Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Troupe

by Robert Jackson Bennett (Goodreads Author)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 321 ratings · 90 reviews

Vaudeville: mad, mercenary, dreamy, and absurd, a world of clashing cultures and ferocious showmanship and wickedly delightful deceptions.

But sixteen-year-old pianist George Carole has joined vaudeville for one reason only: to find the man he suspects to be his father, the great Heironomo Silenus. Yet as he chases down his father’s troupe, he begins to understand that thei...more

Kindle Edition

Published February 21st 2012 by Orbit (first published October 1st 2011)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi 2012

84th out of 347 books — 597 voters

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

Locus Online 2012 Novels Fantasy Recommended Reading List

4th out of 20 books — 2 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,162)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 11, 2012 Seak (Bryce L.) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

The Troupe is my first book by Robert Jackson Bennett, but surely not the last. When the highly favorable reviews started coming out earlier this year, I was very intrigued and now that I've read it, I can't really think of a better reading choice I've made this year. The only question I have now is, "How can there only be 188 ratings of this book on Goodreads?" :D

George is making a name for himself as a pianist in Vaudeville (popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries), but what he...more

30 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2013 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-challenge-2, alphabet-challenge, fantasy, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, gritty-reads, historical, favourites

4.5 stars

The Troupe is a grand gem of a novel, standing alone nicely and with gusto. As Silenus states, “You’re wrong, kid. I am just a performer. I’m just putting on a show you haven’t seen before.”
This novel also puts on a show that has not been done before within fantasy literature - not that there haven't been similar books, but there hasn't been this book.

Originality is a major selling point of fantasy. For every strong, original work of fiction such as The Lord of the Rings, Alice in Won ...more

10 likes · like · see review

Apr 28, 2013 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror

George Carole is a sixteen-year-old boy searching for a father he has never known. He suspects that he is one Heironomo Silenus, leader of a vaudeville troupe. George's only clue is that he once saw his grandmother spit on a playbill advertising a Silenus performance. When George catches up with SIlenus, their first encounter sets the tone for the rest of Bennett't enjoyable and very strange third novel. George watches the act and sees that during the final musical performance, he is the only au...more

like · see review

Mar 24, 2013 Tim Lewis added it

Premise: Vaudevillian pianist George Carole has an amazing gift for his age. At sixteen he plays with a variety of artists, but he eventually catches up with the troupe leader he believes is his father: Heironomo Silenus. What he discovers is that, even for vaudeville, his father’s troupe performs strange acts that cannot really be explained, and that those performances change the people and the world around them in remarkable ways.

What George learns as he follows Silenus is that they too are on...more Premise: Vaudevillian pianist George Carole has an amazing gift for his age. At sixteen he plays with a variety of artists, but he eventually catches up with the troupe leader he believes is his father: Heironomo Silenus. What he discovers is that, even for vaudeville, his father’s troupe performs strange acts that cannot really be explained, and that those performances change the people and the world around them in remarkable ways.

What George learns as he follows Silenus is that they too are on the run because George is not the only one chasing them. The troupe is toying with ancient and dangerous secrets, to the extent that the very fabric of existence is in danger. Light and music are important for the universe, and it is these things that Silenus seeks. But those chasing him want them too, and they will destroy everything in their way to get them.

George soon learns that his gift is more important than he thought, and the secrets the troupe is holding and chasing are of the utmost importance for everyone and everything.

Themes: As George seeks to know his father, the theme of family is explored in depth and from many angles. When he learns that Silenus is his father, the man turns out to be nothing he expected. His ideals of family are broken and the relationship he sought becomes more difficult to piece together.

With the bold task of explaining existence, The Troupe ponders the questions a creation has for its Creator, however that might look. Explaining life and death and the reasons for everything, this grand undertaking of the ultimate question becomes the reason for the troupe to continue their performances. Each member of Silenus’ troupe asks these questions in their own way.

Grief from loss simmers to the top as a theme of The Troupe. With strange occurrences around every corner, the motive becomes clear why the troupe continues on as is does, running from secrets and searching for answers. Silenus leads his crew on a seemingly wild goose chase for those answers.

Pros: Not only does Bennett create compelling characters, he infuses them with flaws and conflicts. But most of all he summons with them strong emotions. Robert Jackson Bennett does something in The Troupe that is uncommon: he made me feel things. At separate times, I laughed, I was fearful, and genuinely sad, all in the same book. We read realistic and common interactions between the characters, such as a boy’s infatuation with a girl for the first time, a father’s love for his child, and a man’s obsession for a goal. There are so many different magical elements here that the reader is left wondering if this really is the world we live in, with its dark corners and pinpoints of light.

Cons: There is quite a bit of profanity in The Troupe, most of it coming from Silenus, though it is fitting for the harshness of his character. There were so many fantastical things thrown into this magical book that there were a few times I got a bit lost and questioned the need for a couple of those elements. The story has some horror-like qualities that lead the reader into a somewhat depressing direction.

Recommendations: In The Troupe, Robert Jackson Bennett has done something that few authors have done with great success. I feel about The Troupe similar to the way I felt about reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell the first time. While not quite as comprehensively historical as Susanna Clarke’s masterpiece, the magical elements and complete characters created a similar-feeling world. It is a magical story with so many twists and turns with realistic, emotion-evoking interactions between characters, I was ready to go back and read it again as soon as I turned the last page.(less)

like · see review

Nov 30, 2012 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fun, vibrant novel with a few flaws. The characters are fabulous and well drawn, and their interactions and relationships are what primarily had me turning the pages. The plot is good, if a bit meandering around the middle, but the aforesaid character interactions make up for that. The concept is fine - it's nothing tremendously new, but it works for this standalone book and is refreshingly simple compared to lots of fantastical set-ups in the genre. I had a few quibbles with the internal cons...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 18, 2012 Molybdenum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Up to this point I`ve read two books by Robert Jackson Bennett, and based on those as well as the blurbs for the two others, (one forthcoming) and I would classify him in the well known and popular genre Metaphorical Mythology.

