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Chaplin & Company: Starring Ms Odeline Milk (Mime & Illusionist) & Friends
A big debut novel -- a perfect blend of the quirky and commercial, in the vein of When God Was a Rabbit.
Introducing... Odeline Milk, a strange young lady from a sleepy, buttoned-down market town.
A young lady with an obsession -- you can guess what it is by the way she white collarless shirt, a waistcoat and billowing black trousers, the bowler hat.
She’s on her way to London, to make her name as a great mime artist. She hopes.
And typical Odeline, she’s arriving prepared. With the small inheritance left her by her mother, she’s bought herself a home, an old canal boat.
What she doesn’t know yet is that for some the city’s canals have an appeal of their own. They are below the eyeline, a sort of halfworld, a good place to hide for a community of curious outsiders, all with their own stories to tell, stories which might help a certain young lady to think differently about life.
Because there's a lot Odeline doesn't know. Not least, that her new home has a history of its own.
Introducing... Odeline Milk, a strange young lady from a sleepy, buttoned-down market town.
A young lady with an obsession -- you can guess what it is by the way she white collarless shirt, a waistcoat and billowing black trousers, the bowler hat.
She’s on her way to London, to make her name as a great mime artist. She hopes.
And typical Odeline, she’s arriving prepared. With the small inheritance left her by her mother, she’s bought herself a home, an old canal boat.
What she doesn’t know yet is that for some the city’s canals have an appeal of their own. They are below the eyeline, a sort of halfworld, a good place to hide for a community of curious outsiders, all with their own stories to tell, stories which might help a certain young lady to think differently about life.
Because there's a lot Odeline doesn't know. Not least, that her new home has a history of its own.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
August 31, 2014
To be honest I picked this book primarily by the cover and brief description, I'm fascinated by houseboats and that sort of lifestyle plus any mention of circus is always a bonus. And this book turned out just as good as I might have hoped, absolutely lovely in fact. Chaplin and Company is a name of a boat and although much of a story takes place on or around it, this really isn't a story of a boat. It's a coming of age story about an eighteen year old girl who comes to London with grand hopes of pursuing her art (mime performances primarily) and finding her father. Odeline is an interesting character, far from likable at first, strange, standoffish girl, who's lived a very sheltered small town life and now the readers get to witness her journey of self discovery as she learns to engage with the world around her and actually experience the emotions she's been training for years to mimic and mime. The book features a terrific cast of misfits, charming and tragic in their own ways, coming to form a community, a family even, the one with a real meaning, not just blood ties, the sort of one's choosing based on a shared kindness. I loved this book, I thought it was absolutely magical and the writing in its attention to detail was first class, vivid and immersive. The story has kept me completely emotionally engaged, which is no small task. Excellent read. Highly recommended.
May 14, 2013
At first I wasn’t at all sure how I should introduce Miss Odeline Milk, but as I thought I realised it was obvious that all I had to say was that you really should meet her.
Odeline was the daughter of a bookkeeper and a circus clown. Eunice Milk was a quiet, capable, solitary woman, with a weakness for slapstick comedy. It was an evening at the circus, an encounter with a clown while she had stars in her eyes, that gave her a daughter, and Odeline inherited the talents of both of her parents.
I was told all of this at the start by a wonderful narrator, a storyteller who knew just what to point put, just what to carefully explain, and just how to move the story forwards. My favourite kind of narrator.
When her mother died and she was left alone on the world, Odeline set off for London, to embark on a career as mime and an illusionist. And to find her father. Her home would be a houseboat, selected for economy and for the belief that her name was a wonderful omen – Chaplin & Company!
It was lovely to see Odeline set off with such confidence, such faith in the future, and to see every detail as she found and settled into her new home. She was young and gauche, focused on honing her skills to the exclusion of everything else, insensitive to the concerns of others, and awkward in social skills. But I did like her, and I thought that it might be interesting to watch her growing up. It was.
But this isn’t just Odeline’s story.
It’s the story of the community she joined on the Grand Union Canal:
•John Kettle, the alcoholic canal warden at a turning point in his life
•Ridley, the ponytailed, tattooed traveller, who had seen and learned much.
•Vera, the refuge from Eastern Europe who kept an eye on Odeline but was anxious that nobody should keep an eye on her.
And it was the story of Chaplin & Company:
•The boatbuilder whose creation she was
•The troubled evacuee who had come to love her
•The couple who used to live on her
Each story was engaging, and there were moments of such emotional honesty that brought a lump to my throat.
And threaded through all of this was Odeline, as she became part of the canalside community and as she learned some of life’s lessons.
The problem though was that the book wasn’t quite big enough to hold all of those stories, and some of them were a little bit squashed. Characters changed a little too quickly, some things weren’t considered as carefully as they might have been, and endings were rushed. There wasn’t a story that didn’t work, there wasn’t a story I’d want to lose, I just wanted them all to have a little more room to breath and grow naturally.
The storytelling was wonderful, I loved the style. And I loved the way that I was swept up into Odeline’s world.
I quickly became attached to all of the characters, and I was sorry to have to say goodbye when I reached the final place.
It was an ending rather than a resolution – and Odeline still has a long way to go – so there’s definitely room for a sequel.
I would love to read a sequel …
Odeline was the daughter of a bookkeeper and a circus clown. Eunice Milk was a quiet, capable, solitary woman, with a weakness for slapstick comedy. It was an evening at the circus, an encounter with a clown while she had stars in her eyes, that gave her a daughter, and Odeline inherited the talents of both of her parents.
I was told all of this at the start by a wonderful narrator, a storyteller who knew just what to point put, just what to carefully explain, and just how to move the story forwards. My favourite kind of narrator.
When her mother died and she was left alone on the world, Odeline set off for London, to embark on a career as mime and an illusionist. And to find her father. Her home would be a houseboat, selected for economy and for the belief that her name was a wonderful omen – Chaplin & Company!
