O’Connor’s The Thrill Of It All charts twenty-five years of friendship and music for the members of the band The Ships in the Night. Shipstead’s Astonish Me is the story of Joan, a young American dancer who helps a Soviet ballet star to defect in 1975. It’s a fiercely compelling glimpse into the demanding world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two generations. They read and talk to the actress and writer Lisa Dwan.