I didn`t like everything about The Troupe, (I could have done without the whole Four Shepherds subplot) but the things I did like absolutely blew me away. It`s a book that confronts the darkness that is always around us and we choose to ignore. The darkness is hard to expl...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2012 Linda Robinson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Admiration for writers who take on the awesome task of explaining the great unvarnished mystery of life runs deep in my reading soul. Life has two departments, according to Robert Heinlein. The Practical Joke Department and The Fairy Godmother Department. That is all. Into the practical joke department are stuffed subdepartments, since life is a bureaucracy set up by a government we never see and that has lost the ability to pay attention to much of anything. Pain, confusion, yearning, horror, s...more

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 R.S. rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved The Troupe. For those of you who want a little more than just that simple statement: Both The Troupe and the Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie reference "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake: "To see a world in a grain of sand [...] Hold infinity in the palm of your hand" and I can say with 100% certainty that The Troupe is better than that Tomb Raider movie. The characters are all captivating, the world fantastic, and the villains both strange and terrifying at the same time.

I wi...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 29, 2012 Damian Trasler rated it 2 of 5 stars

I probably won't make it to the end of this book. Three nights in a row I have chosen to pick up something else.

The characters are good, the setting is original but there is a grimness to the world created that I have come to recognise. In the way that I do, I watched the downward flow of the characters' experience and flipped to the end of the book. I won't include any spoilers, but what I read doesn't make me want to continue working at the book.

I know a lot of people will cry "foul" at that,...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 Rich Rosell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this one at the library without any pre-existing knowledge of the book or the author. A frontcover blurb comparing Bennett to "Stephen King and John Steinbeck" caught me eye and it wasn't until later that I realized the praise was for another book of his, and not The Troupe.

I'm all about creepy vaudeville/sideshow stories, and The Troupe is Bennett dipping full-force into a book lousy with creepy vaudeville and headlong into the realm of dark magic and fantasy. Maybe the story goes on...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Lee Foust rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A novel for the information age. Although the plot, characters, and the appropriately ineffable mysteries of the supernatural all seem more or less in place here, I have never in my life experienced a more bland and workmanlike prose style. It's like looking at a black and white reproduction of a Van Gogh. If only a sportswriter had written this. Don't know if I'll make it through.

Didn't, in fact, make it through--around 110 pages it started getting sillier and, well, what with the somnambulisti...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 13, 2013 Ab rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-bit-creepy, hints-of-magic

Some good quotes of the subtle creepiness that sort of lurks in dark places:

p. 16 "But it was not just the wind. There was also something wrong with the sky, though they had trouble deciding the nature of it: as preposterous as it sounded, people were not sure if the curious arrangement of clouds made the sky feel too large, or perhaps too small. Others disagreed, saying that it was not the size at all, but the time: it was as if the sky had forgotten what hour it was and was now on the wrong sc...more Some good quotes of the subtle creepiness that sort of lurks in dark places:

p. 16 "But it was not just the wind. There was also something wrong with the sky, though they had trouble deciding the nature of it: as preposterous as it sounded, people were not sure if the curious arrangement of clouds made the sky feel too large, or perhaps too small. Others disagreed, saying that it was not the size at all, but the time: it was as if the sky had forgotten what hour it was and was now on the wrong schedule."

p. 17 "And though each room naturally had four walls, and so should have only four corners, some homeowners experienced the crawling suspicion that their residences were stuffed full of dark corners, sometimes with sixteen or seventeen to a room, as if the very nature of geometry had changed when the sun went down."

"... there'd been a series of evenings when the air seemed full of darkness, and everything felt thin, as if you could lick your finger and rub at the horizon and it would smear."

p. 21 "The man did nothing, as if thinking. Then he walked toward George with a bizarrely mechanical gait, arms stiff at his sides. As the man neared the queer silence grew, and George's impression of a picture of a man increased as well: his face was blankly handsome, his eyes a gray a shade lighter than his suit, and all of his features were clean and smooth and symmetrical. But though he seemed perfect, the man also seemed strangely indistinct, like your eyes would pass over him unless you were looking for him."

p. 144-145 "It was not a landscape in any conceivable sense of the word. For one thing, it did not obey any of the rules of physics that George was aware of and comfortable with: he was not sure if he was looking out, or down, or possibly even up, or maybe he was stuck to the side of a cliff and was looking along the precipice. But no matter the angle at which he looked, George saw an endless gray wasteland arranged out among the stars, riddled with abysses and canyons whose breadths were so wide it took George minutes (or was it hours?) to look from one side to the other."

"There seemed to be far too much sky in the places around him, and very little earth, like the horizon was eaten up by the gaps between the stars. It was a frigid, brittle, awful place, hanging in space without any sense of dimension of depth or purpose."

p. 268 "... the human mind is very good at recontextualizing the world when it stops making sense. When a person encounters an event that goes beyond their normal five senses, the mind filters the information and changes it so that the event is experienced in normal, understandable terms. In essence, it creates a realistic metaphor to relate what's happening. Sometimes the metaphor can be very different from the normal world, like suddenly switching things so it seems as though you are at the bottom of the sea; but then such changes may be necessary, if the event experienced is great enough."(less)

like · see review

Mar 16, 2012 Desolation Culture rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Robert Jackson Bennett is a difficult writer to pin down. What exactly is it that he writes? Horror? Fantasy? Science Fiction? Well the answer seems to be all three and much more besides. In this era of clone fiction, where the safest option from a publishing perspective is to write something in an established and popular sub genre, zombie novels or gritty epic fantasy, say, and then just keep on writing the same thing, Bennett has chosen to walk a much riskier path. His first novel, the award w...more Robert Jackson Bennett is a difficult writer to pin down. What exactly is it that he writes? Horror? Fantasy? Science Fiction? Well the answer seems to be all three and much more besides. In this era of clone fiction, where the safest option from a publishing perspective is to write something in an established and popular sub genre, zombie novels or gritty epic fantasy, say, and then just keep on writing the same thing, Bennett has chosen to walk a much riskier path. His first novel, the award winning Mr. Shivers was a fine piece of American Horror, wrapped up in a Southern Gothic meets Dark Fantasy package. Then for his second novel, The Philip. K. Dick nominated The Company Man, he went off on a completely different track and wrote a Noir Sci-Fi meets Corporate Thriller. Now in The Troupe, we have a kind of Historical Urban Fantasy, a character driven ensemble piece set in the vaudeville era, that is really rather brilliant.