It was lovely to see Odeline set off with such confidence, such faith in the future, and to see every detail as she found and settled into her new home. She was young and gauche, focused on honing her skills to the exclusion of everything else, insensitive to the concerns of others, and awkward in social skills. But I did like her, and I thought that it might be interesting to watch her growing up. It was.
But this isn’t just Odeline’s story.
It’s the story of the community she joined on the Grand Union Canal:
•John Kettle, the alcoholic canal warden at a turning point in his life
•Ridley, the ponytailed, tattooed traveller, who had seen and learned much.
•Vera, the refuge from Eastern Europe who kept an eye on Odeline but was anxious that nobody should keep an eye on her.
And it was the story of Chaplin & Company:
•The boatbuilder whose creation she was
•The troubled evacuee who had come to love her
•The couple who used to live on her
Each story was engaging, and there were moments of such emotional honesty that brought a lump to my throat.
And threaded through all of this was Odeline, as she became part of the canalside community and as she learned some of life’s lessons.
The problem though was that the book wasn’t quite big enough to hold all of those stories, and some of them were a little bit squashed. Characters changed a little too quickly, some things weren’t considered as carefully as they might have been, and endings were rushed. There wasn’t a story that didn’t work, there wasn’t a story I’d want to lose, I just wanted them all to have a little more room to breath and grow naturally.
The storytelling was wonderful, I loved the style. And I loved the way that I was swept up into Odeline’s world.
I quickly became attached to all of the characters, and I was sorry to have to say goodbye when I reached the final place.
It was an ending rather than a resolution – and Odeline still has a long way to go – so there’s definitely room for a sequel.
I would love to read a sequel …
June 5, 2014
Meet Odeline Milk, 18 year old daughter of an introverted bookkeeper and an itinerant circus clown and acrobat. With her mother recently deceased, Odeline moves into a houseboat along London's canals with dreams of finding her absent father and of becoming a mime like her idol, Marcel Marceau. What she finds is a community of somewhat eccentric, often sad, individuals who will lead her to a deeper truth and teach her what is truly important. Along the way we learn the history of the boat and the ways in which it intertwines with many of the characters' own stories. One of the things I loved most about this book was the author's ability to make the setting come alive with vivid, lyrical descriptions. I found the writing impressive, particularly from a debut author, and will certainly be looking to forward to hearing more from this author. This is a heartwarming story which I highly recommend. (This review refers to a copy I received for free through the Goodreads First Reads program.)
March 25, 2015
(2.5) An aspiring mime buys a London canal boat and finds her father in this debut novel. Fellowes writes good descriptive passages, mostly in the present tense. I could imagine these serving as cinematic directions. The novel handles past and present capably, interspersing flashbacks to the boat’s construction by Walt Chaplin and its previous owners and occupants, including a wartime evacuee. However, I was unsure whether Chaplin and Company overall has much narrative verve. The very element that could have made the novel jolly – the circus and mime performances – merits hardly any space. What I will take away instead is an offbeat, bittersweet coming-of-age story.
(See my full review at Nudge.)
(See my full review at Nudge.)
January 9, 2014
This is a marvelous book about the power of friendship and the bonds (as well as lack of them) of family. And so well written: the characters live and breathe, their interactions both comic and poignant. I will be recommending this book far and wide, and I hope to see MUCH more from Fellowes.
August 26, 2020
This was quite lovely and heartfelt. It touches a lot of important issues such as loneliness and marginalization in today's society, the sense of family and community, grief and dependence. At the same time, it was a very slow book, with lots of narration and description. You had to really switch gears to get into the rhythm so I didn't find it as enjoyable as I would have liked. But it's an interesting read if you're interested in canals and houseboats and illusionism - though none of these interests are a requisite.
May 11, 2013
Chaplin and Company tells the story of Odeline, an eccentric young woman from the suburbs who is obsessed with becoming a successful mime artist. After her mother dies, she moves to London to live on a canal barge called Chaplin and Company, and sets about building her career and searching for the father she has never met.
Odeline is a very interesting central character. The novel starts out by giving us some background on her mother, a slightly eccentric woman who lives alone and sticks rigidly to a routine. A huge fan of slapstick films, she takes herself off to the circus where she becomes enamoured with a clown. Odeline is the result of this brief liaison, and this short introduction to her mother allows us to understand how Odeline has turned out the way she has.
I thought it might be difficult to like Odeline; she’s extremely awkward in social situations, and she puts a high premium on honing her skills as a mime artist, to the exclusion of all else. But as I read, I realised that I did like her (quirks and all) and that I, the reader, was joining her on her journey to discover that having friends in life is a good thing.
And it’s this that really added to my enjoyment of Chaplin and Company. The fact that all the way through, the author invites you to come along, points out things that you should be looking at. At various points you are told to “come down closer” or to “join Odeline” as she embarks on an activity. I love this technique. It doesn’t detract from our getting to know Odeline, we still get to know what she is thinking and feeling, but it really allows us to feel as though we are being swept along for the ride with her.
Along the way, we meet the secondary characters who begin to encroach on Odeline’s life. There’s John Kettle, the alcoholic canal warden with a sad past; Ridley, the ponytailed, tattooed man from the boat next door who keeps disappearing on Odeline, only to pop up again. And then there’s Vera, the foreign lady at the barge cafe who has a mysterious past but who takes Odeline under her wing. All outsiders, just like Odeline; they soon start to realise that they could be ousiders together.
Threaded throughout the book, we get snippets of the history of Chaplin and Company, and come to realise how the boat ended up in Odeline’s hands. The story of the boat twists and turns, overlapping with Odeline’s own story.
I really enjoyed Chaplin and Company; I think it’s a fresh and unusual novel about a young woman finding herself, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes modern fiction but wants to try something a little different to the usual chick lit.
