved difficult. She thought she was getting good medical advice, but it turned out not to be. The fact that she persevered until she got a correct diagnosis, then went on to dance as long as she did, is inspiring and magnificent. I felt her authenticity throughout the book. Karz writes about her life in a clear, elegant fashion which I found very satisfactory and professional. She does not dish gossip or dirt about anyone, especially major figures in the ballet world. I found this absolutely appropriate.

Pas de deux and point shoes

The Sugarless Plum by Zippora Karz has many layers to it, and many secrets that if you look hard enough, you can unlock. Zippora Karz (a little backround) is a famous ballerina who moved up in the New York City Ballet ranks from a student, to a member of the Corp de ballet, to finally the coveted Soloist role. What non dancers may not realize is that there is a higher role, the Prima Ballerina role who is above the Soloist. I think the fact that it took Zippora many many years (in fact she was in her late 20's) to be promoted adds to the element of realism and endurance. What I mean is that this is not a memoir of a famous Prima dancer who struggled with Diabetes, yet was the star of the company. Zippora struggled with her identity right to the very end of her career, and often was passed up on roles because of her health and balancing issues. As a dancer I appreciated the detailed lives of the company members, I was amazed reading about the famous Balanchine and couldn't believe how lucky Zippora was to come in on the end of a choreographically spectacular era. I also (while no where near Company level) sympathized with her weight and eating issues as well as the strive for your teachers to notice you, and how it feels to watch some of your friends surpass you. As a person I felt my heart go out with her struggle through even the early stages of diagnosing the disease. I had no idea just how far the medical field has come along with in 20 years. The most important part to me though was how Zippora found herself after she retired. For many people who fall inlove with the stage and give their blood sweat and tears to it, stepping off it can be a difficult time, one when many lose themselves. I can only imagine the decision was so much harder for her, because she fought even harder for her right to be on stage and her right to control her own body again. This is a wonderful memoir that anyone will appreciate, people with diabetes can relate and take strength from, and dancers can learn from and overcome whatever is preventing them from doing what they love. I don't normally read autobiographical books, but Zippora's dialogue flowed naturally and made me want to really hear what she's saying, not just listen.

A collision course with lethal diabetes

Balancing on my toe tips appears to be pained, utter foolishness. It ranks up there with trying to get a ballpoint pen to balance on its tip. A spinning top I can understand. But a balancing act on toes with one leg extended, in my mind, is akin to drawing a square circle. Yet, that is precisely the magic people delight in each time the curtain rises, and Zippora Karz flies across the stage--effortlessly--poised only on the tips of her ballet shoes. She smiles continuously, not because of the audience, but because she is happy with herself--content. She has reached a pinnacle few ballerinas can claim. She has achieved a dream. She is a soloist. If she makes a mistake, God forbid, she covers it so brilliantly that even the most critical ballet trainer/instructor would fail to notice. Critics call her daunting graceful poise: flawless, magnificent, like-no-other. She dances difficult routines choreographed specifically for her--so well known and executed are her skills. The Sugarless Plum is the story of Zippora Karz, told by her in first person. She reveals the mystique of ballet in such a way that only with our imaginations can we, outside the art, know the struggles, hardships, disappointments all ballerina's face. * There are the constant struggles with sore feet: calluses, blisters, bent or dislocated toes, even broken bones. * There are the hardships of daily workouts and countless hours of practice at the barre. * There are the uncountable disappointments posted on bulletin boards where a ballerina finds she did or did not receive a part or that she may or may not move to a higher level class. Karz begins The Sugarless Plum at age twenty-one. She is starring in a brand-new ballet, Les Petits Riens. Her good friend, Peter Martins, the ballet-master-in-chief of the New York City Ballet has choreographed her starring role. Zippora has been a member of this world famous ballet company for only three years now. She dances exceptionally well. Dancing at Lincoln Center in New York before 2,700 people is "an incredible honor." Success in this ballet series will be another giant stride toward a career filled with tours to dozens of world stages. She will be seen by audiences around the globe where the sheer art of her dancing will leave people breathless. Yet, Karz feels physically doomed. Her body has let her down. Regardless of the success of her dancing, she is tired, fatigued, run down to the point of exhaustion. Only sheer dedication moves her forward. Where she used to delight in the graceful leaps and thrilling body twists and turns, now she leaves the stage and collapses against the nearest anything that will support her weight, even if it means sliding to the floor. She finds herself developing painful sores under her armpits. But a ballerina must lift her arms. Makeup--heavy makeup solves that problem--for now. She has difficulty sleeping. She finds herself famished, but regardless of what she eats, her weight plummets and her p