The story of The Troupe focuses on the young George Carole and his desire to find the father he has never known. A man he believes is the leader of an enigmatic troupe of travelling vaudevillians, The Silenus Troupe. The first section of the book is taken up with George's efforts to track and then join this mysterious band of entertainers. From the get-go Bennett does an excellent job of evoking a sense of mystery and magic around this group. As soon as I heard about them, I wanted to know more about them. Then when they appear in full and put on their first performance, I felt like he had in some ways crafted an exaggerated sense of what it might have been like to watch such bizarre acts in their day. At the same time proving once again his gift for mining elements of American History and finding there a rich vein of dark fable.

The Silenus Troupe itself is peopled by a wonderful band of oddballs. Each of the characters, the creepy and sombre puppet master, Professor Kingsley Tyburn, the darkly alluring dancer, Collette de Verdicere; the vacant strong woman, Francis Beatty, and the beguilling Heironomo Silenus himself, are wonderfully vivid. Bennett's later revelations about how these performers accomplish their stage acts, are fantastically inventive, and often more than a little twisted. There is also another member of the troupe who remains mostly in the background during their performances, a mute fellow by the name of Stanley who communicates by writing on a chalk board. I loved Stanley. He is presented as a warm, compassionately grounded chap, who apparently has something of a soft spot for George. All of the characters have their stories, each is intriguing, and often ultimately quite sad.

As the main story progresses, it quickly grows in scope. In many ways this book surprised me. It is much more fantastical and 'big picture' than I was expecting. The secret behind the Silenus Troupe is not a little thing, and this book has a grand mythic theme worthy of any epic fantasy. George's desire to find the truth of his unknown father becomes a metaphor in a way for a much larger quest, and the stage magic of the vaudevillians a symbol for a dying era of enchantment in the world. But there is no shortage of magic in this story, and at times I wondered what weird and wonderful thing was going to happen next.

Thematically it explores the mystery of being, and the endless desire to know what lies beyond. In a way it both mourns the loss of belief in our world, and praises the virtue of finding magic in the ordinary. It is infused with melancholy, but not without its uplifting moments. With Mr. Shivers, Bennett earned himself a reputation as something of a horror writer, and the The Company Man also had its fair share of the dark. The same is true of The Troupe to an extent. There are definite moments of darkness here, but this is also very much a fantasy novel, albeit unlike any you are likely to have read recently.

I opened this review by stating how difficult Bennett's writing is to pin down, but there is some consistency of theme to his work, namely, American Myth. I find in his writing an amazing sensitivity to the icons of American History. In his novels so far he's already given us The Great Depression, The rise of American Corporate Power, and now the last of a very special type of American Showmanship. I'm an Americanophile at heart, I often don't love American Politics, but who can deny the romantic impact of so many aspects of the history of the United States over the last few centuries? Bennett seems especially attuned to these facets of the American Story.

Simply put, I loved The Troupe. Many of the characters made a real impression, and I admire the intent and scope behind Bennett's vision. I think Bennett is one of the most interesting young writers to emerge on to the SF scene in a while, and I'm not surprised that he has already picked up a number of awards. His writing is accessible and yet he's clearly following his own muse. He's not writing stuff that fits within any neat category, but he's also not writing stuff that tries to be deliberately obscure (a kind of category in itself). The Troupe is a great example of this, an ambitious piece of myth making that is thoroughly entertaining. In this tale of the dying days of magic, Bennett proves he has plenty of his own.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 26, 2012 Mia rated it 5 of 5 stars

George braved the world to search for his father
Though of money or an address he had neither.
But despite his youth his courage he did gather,
In this mission he was determined not to falter.

Enormous skill he did, however, possess,
Innate piano-playing talent was his largesse.
To Vaudeville he went off to find success --
That was George's big plan, more or less.

Alas, his father dear he did indeed find
But he turned out quite mean rather than kind.
He'd have fled at that moment if he'd had half a mind
Go...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 12, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having already enjoyed Robert Jackson Bennett's previous books (Mr Shivers and The Company Man), I had high expectations when it came to reading his third novel, The Troupe. I wasn't disappointed.
The Troupe, quite simply, is a marvel. Bennett's storytelling takes the reader on a thoroughly engrossing journey across the surreal landscape of vaudeville. But this, as you may have anticipated, is not a straightforward tale of one troupe's travels along the vaudeville circuit.

Our troupe - or, rather,...more Having already enjoyed Robert Jackson Bennett's previous books (Mr Shivers and The Company Man), I had high expectations when it came to reading his third novel, The Troupe. I wasn't disappointed.
The Troupe, quite simply, is a marvel. Bennett's storytelling takes the reader on a thoroughly engrossing journey across the surreal landscape of vaudeville. But this, as you may have anticipated, is not a straightforward tale of one troupe's travels along the vaudeville circuit.

Our troupe - or, rather, Silenus's Troupe - have rather more to them than meets the eye. Professor Kingsley Tyburn is a master puppeteer, but the audience can never see the strings and something about his puppets doesn't quite seem right; Franny Beatty is a strongwoman, but capable of far more than the usual displays of the act; Collette de Verdicere is a beautifully talented dancer with deeper connections to the Troupe than we first suspect; Stanley is a mute cellist who I defy any reader not to love; and Silenus himself is carrying more secrets than a conspiracy theorist would know what to do with.
No wonder, then, that when he joins the Troupe, 16-year-old George Carole finds himself getting a lot more than he bargained for.

From the age-old good vs. evil fight to fascinating battles of wits with faeries, adrenalin-fuelled chases to poignant struggles to overcome grief, The Troupe really does reach far beyond the boundaries of genre.