*I received an eBook copy of Chaplin and Company for the purposes of review. This review has also appeared on Hanging on Every Word.
Odeline is a very interesting central character. The novel starts out by giving us some background on her mother, a slightly eccentric woman who lives alone and sticks rigidly to a routine. A huge fan of slapstick films, she takes herself off to the circus where she becomes enamoured with a clown. Odeline is the result of this brief liaison, and this short introduction to her mother allows us to understand how Odeline has turned out the way she has.
I thought it might be difficult to like Odeline; she’s extremely awkward in social situations, and she puts a high premium on honing her skills as a mime artist, to the exclusion of all else. But as I read, I realised that I did like her (quirks and all) and that I, the reader, was joining her on her journey to discover that having friends in life is a good thing.
And it’s this that really added to my enjoyment of Chaplin and Company. The fact that all the way through, the author invites you to come along, points out things that you should be looking at. At various points you are told to “come down closer” or to “join Odeline” as she embarks on an activity. I love this technique. It doesn’t detract from our getting to know Odeline, we still get to know what she is thinking and feeling, but it really allows us to feel as though we are being swept along for the ride with her.
Along the way, we meet the secondary characters who begin to encroach on Odeline’s life. There’s John Kettle, the alcoholic canal warden with a sad past; Ridley, the ponytailed, tattooed man from the boat next door who keeps disappearing on Odeline, only to pop up again. And then there’s Vera, the foreign lady at the barge cafe who has a mysterious past but who takes Odeline under her wing. All outsiders, just like Odeline; they soon start to realise that they could be ousiders together.
Threaded throughout the book, we get snippets of the history of Chaplin and Company, and come to realise how the boat ended up in Odeline’s hands. The story of the boat twists and turns, overlapping with Odeline’s own story.
I really enjoyed Chaplin and Company; I think it’s a fresh and unusual novel about a young woman finding herself, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes modern fiction but wants to try something a little different to the usual chick lit.
*I received an eBook copy of Chaplin and Company for the purposes of review. This review has also appeared on Hanging on Every Word.
January 28, 2014
With Chaplin & Company, a charming coming-of-age story set amid the grim magic of London's canals, Mave Fellowes has quickly established herself as one of the most exciting new voices to emerge from England.
When young Odeline Milk is left orphaned by her mother, she casts off her identity as a suburban outcast and moves to the big city in pursuit of her dream to become a great mime. So it must be fate when she finds a houseboat available--in London's peculiar canal neighborhood--called, of all things, Chaplin & Company. Though she starts out determined to keep to herself, she's quickly drawn into the dramatic lives of the larger-than-life and down-on-their-luck characters in the world around her.
Fellowes's deceptively smooth prose vibrates with the weird but lovable world she's built. Chaplin & Company is, indeed, "a deeply quirky and very charming first novel" (The Times).
--My thoughts. I knew I would like this book, but I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. Odeline is written so wonderfully that you are sucked in and it won't let you go. The world that is spun for you is so fantastic, I loved every second, it was so amazing, I loved Odi, so I think you will. I think the best line for me was, "Stay, little valentine, stay." London doesn't turn out like Odi thinks it would have been, but doesn't anything ever? But Odi sticks with it, because she is not a quitter. I adored her! You will come to love her too, and I can't wait until Fellowes puts out the next book! Bravo!
I received this book as a part of Goodreads first read program in exchange for my honest opinion.
When young Odeline Milk is left orphaned by her mother, she casts off her identity as a suburban outcast and moves to the big city in pursuit of her dream to become a great mime. So it must be fate when she finds a houseboat available--in London's peculiar canal neighborhood--called, of all things, Chaplin & Company. Though she starts out determined to keep to herself, she's quickly drawn into the dramatic lives of the larger-than-life and down-on-their-luck characters in the world around her.
Fellowes's deceptively smooth prose vibrates with the weird but lovable world she's built. Chaplin & Company is, indeed, "a deeply quirky and very charming first novel" (The Times).
--My thoughts. I knew I would like this book, but I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. Odeline is written so wonderfully that you are sucked in and it won't let you go. The world that is spun for you is so fantastic, I loved every second, it was so amazing, I loved Odi, so I think you will. I think the best line for me was, "Stay, little valentine, stay." London doesn't turn out like Odi thinks it would have been, but doesn't anything ever? But Odi sticks with it, because she is not a quitter. I adored her! You will come to love her too, and I can't wait until Fellowes puts out the next book! Bravo!
I received this book as a part of Goodreads first read program in exchange for my honest opinion.
February 3, 2014
I received a copy of this in a Good Reads / First Reads giveaway...
And I found it, on the whole, an impressive debut. Chaplin & Company has it shortcomings, to be sure -- I thought that the snapshots of the boat's past lent little to the novel, and, in the end, took away from its breezy charm with a kind of forced, improbable coincidence passing itself off as fanciful kismet (the orphan who spirited the boat off to its bombing during WWII growing up to be Odeline's steering teacher I can believe, but his spiriting the boat off a second time felt a little ridiculous, and the broken hippie from John Kettle's meeting having once lived on the Chaplin & Company made me feel a bit churlish for rolling my eyes -- but come on...) -- but its love for its characters is genuinely deep and moving. I was especially won over by its understanding that we choose or happen upon our families -- and sometimes we recognize them when it's too late. I also found Fellowes's compassion for the hardscrabble flotsam at London's margins (John Kettle, Mary, Vera) to be the real deal. It reminded me a little of Ross Raisin's (superior) novel Waterline. I would've given Chaplin & Company four stars, I think, had it not felt quite so contrived in some ways, but still a strong first novel, to my mind.
