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30th out of 166 books
—
434 voters
Cirkus
by
Patti Frazee (Goodreads Author)
In Patti Frazee's astonishing debut novel, enchantment and illusion casually commingle with reality as the Borefsky Brothers Circus makes its way across the American Midwest in the summer of 1900.
Mariana, the fortune teller, makes herself invisible and drifts through the nighttime circus, listening in on conversations and watching over her beloved Shanghai, a fire-breathin...more
Mariana, the fortune teller, makes herself invisible and drifts through the nighttime circus, listening in on conversations and watching over her beloved Shanghai, a fire-breathin...more
Hardcover, 307 pages
Published
May 1st 2006
by Alyson Books
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I love books about old time (late 18 to early 1900's)circuses. With that said if you have read circus books of that time period you know it wasn't always roses & sunshine type situations.
This book didn't touch on as much circus lore as what I have gotten out of other circus books, BUT the STORY of this book was pretty amazing! It's a wonderful roller coaster of magic, secrets, love affairs, & intrigue, and just when you think you have it all figured out...ooops nnoooo youuuu don'ttt, ha...more
This book didn't touch on as much circus lore as what I have gotten out of other circus books, BUT the STORY of this book was pretty amazing! It's a wonderful roller coaster of magic, secrets, love affairs, & intrigue, and just when you think you have it all figured out...ooops nnoooo youuuu don'ttt, ha...more
A story about the trials and tribulations of side show "freaks" and other nomadic circus personnel around 1900. Mostly of Czech origin, they travel around the midwestern US entertaining the "rubes" and trying to deal with each other. I was very disappointed with this book. The framework of the story seemed very promising and especially the lesbian aspect considering the cultural attitudes of this time period. But by and large it was just mired in melodramatic romance plots of unrequited love, fr...more
This powerful story takes place in a traveling circus at the turn of the century (1900). The main characters are "freaks" in the sideshow and the circus owner's Romani wife. Shanghai, the fire throwing dwarf struggles to remember Milada, his lost love, but the gypsy woman, Mariana has cast a spell to take away the painful memories. He finds a second chance for love when the circus acquires Anna and Atasha a set of Siamese twins joined at the torso. He works with the girls to teach them how to ju...more
Cirkus is the absorbing story of a traveling circus, its sideshow performers and the tensions that exist between them. The story centres around teenaged cojoined twin girls, a firebreathing dwarf (Shanghai) and foretune teller Marianna. When one of the twins falls for Shanghai and the feelings are reciprocated the story spirals to its inevitable end.
I enjoyed this novel, however I found the ending unsatisfying and seemingly unfair to Marianna. Up to that point a pivotal character, in the last c...more
I enjoyed this novel, however I found the ending unsatisfying and seemingly unfair to Marianna. Up to that point a pivotal character, in the last c...more
I picked this up because I'm not adverse to weirdness -- and you have to expect some of that when the book is about circus sideshow acts, circa 1900. Unfortunately, the dose of darkness was a bit much for me, including too many subjects I don't enjoy finding in my pleasure reads: incest, pedophelia, rape, prostitution, exploitation, animal abuse, indentured servitude, loveless marriages... There's lesbianism too, which I'm perfectly okay with, but not in the in-delicate way it's handled here. On...more
Cirkus is impressive. I could not put it down. The time is 1900 America in the Boresfkey brothers circus. A small traveling circus from Czechoslovakia. Mariana a fortune teller and her husband, Jakub run it. The story centers around Shanghai, the dwarf fire juggler and his attraction to one of a pair of siamese twins. It's a beautiful story in the vein of Geek Love. The present tense narrative captures the timelessness of the world of the cirkis. This contributed to the vivid quality of the stor...more
I am drawn to books about circuses even though these books often turn dark. Story takes place in the early 1900's as a small circus tries to make iit in heartland of America. Most of the circus people are foreigners and fight the stigma of being circus "folk". The plot follows the characters through mistaken gender identities, lesbian love affairs, and grave loss to those who thought they were truly loved. This was a Kindle freebie and it was worth every penny.
Read this book in two days and it was good. I quite enjoyed the world it conjures up, despite the obvious downsides of 1900's circuses and freakshows. The characters were all quite fascinating, I just thought they could have been more three dimensional. As it is, I felt they were a bit flat and there's definitely potential to go deeper, so to say. Nonetheless I definitely don't regret buying and reading this one!