I could recommend this book highly for any number of reasons, but what I liked most was Bennett's ability to layer so much story within the pages. Not one word of this book is filler; everything has meaning. And it's the moments when the little clues start to add up and you get a sudden rush of realisation that pushes this book to the five star mark. Each character has a moment like this, when the reader suddenly understands what (often dreadful) secrets lie behind all the oddities. It is a mark of Bennett's talent that even the characters with the least amount of page-space stay with you long after you turn the last page.

So whether you live for fantasy or horror, romance or inspirational novels - The Troupe is for you.(less)

like · see review

Apr 08, 2013 Matt Gilliard rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's a pretty unusual for me to feel apprehension to review a book that I absolutely loved. But I've been putting off reviewing Robert Jackson Bennett's The Troupe for weeks. I'd read rave review after rave review, seen the novel on many "Best Of" lists, and finally decided to see what all of the fuss was about. And let me tell you, the critical buzz around Robert Jackson Bennett is well deserved. I haven't been this excited to find a new author since discovering Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind....more

like · see review

Feb 10, 2012 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/02/...

At 16, George Carole was raised by his grandmother, has never known his mother or father, and has been traveling with a vaudeville troupe, playing piano rather wonderfully. He has a good idea of who his father might be, and has been trying to catch up with the Silenus troupe, if only to catch a glimpse of the man that could possibly be his dad. He finally manages to catch up with them and catch a performance. He’s enchante...more You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/02/...

At 16, George Carole was raised by his grandmother, has never known his mother or father, and has been traveling with a vaudeville troupe, playing piano rather wonderfully. He has a good idea of who his father might be, and has been trying to catch up with the Silenus troupe, if only to catch a glimpse of the man that could possibly be his dad. He finally manages to catch up with them and catch a performance. He’s enchanted, especially with the beautiful acrobat Colette, and fascinated with Silenus. After leaving the performance, he encounters the grey men (seriously creepy), who also seem to be after the Silenus troupe, but for much different reasons than George. It’s when George attempts to warn the troupe of the grey men’s presence that the real adventure, and terror, begins.

See, George has a little something special inside of him, and it’s part of what makes him so valuable to Silenus and his troupe, because the troupe is much, much more than just a vaudeville act, as George will soon discover. The Troupe is, at its heart, George’s coming of age story, but it’s also a far-reaching magical epic. Set in a time when vaudeville and minstrel shows were popular, and horse and carriages still lingered, The Troupe is a book that you want to read without distraction, because there are quite a few big ideas in play. Don’t let that scare you. The author manages to weave horror elements (wolves in human clothing and the grey men), with not so traditional fantasy elements (some rather terrifying fairies), and even southern gothic into a rich tapestry that you’ll want to savor, bit by bit. There is a song that was lost when man and earth was created (The First Song), and Silenus’ troupe has been gathering bits of it back together, in hopes of saving our world. Each town they stop in becomes just a little bit better when the troupe sings this haunting song. If the song is entirely forgotten, the rips that have already appeared in the fabric of our reality will get bigger, and very, very bad things will begin to come through. George has some of this song inside him, and throughout the book, it becomes clearer and clearer just how important George is to our world.

George will frustrate you, and you’ll fall in love with him at the same time. He’s just a kid, who sometimes fancies himself much worldlier than he really is, and is painfully naive. For someone so young to shoulder such a huge burden is enormous, and much of the book is about George learning just how to do that, as well as getting to know the father he never knew. Silenus is a force of nature and his command of his troupe and relationships with its members is also a very big part of this novel. Many elements of the Silenus troupe are strange and terrifying, such as Kingsley the puppeteer and his rather creepy, otherworldly puppets, and some are beautiful, such as the dancer Colette and even Franny, who lifts objects that no one her size should be able to lift. Silenus’ silent and gentle companion Stanley (who communicates via chalkboard) is a joy, and the interplay between the troupe members is subtle, intricate, and sometimes heartbreaking, as is Silenus’ rough, fierce love for his troupe. As George learns more and more about his place in this frightening new world, and also of the delicate balance that the troupe helps maintain, he also realizes what’s at stake, and losing the song may mean losing everything he cherishes. The author has a gift for atmosphere, mystery, and imagery, and manages some jaw dropping twists that I didn’t see coming. The Troupe was as much of an emotional journey as it was a fantasy for me, and I cherished every bit. Haunting, terrifying, and achingly beautiful, The Troupe is a book to be savored, and it will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. Very highly recommended.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 12, 2012 Ithlilian rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book kept me turning pages eagerly the entire way through, though it's not overly complex or in depth. That's 4 stars. Oh, you want more information than that?

The beginning of The Troupe was the high point for me. We didn't know who this the troupe was or what their act consisted of, just that you couldn't recall it afterwards. Our main character wants to meet his father and it's an understandable motivation. Good start. Soon, however, we meet the troupe, and they aren't nearly as impressiv...more

like · see review

Apr 10, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-review-copy, fantasy, dark, read-in-2012, orbit

I absolutely loved The Troupe and I devoured every word of it. The Troupe was a breath of fresh air. It charmed me from the first page. In this book you’ll find shocking depth, fantastic writing, loveable characters and even a bit of education. While it’s nearly impossible for me to say if this would be classified more as fantasy or horror, that’s also a great appeal. Who wants the same-old-same-old when you can have a story that blazes its own trail and will stick with you long after you finis...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 14, 2013 Jacky rated it 5 of 5 stars

„Silenus“ oder auch im Originaltitel "The Troup" ist eine der Geschichten, auf die man sich total einlassen muss und man sollte sich auch wirklich Zeit nehmen das Buch zu lesen, mal so schnell nebenbei funktioniert nicht und würde der Geschichte auch nicht gerecht werden.

Der Satz auf dem Buchrücken trifft genau ins Schwarze: „Bennett wird dich zu einem Gefangenen seiner Welt machen!“ Bei mir wirkt die Geschichte immer noch nach und ich habe es keine Sekunde bereut das Buch gelesen zu haben.