And I found it, on the whole, an impressive debut. Chaplin & Company has it shortcomings, to be sure -- I thought that the snapshots of the boat's past lent little to the novel, and, in the end, took away from its breezy charm with a kind of forced, improbable coincidence passing itself off as fanciful kismet (the orphan who spirited the boat off to its bombing during WWII growing up to be Odeline's steering teacher I can believe, but his spiriting the boat off a second time felt a little ridiculous, and the broken hippie from John Kettle's meeting having once lived on the Chaplin & Company made me feel a bit churlish for rolling my eyes -- but come on...) -- but its love for its characters is genuinely deep and moving. I was especially won over by its understanding that we choose or happen upon our families -- and sometimes we recognize them when it's too late. I also found Fellowes's compassion for the hardscrabble flotsam at London's margins (John Kettle, Mary, Vera) to be the real deal. It reminded me a little of Ross Raisin's (superior) novel Waterline. I would've given Chaplin & Company four stars, I think, had it not felt quite so contrived in some ways, but still a strong first novel, to my mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2014
I love this book! Fellowes' descriptions are rich, her characters well-drawn, and her story is enchanting. Odeline Milk is a tall, skinny, young girl who aspires to be the next Marcel Marceau. She is also newly orphaned and uses part of her inheritance to buy an old narrow boat, attracted by its name, Chaplin & Company. This is also the title of Fellowes’ book, and interestingly, is what attracted me into reading it.
Chaplin & Company, the boat, is perhaps the central character in Fellowes’ story. As she puts it—things that live on water have rhythms—it sighs as it falls and is always moving. She surrounds this old boat with a cast of eccentric, off-beat characters—flawed and at the same time, warmly spirited. Our heroine, Odeline, who is both naïve and melodramatic, learns the value of friendship and acceptance. A highlight in the book is when she performs Marceau’s Bip The Birdkeeper. I looked it up on line, and for me, Fellowes’ description is even more heart-warming than the maestro’s actual performance. Odeline begins the story as an eighteen year old with a childish dream—she ends the book with a purpose.
Chaplin & Company, the boat, is perhaps the central character in Fellowes’ story. As she puts it—things that live on water have rhythms—it sighs as it falls and is always moving. She surrounds this old boat with a cast of eccentric, off-beat characters—flawed and at the same time, warmly spirited. Our heroine, Odeline, who is both naïve and melodramatic, learns the value of friendship and acceptance. A highlight in the book is when she performs Marceau’s Bip The Birdkeeper. I looked it up on line, and for me, Fellowes’ description is even more heart-warming than the maestro’s actual performance. Odeline begins the story as an eighteen year old with a childish dream—she ends the book with a purpose.
December 28, 2013
This is a well written tale about a young lady who feels her ambitions thwarted by the small town where she lives. Her father is absent and her mother passes away giving her an inheritance which decides to use to purchase a houseboat and to live along the canals of London to attempt to live out her dream of fame and acceptance as a mime. Yes, a mime! This is not an easy task but she meets a wonderful group of characters along the way including a much hoped for reunion with her father who is a circus entertainer. A really strong effort for a first book and I could visualize it being adapted for the BBC.
January 24, 2015
The occasionally-charming story of a well-intentioned narcissist. I did, however, learn some interesting things about house boats.
June 9, 2014
Being different, being alike: an orphan, a canal boat community, and the silent world of mime (London, present-day): It takes courage for a debut author to pen a novel full of odd and unlikable characters in an unfamiliar setting. It also takes originality. And a respect for the reader’s sensibilities to care about these unconventional characters when the inviting prose brings you close to a place that’s “a halfworld up, a halfworld apart.” That’s what British author Mave Fellowes has done, drawing us in from the opening pages, quietly, poetically:
The offbeat characters hiding and drifting along in this dreamed up canal boat community include:
Odeline Milk: The heart of the story. At 19, she’s the oddest of them all. She dresses oddly, acts oddly, and has chosen an unusual artistic aspiration: mime. She senses she “breathed a rarer air,” but isn’t sure if she’s “better or worse”? She’s performed as an illusionist at children’s parties, but adamant she’s “an artist not a children’s entertainer.” Her ho-hum accountant mother, Eunice, who laughed at her tricks, bought her magic business cards, has passed away, which leads her to discover her father’s identity when she sorts through her mother’s paperwork. When Odeline learns she’s named after her father, a clown in a traveling circus, the epiphany is life-changing. Now she knows where she gets her “gift for movement,” her artistic passion, and her “butterscotch skin.” Her father’s nomadic lifestyle inspires her to leave her quaint yet stifling village of Arundel for London, for a floating home. She dreams to be with him.
One of the delights of the novel are glimpses into the silent performing arts world of magic and mime. We hear of 19th century English magicians, Maskelyne and Cooke, Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplain, and Marcel Marceau, Odeline’s idol. (She owns 19 of his books.) Her everyday dress and accessories are borrowed from these silent artists – bowler hat, baggy pants, oversized “brogues,” red “braces,” and a prop box she drags around. When we meet her, she’s also antisocial, barely eats, paranoiac, fanatical about keeping track of finances and her plans in a notebook, unable to say thank you, and has difficulty discerning when “she has discovered a terrible thing, or done a terrible thing herself.”
Chaplain & Company: Odeline’s historic narrowboat, listed here as an important character because the boat feels alive: she “breathes” and “sighs” and endures. Such a clever name, attracting Odeline to buy it with her inheritance, yet it has nothing to do with the legendary Charlie. Its history becomes known to us over time. Stay with it, because it’s interesting information about the history of narrowboats during the war, and because it tells us something about living a life different than our own.
John Kettle: Canal boat warden and Odeline’s nemesis. He’s a disagreeable alcoholic, dirty, and prejudiced against persons who are bi-racial and Asian. When he shouts profanities, Enchanted Prose winces. Fellowes hints at an earlier life as a “submariner,” when he was “better at life.”