May 10, 2010
Jukka
added it
Cirkus - Patty Frazee
I think this was great and highly innovative. This is an early work for Frazee, but she shows an innovative knack. This book really carries you along. The author thinks and creates cinematically (Note film producers!!) and so it's an adventure.
Because the author is so innovative this might not be for everyone.
I think this was great and highly innovative. This is an early work for Frazee, but she shows an innovative knack. This book really carries you along. The author thinks and creates cinematically (Note film producers!!) and so it's an adventure.
Because the author is so innovative this might not be for everyone.
I started out totally wrapped up in the wonderful descriptions in this book. I was able to vividly picture the settings and the people. I loved it right up until the end and then felt a little dropped or let down. Still an amazing book and I would recommend it based on how I felt in the beginning of the story.
Feb 25, 2012
Lavonne
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
kindle-editions
This was a very good read with good characters, an interesting plot, and some surprising twists. However, it pales in comparison to "Water for Elephants", another novel about a circus in the early 1930's. Since I gave "Water for Elephants" 4 stars, I can only give this novel 3, but it's definately a 3.5.
It was interesting and entertaining, kind of fun in a morbidly fascinating sort of way. Good, solid characters and storyline. The main characters are side-show anomalies. The conjoined twins are in love with different men, one of whom is the dwarf who has had his own share of heartache.
Vivid portrayals of characters in an old-fashioned 'freak' show part of the circus. I like how the author made magic real, in a quiet sort of way. It was a beautifully written book but dark too.
The author did a great job of setting the scene (turn of the century traveling circus) and painting the characters. The plot twists along the way kept you guessing and you don't know whether to like or hate the main character.
While Frazee can spin a decent yarn, some of the themes that flowed through this book were disturbing and strange. Her descriptions of sex between a female dwarf having sex with one of two conjoined twins were bizarre and unnecessary. This could have been a far greater and much more powerful novel without the shock value. Not highly recommended. 2.5 / 5
A real page turner. I have never read about a circus and I loved it. Beautifully written, and I felt for the characters. What a great secret of shanghai! I would have never guessed, a real twist!
This one started off interesting and I loved the setting of circus people in the 1900's. I just couldnt get into it much 30% into the book.
1 like · like · see review
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Above and beyond my fondness for the Circus genre, I thought this book was excellent. I found it thoroughly engaging and character-driven, with a lot of great background and development to the players. There was mysticism, intrigue, and some really killer twists that I didn't see coming at all! This is one of the better Circus books I have enjoyed.
I thought this book was fantastic. A little slow at the beginning, but definitely worth the read. Throughout the book, you are made aware of the fact that the circus performers each have some sort of secret, but I never expected what they turned out to be. I've read other circus themed books, but I loved this one for the great story with a shocking twist...
Just ok. Kept my interest but not what I had expected.
A little slow getting into it, but wow! Didn't think that a book about circus sideshow "freaks" (hate that word) could surprise you, but boy did it. Not a feel good book at all, left me feeing a little sad.
Just going with 2 on this one.
The story element is good, but the prose and the narrative lack style. It's difficult to read something like this and not compare it to Katherine Dunn's Geek Love, so I'll give into the temptation and say: it's not nearly as good as Geek Love.
Nov 16, 2008
Maria
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
freak fetishists, literature lovers
Recommended to Maria by:
Alice, but then she kept trying to take away her recommendation
Ugh. Circus freaks. I don't like reading about 'em.
Still this is a well-written book, exploring some of the really big themes--difference, humanity, evil--and the symbolism is right on. Still, a bit glum for my taste.
Still this is a well-written book, exploring some of the really big themes--difference, humanity, evil--and the symbolism is right on. Still, a bit glum for my taste.
I was enjoying it until about 2/3 of the way in. The story just seemed to veer off and the tone and focus shifted. I became a bit disconnected from the characters after awhile.
The writing style seemed almost mechanical, plus I didn't like any of the characters. Meh.
Looking forward to more books from Ms. Frazee.
Jun 18, 2013
John Teegardin
marked it as to-read
Jun 16, 2013
Shannon
marked it as to-read
Jun 14, 2013
Beth
marked it as to-read
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