Bes...more

like · see review

Mar 13, 2013 Lotte rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-read

This is my first experience of reading one of Robert Jackson Bennett’s books and I have to say I’m not sure if I’ll read another one. For a start I almost gave up on reading this book just before Christmas (which would have been a first for me), but I returned to it in January determined to finish it.

George Carole is an accomplished Pianist playing within the Vaudeville scene. The book starts with George, out of the blue, quitting his current job where he his highly respected and established. He...more This is my first experience of reading one of Robert Jackson Bennett’s books and I have to say I’m not sure if I’ll read another one. For a start I almost gave up on reading this book just before Christmas (which would have been a first for me), but I returned to it in January determined to finish it.

George Carole is an accomplished Pianist playing within the Vaudeville scene. The book starts with George, out of the blue, quitting his current job where he his highly respected and established. He does this in order to chase the famous Silenus Troupe, a mystical, strange, and difficult to pin down group that travels the circuit. George does this because he believes the one and only Heironomo Silenus, the leader of the troupe, may be his long, lost father. George has never seen the Silenus Troupe perform so when he catches up with them he buys a ticket, in order to see for himself just what it is they do.

Even before George sees them perform he notices things just aren’t quite ‘normal’. This only continues as the shows starts. The acts aren’t quite what they seem and neither are the props. That’s when George notices the effects the performance is having on the audience too – everyone seems to be in a trance. Everyone that is, except George, he remains unaffected. Whilst the audience leave under the spell weaved by the Troupe’s performance, George goes to confront his Father.

This sends George tumbling head first into a world of magic, confusion and origins he didn’t know existed. A world where nothing is quite what it seems: doors can move and reappear across towns; props, for all intents and purposes are alive and real; even inanimate objects such as light and dark have their own personalities and agendas. George learns of the fight to maintain the existence of humanity through delivering the First Song and maintaining the light, whilst the wolves of the darkness fight back in an attempt to plunge existence into nothingness.

Bennett explores a world filled with abstract ideas and workings, mythological and fantasy creatures, as well as personal attachments and emotions. All with the end goal of saving the world from the dark.

Or is it? Bennett adds a great twist towards the end of the book where we find out that motives may have been skewed for alternative gains.

The twists and additions within the plot definitely enhanced and enriched the story. However, I didn’t feel these were explored enough or utilised to their full potential. For example, the introduction of the Four Shepherds. I found this to be a nice addition and particularly enjoyed their opposing elements and opinions. Bennett takes great time to include this and to fully map out their contrasts in being and personality. It’s clear that this will be needed later on in the story. However, when the time comes, Bennett only uses a fragment of that which he built up earlier. For me I was hoping/expecting much more from it, and would have thought it would have been an exciting extra. Instead it just seemed to be a pointless addition. But that’s just me!

The way in which Bennett has constructed his world leaves it open to the possibility of other creatures: fantasy, mythological and made up. With the exception of the fairies (another nice twist!), he didn’t really explore these suggested avenues. The same could be said about the storyline itself. There was so much potential that I felt Bennett just didn’t explore or incorporate into his narrative. Given that it was a fight for survival, a necessity for the Light to conquer the Dark, the depth and pace Bennett used didn’t replicate that.

As mentioned above, I struggled with this book. The first third seems to drag, the pace was slow and the content was sparse. The prose Bennett used was also very matter-of-fact. It failed to enchant or draw me into the story. As a result I was bored and disinterested and almost decided not to continue reading, which is a shame because it does pick up. Although the style of Bennett’s writing doesn’t change much, slowly the pace seemed to pick up filling the book with more action, more content and more twists! However, for me it just wasn’t enough, it felt as though Bennett wasn’t enthused by the story he was telling. There needed to be more action, more urgency and greater enchantment. Given the topic, there was certainly scope for it!

On a positive note, Bennett’s characters were well defined and interesting. I really enjoyed the contrasting and vastly differing elements to all the characters and how they added to the storyline, maintaining the unknown and mystery. They had clear, established roles, personalities and abilities that complimented the story well. The Characters were also the basis of the major twists within the story. As they were well written, these twists worked. For me the characters salvaged this story, and had the prose been better, it could have been phenomenal.

As you can see, I have mixed views of this book. My only advice being, if you decide to read this book, stick with because it does get better. Who knows, it could be just your thing!(less)

like · see review

Apr 20, 2013 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-fantasy, magical-realism, library-read

3.75

I'm not quite sure what I expected this book to be like when I picked it up - maybe something a bit like The Night Circus, but with Vaudeville instead. But, really, the Vaudeville aspect is sort of a mask for the deeper story which, at its core, is about the power of Creation versus the forces of Destruction.

I have to admit that, for most of the book, I figured I was going to rate it 3-stars. I was interested enough in these strange people that comprise the Troupe, but none of them really re...more 3.75

I'm not quite sure what I expected this book to be like when I picked it up - maybe something a bit like The Night Circus, but with Vaudeville instead. But, really, the Vaudeville aspect is sort of a mask for the deeper story which, at its core, is about the power of Creation versus the forces of Destruction.

I have to admit that, for most of the book, I figured I was going to rate it 3-stars. I was interested enough in these strange people that comprise the Troupe, but none of them really resonated with me. George was annoying, Silenus a git, Kingsley always seemed a bit thin, Collete just angry, and Franny, well, Franny. Stanley was cool, though - almost a Silent Bob sort of character, but with more silence.

But I was interested in the magic and the world and the ideas, so I persevered, even through a slumping bit around the 1/3 mark where things were so focused on the little inner dramas of the Troupe that my interest started flagging, and I was wondering if it might even be a 2 star book.

I wanted more of the weird sort of magical realism, more of the search for the Song, more explanation from Silenus and less "stop asking questions", and more understanding from George, who we're told is intelligent and clever but is rather oblivious and needs everything spelled out for him all the time. (I had to keep reminding myself George was only 16, 'cause he sort of came across as older, maybe early 20s, except for being so bone-headed much of the time.)