Vera: A big waitress who works at the canal café. She dresses in flashy pink tracksuits and floral skirts, is glued to international news, harbors a secret, and is scared of her powerful boss, Mr. Zjelko.
Ridley: Odeline’s heavily-tattooed neighbor, owner of Saltheart, another apt name, we discover. In fact, he and Vera are rather likable. It’s Odeline’s slow acceptance of their friendship that absorbs us.
We may think these colorful characters have nothing in common with each other, or us, but the brilliance of the novel is the way the story unfolds to show us that they do. The shared human thread: loneliness. The prose feels intentionally matched to the world of canal boats and mime, “not grand or flamboyant” but gentle and purposeful. The characters go through their share of disappointments but we’re on the lookout for hope and goodness. It comes to us the way “sunlight seems to bounce piercingly off the triangle of water, making liquid stars” – magically.
Fellowes you’ll see knows how to wave a magic wand. Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
“London in August. From above, the city shimmers and glints in the sun. There is so much activity on its surface that it looks crawling, swarming with movement, as if it is one whole living thing. But look closer and this is just an impression given by the million little channels of movement that cross, curve, diverge, and wind between buildings. These channels glitter. Look closer still. Sunlight flashes back from the windscreens and the roofs of the coaches, lorries moving across the surface of the city. The machines chug out a quivering exhaust which softens the edges of the buildings and blurs outlines. It is thirty degrees of dry, dusty heat and London is baking.”Not surprisingly, with a little googling, we can learn that the author once lived in a house overlooking these “little channels of movements” – 2,000 miles of historic waterways – where “narrowboats” (less than seven feet wide, designed for Britain’s narrow canals; up to 2012 managed by British Waterways, today by Canal and River Trust) float along towpaths and under bridges on water that’s “in love with the moon.” Chaplain and Company takes place on the Little Venice canal, near London’s Paddington and Regent’s Park. And yet, “life on these waterways is lower than life on the streets around it. It is below the eyeline. A good place to hide.”
The offbeat characters hiding and drifting along in this dreamed up canal boat community include:
Odeline Milk: The heart of the story. At 19, she’s the oddest of them all. She dresses oddly, acts oddly, and has chosen an unusual artistic aspiration: mime. She senses she “breathed a rarer air,” but isn’t sure if she’s “better or worse”? She’s performed as an illusionist at children’s parties, but adamant she’s “an artist not a children’s entertainer.” Her ho-hum accountant mother, Eunice, who laughed at her tricks, bought her magic business cards, has passed away, which leads her to discover her father’s identity when she sorts through her mother’s paperwork. When Odeline learns she’s named after her father, a clown in a traveling circus, the epiphany is life-changing. Now she knows where she gets her “gift for movement,” her artistic passion, and her “butterscotch skin.” Her father’s nomadic lifestyle inspires her to leave her quaint yet stifling village of Arundel for London, for a floating home. She dreams to be with him.
One of the delights of the novel are glimpses into the silent performing arts world of magic and mime. We hear of 19th century English magicians, Maskelyne and Cooke, Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplain, and Marcel Marceau, Odeline’s idol. (She owns 19 of his books.) Her everyday dress and accessories are borrowed from these silent artists – bowler hat, baggy pants, oversized “brogues,” red “braces,” and a prop box she drags around. When we meet her, she’s also antisocial, barely eats, paranoiac, fanatical about keeping track of finances and her plans in a notebook, unable to say thank you, and has difficulty discerning when “she has discovered a terrible thing, or done a terrible thing herself.”
Chaplain & Company: Odeline’s historic narrowboat, listed here as an important character because the boat feels alive: she “breathes” and “sighs” and endures. Such a clever name, attracting Odeline to buy it with her inheritance, yet it has nothing to do with the legendary Charlie. Its history becomes known to us over time. Stay with it, because it’s interesting information about the history of narrowboats during the war, and because it tells us something about living a life different than our own.
John Kettle: Canal boat warden and Odeline’s nemesis. He’s a disagreeable alcoholic, dirty, and prejudiced against persons who are bi-racial and Asian. When he shouts profanities, Enchanted Prose winces. Fellowes hints at an earlier life as a “submariner,” when he was “better at life.”
Vera: A big waitress who works at the canal café. She dresses in flashy pink tracksuits and floral skirts, is glued to international news, harbors a secret, and is scared of her powerful boss, Mr. Zjelko.
Ridley: Odeline’s heavily-tattooed neighbor, owner of Saltheart, another apt name, we discover. In fact, he and Vera are rather likable. It’s Odeline’s slow acceptance of their friendship that absorbs us.
We may think these colorful characters have nothing in common with each other, or us, but the brilliance of the novel is the way the story unfolds to show us that they do. The shared human thread: loneliness. The prose feels intentionally matched to the world of canal boats and mime, “not grand or flamboyant” but gentle and purposeful. The characters go through their share of disappointments but we’re on the lookout for hope and goodness. It comes to us the way “sunlight seems to bounce piercingly off the triangle of water, making liquid stars” – magically.
Fellowes you’ll see knows how to wave a magic wand. Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
June 21, 2018
It took me a while to get into this one. I almost gave up about a third of the way in but I pressed on to the end. The story is about Odeline, named for the circus clown father, Odelin, she never knew. Odeline led a sheltered life with her very introverted mother until her mother died and Odeline discovered who her father was and decided to track him down and live a circus life. Did I mention that Odeline dresses very similar to Charlie Chaplin and wants to become a mime?
Odeline purchases a sight-unseen boat to live on in one of London's canals, named Chaplin & Company. Is it fate? After she moves in, the meets a cast of characters who live and work around her.
Odeline purchases a sight-unseen boat to live on in one of London's canals, named Chaplin & Company. Is it fate? After she moves in, the meets a cast of characters who live and work around her.
