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Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows

Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows

The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie

1988

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Average rating3

15

A lot has been said about this book and the motivations behind it. I write about figure skating history and if there's one thing I've learned, it is that people and situations are nuanced and that the truth about just about anything doesn't always fit an all good/all bad narrative. Sonja was a brilliant skater and business person, but she also had her flaws. Over the years, over half a dozen of her contemporaries were very vocal about their contempt for her. She also developed friendships with several of her other competitors, which is something that is rarely (if at all) talked about. If you dive into this book accepting that it's written from a sensational perspective to sell copies, you'll probably quite enjoy it. If you have it in your head Sonja that was all good or all bad, you probably won't.

November 17, 2022Report this review