I also wanted a bit more than the sort of standard writing, some level of lyricism to fit the concepts being portrayed would've been nice, or, even, a fuller feel of the time period, which I felt was kind of lacking.

But a little more than halfway through things started picking up and about 3/4 through shit got real. When characters I didn't think I really cared about started being put in peril, I found my heart racing a bit... I found myself hoping for a happy ending, and not sure I was going to get one. As it was, I'm still not sure... though I can live with bittersweet. It is the way of life, after all...(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 08, 2013 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, horror

The Troupe is a rather dark fantasy, gothic in tone. This is not a book for everyone; there's a grimness to it which has people comparing Bennett's work to Stephen King or Neil Gaiman, although the book lacks Gaiman's sense of humour. Which is not to say it's a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. There's a lot to enjoy here, including some vividly drawn characters and an interesting peek into the darkness that peeks at the human race on a daily basis. The fantasy elements are a bit of a...more The Troupe is a rather dark fantasy, gothic in tone. This is not a book for everyone; there's a grimness to it which has people comparing Bennett's work to Stephen King or Neil Gaiman, although the book lacks Gaiman's sense of humour. Which is not to say it's a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. There's a lot to enjoy here, including some vividly drawn characters and an interesting peek into the darkness that peeks at the human race on a daily basis. The fantasy elements are a bit of a mish-mash, but for the most part Bennett manages to tie them together so the mythology, surrealism, and original creations work together instead of fighting against each other like they might have in another writer's hands. I particularly liked his creation of the wolves, who prey on reality, trying to expand their territory of darkness and shadows.

The romance is worth mentioning here, since it doesn't follow any of the usual traditions. Initially you have the boy meets girl, boy silently pines after girl setup, but from there it heads into some rather unexpected places. I was put off by the treatment of homosexuality, however. At one point George is led to believe another man has fallen in love with him, and his reaction is to subsequently be as cruel as he can to this character. It's not "pick on him because he's gay" so much as an attempt at "if I'm meaner to him maybe he'll leave me alone," but the attitude is never corrected or put into check, so reader beware there.

The book is perhaps a bit longer than it strictly needs to be, with a swampy middle of doom, but character-driven readers will find themselves turning pages just to see more of the interactions between George and the other members of the troupe, each carrying their own secrets and mysteries. Readers who tend to be more plot-driven will find it a bit of a slog, but the unique setting and world-building are worth sticking around for. I honestly can't say I've come across any fantasy world quite like the one Bennett's created here. (less)

like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Algernon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

[7/10]
The book first came to my atention for its circus connection - a favorite theme of mine. Then I saw it received a lot of glowing reviews from people I follow. Technically, the story is about vaudeville not circus, a related form of showbusiness that knew its greatest popularity at the turn of the 20th century, with artists touring small venues all across America, before the magic of the silver screen replaced it in popularity. I believe Chaplin is the greatest example of a performer starti...more [7/10]
The book first came to my atention for its circus connection - a favorite theme of mine. Then I saw it received a lot of glowing reviews from people I follow. Technically, the story is about vaudeville not circus, a related form of showbusiness that knew its greatest popularity at the turn of the 20th century, with artists touring small venues all across America, before the magic of the silver screen replaced it in popularity. I believe Chaplin is the greatest example of a performer starting in vaudeville and moving to cinema. The Troupe is a much more ambitious project that a simple evocation of the period, bringing in an interesting riff on the biblical cosmogony, a lot of fantasy tropes (elves, air elementals, golems/marionettes) and existentialist angst (why struggle if the end will be the same, no mattter what).

In line with other great tales bringing together the performing arts and the supernatural, the tale is a dark one, closer to horror than to what we now label urban fantasy. The narrative shies away from the light of the sun, moving mostly in the shadows, in the dark of winter, under a cosmic cold from which the world may never recover. Danger, death, destruction, despair lurk around every corner, with Armaggedon waiting in the stalls to make a final entrance. The-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it is one of those overused fantasy cliches that can turn me off if deployed without finesse. The jury is still out regarding this present case, with enough positive aspects of the story to balance things out.

The human element raises the novel above the usual supernatural adventure/murder investigation, with very well defined characters and complex interactions involving coming of age, romance, family ties, jealousy, self sacrifice, obsession and so on. The main narrator is George Carole, an orphaned teenager with a native talent for playing the piano, on a quest to find his runaway father on the vaudeville circuit. He comes off the page as an amalgam of ambition and insecurity, romantic yearning and muleheaded obstinacy. Mostly selfish like all youths, he compensates with a solid moral core and a streak of kindness towards the less fortunate. He will be eclipsed in the novel by his alleged father, Heironomous 'Harry' Silenus, Oldest Wanderer, Harvester of Echoes, Bearer of Lights Eternal, Master of Stage and Speech and Song . A cranky authocrat with a foul mouth and an inflexible focus on a mysterious private crusade, Silenus is the leader of the Troupe: a curious collection of supernatural performers whose mystery is compounded by the fact that the audience is struck by a memory loss after each of their shows. Kingsley Tyburn is an elderly gentleman, a former professor who now opens the spectacle with a ventriloquist act. The first comparison that comes to mind is Jeff Dunham and his crazy puppets, but Kingsley has a definite melancholic, even creepy tone instead of satire. Collette is the youngest member before George joins the troupe and she is an exotic dancer, introduced as a Persian Princess. Her role cannot be dismissed simply as eye-candy or love interest, she gets some powerful scenes denouncing the rampant racial discrimination of the period. Franny the strongwoman comes across as more of an animated mummy than actual human being, performing improbable feats of iron bending and safe juggling. She will have her moment in the limelight, in a spectacular finale that has more to do with emotional overload rather than credible demonstration of strength. Last member of the troupe is the quiet Stanley, communicating only by writing on a portable blackboard, perfoming mind/reality altering songs on the cello under the baguette of Silenus. His temperament provides a needed counterpoint to the explosive and aggravating personality of the team manager, an oasis of calmness and common sense.