August 26, 2018
Unique and wellwritten. This is a coming of age story of Odeline, the only child of Eunice Milk and an unknown father. She finds her circus clown father, but she is disappointed in his not caring to become interested in her. She makes some new unusual friends when she goes to live in a narrowboat (with a story of its own) on a canal in London.
September 2, 2021
A quirky introverted girl moved to London , started her narrowboat life journey while pursuing her dream to become a successful mime and illusionist.
This book gives a slight glimpse of life in a canal community. If i was younger, I would love to live freely in a boat, cruising england’s canals and see different view everyday must be riveting!
This book gives a slight glimpse of life in a canal community. If i was younger, I would love to live freely in a boat, cruising england’s canals and see different view everyday must be riveting!
September 10, 2017
I love this book, actually have read it twice without realizing it at first. Sweet and charming, very interesting cast of characters in an equally interesting setting on the canals of London. Vaguely reminiscent of Maeve Binchy with the intertwined stories.
March 18, 2018
This book was ok apart from one character...the main one! I just could not warm to her and sadly found this book a struggle to complete. The only good thing to come out of this is it's peaked my interest in going on a canal boat trip.
October 6, 2018
La bohemia vida en un barco vivienda amarrado en los canales de Londres pierde su brillo con la realidad cotidiana. Cuando Odeline se queda huérfana de madre, decide buscar a su padre e incorporarse a la vida de artista, pero su inocencia la hará vulnerable.
March 19, 2021
It was sweet and interesting enough. I didn't quite like the main character but I enjoyed the supporting cast.
June 5, 2023
read 1 chapter, quit. Not worth more time.
November 8, 2013
The opening chapter of Mave Fellowes’ Chaplin & Company might lead the reader to expect the Cirque Maroc to play a larger role in the novel’s plot than it actually does. Some viewers of HBO’s Carnivale or readers of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus, or one of Steven Millhauser’s short fiction collections might also be led to anticipate more magic to twinkle outside of the diamond eyes of the protagonist’s biological father.
Chaplin & Company should not be classified as a work of magic realism. And, yet, its delightfully eccentric characters do charm.
Eunice Milk might seem a stolid, unimaginative accountant to those who have not witnessed her ecstatic appreciation for slap-stick humor. Imagine Imelda Staunton with “tangerine hair,” her features set to an inexpressive blank. On a usual day, Eunice would not seem the type to become number one groupie to a Moroccan circus performer. One might expect the sudden and extreme infatuation that Eunice develops for Odelin the Clown to make her into mere mockery—and, yet, her love-at-first-laugh response is more endearing than ridiculous.
When the circus leaves town, Eunice does not run away with it. When the love child duly arrives, she is named Odeline after her absent father, encouraged in her dreams of becoming a practicing illusionist and mime, but told nothing of her parentage. Despite being teased as a “Mop-head” and an “Odd-bod” for her springy, black curls, butterscotch complexion, and tall, lanky form, the girl develops into a fiercely eccentric personality that delights in being different. She thinks of herself as “breath[ing] a rarer air” than everyone else in her parochial home town. It is only after her mother’s death that Odeline discovers the circus advertisement that provides a clue to her heritage.
Chaplin & Company is only partly a quest for identity through reunion with the fantastical father that Odeline considers a potential mentor who might facilitate her rise to destined fame. However, it is in her encounters with slightly less extraordainry beings (a drunken canal warden, a tattooed musician, an illegal immigrant who operates a floating café) that Odeline finds purpose, and, thereby, a less grandiose perspective on self.
Before winning this novel via First Reads giveaway, I had never encountered a female mime as a central character in any novel. Now I’m not quite the devotee that Eunice Milk was to Odelin the Clown, but I’m definitely a fan. Mave Fellowes is now an official inductee on my writers-to-watch list.
Chaplin & Company should not be classified as a work of magic realism. And, yet, its delightfully eccentric characters do charm.
Eunice Milk might seem a stolid, unimaginative accountant to those who have not witnessed her ecstatic appreciation for slap-stick humor. Imagine Imelda Staunton with “tangerine hair,” her features set to an inexpressive blank. On a usual day, Eunice would not seem the type to become number one groupie to a Moroccan circus performer. One might expect the sudden and extreme infatuation that Eunice develops for Odelin the Clown to make her into mere mockery—and, yet, her love-at-first-laugh response is more endearing than ridiculous.
When the circus leaves town, Eunice does not run away with it. When the love child duly arrives, she is named Odeline after her absent father, encouraged in her dreams of becoming a practicing illusionist and mime, but told nothing of her parentage. Despite being teased as a “Mop-head” and an “Odd-bod” for her springy, black curls, butterscotch complexion, and tall, lanky form, the girl develops into a fiercely eccentric personality that delights in being different. She thinks of herself as “breath[ing] a rarer air” than everyone else in her parochial home town. It is only after her mother’s death that Odeline discovers the circus advertisement that provides a clue to her heritage.
Chaplin & Company is only partly a quest for identity through reunion with the fantastical father that Odeline considers a potential mentor who might facilitate her rise to destined fame. However, it is in her encounters with slightly less extraordainry beings (a drunken canal warden, a tattooed musician, an illegal immigrant who operates a floating café) that Odeline finds purpose, and, thereby, a less grandiose perspective on self.
Before winning this novel via First Reads giveaway, I had never encountered a female mime as a central character in any novel. Now I’m not quite the devotee that Eunice Milk was to Odelin the Clown, but I’m definitely a fan. Mave Fellowes is now an official inductee on my writers-to-watch list.
June 12, 2013
This is a gorgeous, magical, sad little jewel of a book, one I took my time over, basking in the beautiful vignettes that form this tale of growing up, of lost opportunities, of sacrifices, changed plans, and growing hopes.
