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Harper Perennial, copyright 2006, printed 2007, 331 pages
ISBN: 978-0-00-639155-5
Read: September 2012, at age 34
It’s a standalone historical fiction, set in the Great
Depression. In a circus. And also, a nursing home.
From the dust jacket:
Orphaned and
penniless at the height of the Depression, Jacob Jankowski escapes everything
he knows by jumping on a passing train – and inadvertently runs away with the
circus. Thrown into the chaos of a
second-rate travelling show, Jacob is adrift in a world of freaks, swindlers,
and misfits.
Jacob uses his
veterinary skills in the circus menagerie and becomes a savior for the animals
he so loves, including a baffling elephant named Rosie. He also comes to know Marlena, the enchanting
star of the equestrian act – and wife of August, a charismatic but cruel animal
trainer. Caught between his love for
Marlena and his need for belonging, Jacob is freed only by a murderous secret
that will bring the big top down.
My reactions – A few spoilers, too, but not too bad.
One bad thing: I didn't fully buy into the main character. He was… a bit off. It’s hard to describe, but his thought patterns and reactions didn't quite ring true to me.
Overall:
It was a wonderful book, with a rich setting that was wonderfully
described, larger-than-life characters, and expressive writing that was
beautiful in places, crude in others, and wonderfully well done. It also kept kicking me out of the book. I’d have two hours to read, and I would read
for half an hour and then set the book down, and leave it down for a week. This came down to a of plotting choice – the
story is two intertwined first-person narratives – one set in the thirties (the
circus story), and one about now (the nursing home) – with the same, but
appropriately aged main character. Part
of it was that, while I was reading, it was wonderfully immersive, but when I
set it down, it didn't eat at me. There
was no tension. The other was that just
when the circus story was getting good, we’d switch back to the nursing
home. And I’d put the book down, because
I just didn't care about the nursing home.
When I got to the end of the book, I can understand that choice – the
nursing home is the main story, and the circus story is just background for the
real story. I didn't understand that
until the end, and I’m not sure the payoff is worth the lack of tension through
the rest of it.
Rating: 4
Characters:
The characters were generally larger-than-life, and painted with pretty
broad strokes – Marlena was the sweetheart, August was the
paranoid-schizophrenic boss/obstacle to Marlena. Big Al was the unscrupulous greedy owner,
etc. They worked, because it made sense
for the main character to see them that way.
The main character – he was a bit tougher. As a 93 year old, he was wonderful. As a 23 year old… most of the time he was
great. And then he’d be a bit off with
something. His thought might have been
too coherent for the situation, or just… wrong.
It’s very difficult for me to put a finger on it, but there was just
something off.
Setting:
A travelling circus in the Great Depression. Not something I've read before, and very,
very well done.
Plot:
The plot was generally well done, but interrupted. The nursing home sections tended to drag the
story down, and I wonder if there were too many of them. It might have worked better to have an intro
(nursing home), main story (circus) and then an epilogue back in the nursing
home. I think it would have gotten the
point across, and wouldn't have kicked me out of the story so often.
Readability:
Wonderful writing. Fantastic
when I was reading it, but the plotting and pacing detracted from the reading experience.
Other Opinions:
History and Other Thoughts
Didn't like the characters much. Similar read to mine.
Mere Musings
Not a fan at all.
Lots of other reviews, but these were the ones I liked best. Most were either "This book was fantastic. I wish I could give it more than 10/10!" or "It was a good book. Well researched, but a bit off on execution."
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