As I've already mentioned, the tensions and the interplay between the members of the troupe were the highlights of the novel for me. I would have probably rated it higher, but the actual plot, while clever and very well paced, strained my suspension of disbelief beyond reasonable bounds and I often found the dialogue and the info dumps less accomplished than the imaginative powers of the author. Ultimately, I read the story as parrable, a metaphor for life's struggles and the inevitability of death, a magic spectacle were the message is more important than the nuts and bolts behind the curtains. The prose is generally effective in delivering the message, but I cannot help wishing for the pen of a more lyrical writer, capable of making the pages really soar and sing. The comparisons have already been made by other reviewers, and I found them all appropriate, at least in theme if not in prose: Ray Bradbury, Charles Finney, Angela Carter, more recently Erin Morgenstern and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. They all share a fascination for the gothic mood and for the world of show business. Mr. Bennett should be proud of such select company.(less)

8 likes · like · see review

Oct 19, 2012 Rob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-release, best-of-2012, fantasy, read-in-2012, horror

Young George Carole is a very talented pianist who leaves his carnival when the Troupe led by the enigmatic Heironomous “Harry” Silenus is near. He hopes to join the fabled vaudeville Troupe since his grandmother has led him to believe Harry is his father, whom he never met. When George arrives at the Troupe, he manages to get a position in the traveling vaudevillian entertainers and signs on for more than he imagined.

Circuses, carnivals and traveling entertainers have been popular elements of...more Young George Carole is a very talented pianist who leaves his carnival when the Troupe led by the enigmatic Heironomous “Harry” Silenus is near. He hopes to join the fabled vaudeville Troupe since his grandmother has led him to believe Harry is his father, whom he never met. When George arrives at the Troupe, he manages to get a position in the traveling vaudevillian entertainers and signs on for more than he imagined.

Circuses, carnivals and traveling entertainers have been popular elements of fantastic fiction going back to Charles Finney’s Circus of Dr. Lao to Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. Placing Bennett’s The Troupe alongside those iconic novels of dark fantasy is an easy thing to do for many reasons. Bennett’s style is both subtle and powerful, he doesn’t often beat the reader over the head with blatant imagery or themes. Rather, the hints and pieces he offers the reader work so effectively to build a collaborative engagement of conversation between writer and reader that it proves all the more powerful. We know there’s a big curtain and behind that curtain, lots of pieces and players are moving around while the performers in front of the curtain waive their hands for the audience. In that respect, Silenus’s Troupe is just the front for much larger events and performances, as well as intimate movements and emotions.

The small things are important, too, Bennett’s The Troupe reminds us. Sure there may be an apocalyptic, near biblical conflict that serves as the engine, or rather, the sheet music of the events, but engine parts and players are what put these elements into motion. In the case of The Troupe, George Carole is of course this major part although to call him the driving character may not be completely accurate. Sure his initial query about his father brought him to Silenus’s Troupe, but once there, he’s more of a front-seat passenger than the actual driver. He’s a young man searching for his family – an orphan if you will – and for a sense of purpose in life. Initially, he’s headstrong and unwilling to hear that he’s young and perhaps not ready to take the stage in Silenus’s Troupe. After all, as George likes to inflate himself by saying, he could headline and make an appreciable sum for his performances. What truly makes George stand out to Harry is that George is the only audience member who has ever been able to remember the Troupe’s final act.

His father, Harry, comes across just as headstrong, but as the mentor who seemingly holds back necessary information from the young hero of the tale. Harry’s obsession – something he’s initially unwilling to share with anybody other than the silent Stanley – is what drives the story and the Troupe across the country in search of something supernatural and away from something equally supernatural, though much darker. There’s a great aura of confliction surround Harry, he’s got very honorable intentions and goals but he often comes across as a callous and harsh individual. I felt some resonance in the Harry/George relationship to the relationship portrayed in Gangs of New York between Daniel Day Lewis’s Bill the Butcher (who might make a terrific Harry if The Troupe ever made it to film) and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Amsterdam or even to Roland the Gunslinger and the boy Jake Chambers in King’s The Dark Tower, and there was something about Harry that reminded me of Jessie Custer, the title character from Garth Ennis & Steve Dillion’s landmark Preacher comic book series. Bennett’s deft depiction of Harry as a conflicted character is evident down to his speech pattern, Harry’s dialogue often includes allusions to wondrous things which are soon punctuated with a contrarian “fucking…this” or “that fucking bastard.” In short, Harry is a gem of a character

Throughout my experience with The Troupe I felt echoes or resonances with a lot of fiction I’ve read or watched over the years that rang very True. Not that Mr. Bennett was repeating the cadence as much as he was adding to the overall song. Some of these resonances include the aforementioned Ray Bradbury, as well as Stephen King (thematically The Dark Tower and specifically Low Men in Yellow Coats), Neil Gaiman, Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind, the television show Lost, among other elements. What Bennett cued into is the veneer that much more is going on behind the curtain than what the reader sees on the page or the audience sees on the stage – a grand chess match between powers people can’t comprehend, let alone even realize exist.

The Troupe was my first Robert Jackson Bennett novel and it most certainly will not be my last. For 2012 releases, The Troupe is at the top of the list.

Full review appears at SFFWorld.com.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 17, 2013 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oof. What an absolutely amazing, magical book. I'm deeply enjoying reading Bennett's bibliography in order of publication, because he's honed and improved his style so much with each one. The Troupe is, so far, my favourite of the lot -- but just give me some time, and perhaps American Elsewhere will make me change my mind.

This one, though: if you like exploring magical realism (that's what this is, right? god, I never know with genres), vaudeville, showboating stagemasters and gruff badasses an...more Oof. What an absolutely amazing, magical book. I'm deeply enjoying reading Bennett's bibliography in order of publication, because he's honed and improved his style so much with each one. The Troupe is, so far, my favourite of the lot -- but just give me some time, and perhaps American Elsewhere will make me change my mind.

