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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.
