Full Glasses and Burju Shoes by Blake Blessing – Review by Francis O’Sullivan

Full Glasses and Burju Shoes by Blake Blessing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Glasses and Burju Shoes is a romantic standalone novel by Blake Blessing. It tells the story of Perrin, a young, vivacious woman whose main coping mechanism is throwing herself into adventurous hobbies, and Emil, a war veteran trying to build a new life.
One of the central themes in this book is PTSD. Emil and many of his friends from the army are struggling with PTSD and adapting to civilian life, and with a variety of characters we see how this can manifest in different ways. From Emil’s perspective, we get the vivid flashbacks and his concerns as he tries to build a new life and relationships with civilians. We also see how PTSD affects his friends, as well as the other people in their lives. It is done sensitively, highlighting the pain and potential consequences as well as offering hope.
I was drawn to this book by the focus on dancing, and liked that it was central to the plot. Having studied a bit of music psychology, I was particularly pleased about the references to music therapy! The descriptions of dancing are very detailed, and it makes me want to try bachata.
For me, this is a five star book. It’s not always a comfortable read, and there are some scenes that might be triggering (including references to drug and alcohol abuse, suicide and descriptions of war) but it is ultimately optimistic and very well written.

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