This one, though: if you like exploring magical realism (that's what this is, right? god, I never know with genres), vaudeville, showboating stagemasters and gruff badasses and strong women, creation myths, fatherhood, love and grief, the passing of magic from this world, uncanny performances, the terror of existence, and the lurking threat of vague grey things wearing human skin and trying to pass as men in suits... well, READ THIS BOOK ALREADY. 'Rich' is, I think, the word of choice I'd like to use, since the worldbuilding is subtle but entrancing as our earnest protagonist unearths layer after layer of magic to what he thought he knew about life/the world.

Compared to the grizzled protagonists of the previous two books (more like Silenus than anything else), George is very different as a lead -- but RJB's completely nailed his character, a frustrating teenaged boy with all his mistakes and shortsightedness and tantrums. Without the, you know, ALLCAPS OF RAGE à la J.K. Rowling. You just want to shake George sometimes, but he's likeable despite that, and I came to love the rest of the troupe as family, too. (Also, there's a funny parallel here with Mechanique, considering it had Little George running around the circus, but that's just an amusing coincidence.) His stubborn quest to find his father -- the wonderfully manipulative, cunning Harry Silenus -- is really resonant and one that we can really feel for.

My absolute favourite character is one of the wolves; I won't say much else, for fear of spoilers, but I'll just say that I went into this novel only knowing the bare minimum about it, and I think you'd be well-served to do the same & just uncover pieces of the tapestry as you go. This has been mentioned elsewhere, but fans of Neil Gaiman will probably like this. (And bonus: Bennett writes far more adult fiction far more quickly than Mssr. G does!)

There were also some scenes that I found truly gruesome/terrifying/existentially unsettling -- all mostly to do with Kingsley's act, the wolves, the Otherlands, and a particular race of creatures that you meet in the last act or so.

A certain plot twist towards the end caught me completely off-guard, but seemed so obvious in hindsight, and its significance and ramifications made me burst into tears in public. I always love it when a book manages to yank my heartstrings, and The Troupe definitely did it. And the ending is beautiful. :')

Some favourite quotes below, per usual:

(view spoiler)

Such a magnificent description of the human condition. I can't.(less)

like · see review

Aug 28, 2012 Skott Klebe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Each of Bennet's books I've read has made me tell someone, "X is a perfect historical setting for fantasy. Why the hell haven't more people written about X?" The Troupe is American vaudeville; The Company Man, the union-busting 20's; and Mr. Shivers wanders through the Dust Bowl. However, RJB never writes as a tour guide, or as though he's merely choosing different rooms to bang the same drum.

The Troupe follows a young man's pursuit of a mysterious vaudeville act whose performances everyone lov...more

like · see review

Feb 21, 2012 Lauren Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-review-copy, fantasy, myth-and-mythology, ebook, horror

At 16, George Carole ran away from home to join the vaudeville circuit. His remarkable talents with the piano meant he quickly made money and a name for himself, but then he gives it all up to chase after the mysterious Silenus Troupe. They are the very reason George went into vaudeville – he’s learnt that the Troupe’s leader, Hieronomo (Harry) Silenus is his father, and the circuit gave him the best way of tracking the man down.

But when George finally meets Harry and gets involved with his trou...more

like · see review

Mar 04, 2012 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bittersweet perfection. I loved it. George is a young man who has gone in search of his father, whom he never met. What he finds is not at all what he expects. Something of a fantasy, something of a mystery, and a whole lot of coming of age/finding of self. The last few chapters had me bawling my eyes out and marveling at Bennett's insight into the parent/child bond. I will read this again to savor the language and pick up on things I might have missed along the way. Masterful storytelling...

1 like · like · see review

Feb 16, 2013 Cover to Cover Books rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ho-hum. Nearly stopped reading several times, and probably should have. So many interesting side plots in this book, never explored. And for all the hype of the vaudeville setting, really not much vaudeville. Here it is, folks, the creation myth retold! Complete with Adam's rib and a few marionettes.

I apologize to those of you to whom I recommended we try this book.

This was an awful lot like reading someone's fever dream, and about as coherent.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 38 39 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (5)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

72 users

Horror

31 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

7 users

Historical Fiction

5 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

5 users

Adult

4 users

Fantasy > Dark Fantasy

2 users

Novels

2 users

Magical Realism

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Sharps
by K.J. Parker
Scourge of the Betrayer
by Jeff Salyards
Three Parts Dead
by Max Gladstone
Range of Ghosts
by Elizabeth Bear
The Constantine Affliction
by T. Aaron Payton

About Robert Jackson Bennett

Robert Jackson Bennett's 2010 debut Mr. Shivers won the Shirley Jackson award as well as the Sydney J Bounds Newcomer Award. His second novel, The Company Man, is currently nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award as well as an Edgar Award. His third novel, The Troupe, arrives in stores on the 21st of February.

He lives in Austin with his wife and son. He can be found on Twitter at @robertjbennett. Sin...more

More about Robert Jackson Bennett...

Books by Robert Jackson Bennett

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Troupe

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Troupe

“Die. Do you think I will? I suppose I must...I exist now, and everything that exists must end, one day. I wonder how I will die, and what it will be like. It will be most interesting, don't you think? [...] Yes. Yes, I think it will," said the wolf. "I look forward to it. On the whole, I think it is a very strange and terrifying thing, to exist. I really don't understand how you do it. Tell me - how do you deal with the fear?

"The fear?" asked George.

"Yes. That fear that comes from the feeling that there is you, and then there is...everything else. That you are trapped inside of yourself, a tiny dot insignificant in the face of every everything that could ever be. How do you manage that?"

George considered how to answer. "I...guess we just never think about it."

"Never think about it!" cried the wolf. "How can you not think about it when it confronts you at every moment? You are lost amid a wide, dark sea, with no shores in sight, and you all so rarely panic! Some days I can barely function, so how on earth can you never think about it?"

"Well, I...suppose we distract ourselves," said George.

"But with what?".

"I don't know. With all kinds of things.” — 2 people liked it

“What will happen will happen.” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Troupe
avg rating	preview: The Troupe Goodreads rating: 3.91 (321 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11737656-the-troupe?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325701906l/11737656.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11737656-the-troupe?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett[/url]

The Troupe

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website