Author: Kim, Juhea

Ballet

Published on 2 October 2025 by Oneworld Publications in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 368 pages
196 x 129 x 30 | 320g

‘A novel that will be read and loved for the next one hundred years, and essential reading for right now. I could not have loved it more.’ Coco Mellors, author of Blue Sisters’This story left me thinking about the ways we overcome setbacks and redefine what truly matters.’ Reese WitherspoonA REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK FOR DECEMBER 2024 * A HARPER’S BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF 2024Slowly recovering from a terrible accident, Natalia is faced with a devastating choice to return to the cutthroat world of Russian ballet that nearly broke her, or to walk away forever in this sweeping novel of love and redemptionPrima ballerina Natalia Leonova was once celebrated across the world, her signature bravura in demand on stages from St. Petersburg to Paris to New York. But at the top of her career, an accident forces her into sudden retirement. Injured and alone, she turns to pills and alcohol to numb the pain of her past, still haunted by her relationships with two gifted dancers, Dmitri and Alexander. These men were responsible for her soaring highs, her darkest hours and, ultimately, both played their part in her downfall.

So when Dmitri resurfaces with a tantalising offer for Natalia, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to dance again and for the chance to return to the great love of her life. Painting a vivid portrait of a world in which ruthless ambition, desire and sublime artistry collide, City of Night Birds unveils the making of a dancer with profound intimacy and breathtaking scope.

From the author of Beasts of a Little Land, winner of the Yasnaya Polyana Award’A beautifully crafted must read’ Jason Mott, author ofHell of a Book