It is the tale of Odeline Milk, eighteen years old and moved to London to make her fortune as a mime artist, who dresses like Charlie Chaplin, writes endless lists in her notebook, lives just a little outside of reality, and is searching for her father, a circus clown who bewitched her mother eighteen years ago.
It is also the tale of the eponymous run-down houseboat she moves onto, the lives it has seen and touched, and how they softly intersect as the years go by.
It is also the tale of those who live on the waterway with her, running from bitter pasts in the hope of a better future.
The writing is nothing short of glorious: Fellowes has a distinctive turn of phrase, an almost compulsive attention to detail that makes it difficult to look away or pay attention to anything else while you're reading, so rich is her world. I can't count the number of times I almost - and actually did - miss my bus stop when reading this on the way to work or on the way home; there's a definite sense of being transported, of being brought within the book and into the heads of the various characters. This book is fragile but with a core of steel, much like its heroine, full of a sumptuous cascade of words that I wrapped myself up and lost myself within.
Chaplin and Company is sad and hopeful; some things will change, some things won't, and there's a brittle thread of loneliness and missed connections running through the novel that can make the simplest of things utterly heartbreaking. I wiped away a few tears at the end, I'll admit. But it's ultimately uplifting, as new families and friendships are formed, and trust starts to overcome prejudice, fear and ignorance. Fellowes is a genuinely stunning writer and one I would absolutely love to see more of; if her debut is this good - and it really, really is - then I can only expect even greater things in future.
It is the tale of Odeline Milk, eighteen years old and moved to London to make her fortune as a mime artist, who dresses like Charlie Chaplin, writes endless lists in her notebook, lives just a little outside of reality, and is searching for her father, a circus clown who bewitched her mother eighteen years ago.
It is also the tale of the eponymous run-down houseboat she moves onto, the lives it has seen and touched, and how they softly intersect as the years go by.
It is also the tale of those who live on the waterway with her, running from bitter pasts in the hope of a better future.
The writing is nothing short of glorious: Fellowes has a distinctive turn of phrase, an almost compulsive attention to detail that makes it difficult to look away or pay attention to anything else while you're reading, so rich is her world. I can't count the number of times I almost - and actually did - miss my bus stop when reading this on the way to work or on the way home; there's a definite sense of being transported, of being brought within the book and into the heads of the various characters. This book is fragile but with a core of steel, much like its heroine, full of a sumptuous cascade of words that I wrapped myself up and lost myself within.
Chaplin and Company is sad and hopeful; some things will change, some things won't, and there's a brittle thread of loneliness and missed connections running through the novel that can make the simplest of things utterly heartbreaking. I wiped away a few tears at the end, I'll admit. But it's ultimately uplifting, as new families and friendships are formed, and trust starts to overcome prejudice, fear and ignorance. Fellowes is a genuinely stunning writer and one I would absolutely love to see more of; if her debut is this good - and it really, really is - then I can only expect even greater things in future.
February 26, 2015
I hate to use "the Q word", but this debut novel is indeed lightly quirky in tone, while also being sentimental in a way that's just the right side of mawkishness. At the heart of the book is 18-year-old Odeline, a hugely sheltered girl whose mother has just died, leaving her a chunk of money and no ties to anything. Since her goal in life is to become a world-class mime, she quite naturally uses the bulk of her money to purchase an old houseboat on the London canals.
Moving into her new home, she quickly establishes herself as prickly, difficult, and wholly lacking in social skills. And while this makes her a somewhat unsympathetic protagonist, the larger issue I had was with the level of her naiveté and unworldliness. At many point, Odeline's expectations and reactions read like someone moving to the big city in the 1950s, not the 2010s. If the book had been completely her story, I don't think I would have finished it.
Fortunately, it's also the story of the people Odeline meets around the canal, from the dashing tattooed gypsy boatman, to the illegal Eastern European immigrant tending the cafe, to the alcoholic canal warden, and various other minor characters. Their stories are welcome interludes and interruptions to Odeline's story. The other main character is the boat she's bought -- as we get chapters devoted to its construction, use during WWII, abandonment, subsequent restoration, and ill-considered remodeling.
The mix of all these elements was enough to keep me reading through the rough patches. One of these involves Odeline's quest to track down the father she never met, a reunion whose outcome is immediately obvious the moment he appears on the page, but the reader must suffer through nonetheless. In the end, it's a fine example of a feel-good, heartwarming story about regular folks of wildly different backgrounds making community and connections amidst the hustle and bustle of the big city. Cynics and misanthropes should avoid.
Moving into her new home, she quickly establishes herself as prickly, difficult, and wholly lacking in social skills. And while this makes her a somewhat unsympathetic protagonist, the larger issue I had was with the level of her naiveté and unworldliness. At many point, Odeline's expectations and reactions read like someone moving to the big city in the 1950s, not the 2010s. If the book had been completely her story, I don't think I would have finished it.
Fortunately, it's also the story of the people Odeline meets around the canal, from the dashing tattooed gypsy boatman, to the illegal Eastern European immigrant tending the cafe, to the alcoholic canal warden, and various other minor characters. Their stories are welcome interludes and interruptions to Odeline's story. The other main character is the boat she's bought -- as we get chapters devoted to its construction, use during WWII, abandonment, subsequent restoration, and ill-considered remodeling.
The mix of all these elements was enough to keep me reading through the rough patches. One of these involves Odeline's quest to track down the father she never met, a reunion whose outcome is immediately obvious the moment he appears on the page, but the reader must suffer through nonetheless. In the end, it's a fine example of a feel-good, heartwarming story about regular folks of wildly different backgrounds making community and connections amidst the hustle and bustle of the big city. Cynics and misanthropes should avoid.
March 24, 2014
I won this book through Goodreads' First Reads program in exchange for my honest review.
I liked the title. That's the only reason I wanted to read this book. For whatever reason, it struck me as interesting and worthy of my time, even if the book description didn't sound like it was a book I would be interested in. So after reading it, is it still worthy of my time? Definitely.
I think quirky and charming, as The Times calls it, sums it up perfectly. The main character, Odeline Milk is cold, aloof, socially awkward, blunt, yet has a down on her luck, full of pity, underdog vibe to her which makes you want to root for her. And luckily, she is not some static character, we get to see her grow from someone you want to root for, into someone you can root for. And the tale that is spun around her setting off on her own is very well crafted and engaging. It's a strong story, yet the author choose to bog down the novel with secondary stories which really detracts from the main plot. Odeline Milk buys a houseboat, so we are treated to a very in depth history of the houseboat and a large portion of its inhabitants. And tidily enough, they all intersect in someway with Miss Milk. It all makes for a clunky and a little too perfect storyline. It was almost as if Fellowes felt the original story wasn't long enough, so she spliced in anecdotes and tales about the boat to fill it out.
I give the book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) for a fun first novel that could be have been used less filler. I will eagerly look forward to see what Mave Fellowes writes in the future.
I liked the title. That's the only reason I wanted to read this book. For whatever reason, it struck me as interesting and worthy of my time, even if the book description didn't sound like it was a book I would be interested in. So after reading it, is it still worthy of my time? Definitely.
I think quirky and charming, as The Times calls it, sums it up perfectly. The main character, Odeline Milk is cold, aloof, socially awkward, blunt, yet has a down on her luck, full of pity, underdog vibe to her which makes you want to root for her. And luckily, she is not some static character, we get to see her grow from someone you want to root for, into someone you can root for. And the tale that is spun around her setting off on her own is very well crafted and engaging. It's a strong story, yet the author choose to bog down the novel with secondary stories which really detracts from the main plot. Odeline Milk buys a houseboat, so we are treated to a very in depth history of the houseboat and a large portion of its inhabitants. And tidily enough, they all intersect in someway with Miss Milk. It all makes for a clunky and a little too perfect storyline. It was almost as if Fellowes felt the original story wasn't long enough, so she spliced in anecdotes and tales about the boat to fill it out.
I give the book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) for a fun first novel that could be have been used less filler. I will eagerly look forward to see what Mave Fellowes writes in the future.
May 4, 2015
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I thought it was very well written. Mave Fellowes has a wonderful way with words, and introduced a wide variety of characters.
The problem I had was that a lot of those characters didn't seem to develop to their full potential. They had interesting back stories but as the book went on, those characters just disappeared. I was left wanting to know what happened to each of them. I understand some of them were minor characters intended to advance the stories of the main players, but they were introduced in a way that suggested they would have much more impact on the story overall. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. You see the main character, Odeline, really mature and grasp an understanding of the world that she hasn't had before. It was a journey that was both funny and heartbreaking. Several of the other characters have similar experiences, and the book tackles a lot of issues society currently faces, such as homelessness, exploitation, etc. It was also very unique in that it was set around a houseboating community. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for a sequel.
The problem I had was that a lot of those characters didn't seem to develop to their full potential. They had interesting back stories but as the book went on, those characters just disappeared. I was left wanting to know what happened to each of them. I understand some of them were minor characters intended to advance the stories of the main players, but they were introduced in a way that suggested they would have much more impact on the story overall. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. You see the main character, Odeline, really mature and grasp an understanding of the world that she hasn't had before. It was a journey that was both funny and heartbreaking. Several of the other characters have similar experiences, and the book tackles a lot of issues society currently faces, such as homelessness, exploitation, etc. It was also very unique in that it was set around a houseboating community. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for a sequel.
August 26, 2015
Odeline Milk descends upon London, to her new houseboat, to make her way in the world.
As a character, Odeline is old beyond her years, socially odd and at times, obnoxious. At its heart, this is the story of her growth as a person, and her learning to become more tolerant and welcome of those around her.
The prose is beautiful: descriptive, rich and full of flourish. But I picked this book up thinking it would have a magical element of the circus woven within. I was disappointed. The circus aspect is minimal and tainted, as Odeline discovers. The writing style seems to transcend a period in history - it is neither noticeably modern, nor set in the past. I've settled for it being a present day period, but this book could easily be read, I imagine, in years to come and still seem current. Odeline herself feels old-fashioned, but the backdrop does not.
I've given this book 3 stars because, as discussed, I anticipated the circus or performance aspect to play a bigger part. I felt there were too many characters (a chapter on Inga which felt out of place...perhaps because I skimmed that one!) and it became hard to keep up and know their relevancy.
A well-written, albeit forgettable, book.
As a character, Odeline is old beyond her years, socially odd and at times, obnoxious. At its heart, this is the story of her growth as a person, and her learning to become more tolerant and welcome of those around her.
The prose is beautiful: descriptive, rich and full of flourish. But I picked this book up thinking it would have a magical element of the circus woven within. I was disappointed. The circus aspect is minimal and tainted, as Odeline discovers. The writing style seems to transcend a period in history - it is neither noticeably modern, nor set in the past. I've settled for it being a present day period, but this book could easily be read, I imagine, in years to come and still seem current. Odeline herself feels old-fashioned, but the backdrop does not.
I've given this book 3 stars because, as discussed, I anticipated the circus or performance aspect to play a bigger part. I felt there were too many characters (a chapter on Inga which felt out of place...perhaps because I skimmed that one!) and it became hard to keep up and know their relevancy.
A well-written, albeit forgettable, book.
February 3, 2014
Author Mave Fellowes has a detailed and flowing writing style that easily transports the reader into the vibrant scenes within Chaplin & Company. The story, set on the waterways of London, is beautifully written and filled with odd and wonderful characters, each of whom you will learn to love. Nothing sci-fi, violent, supernatural or over-the-top dramatic colors the pages of Chaplin & Company; just lovely prose that introduces you to the life of young mime-in-training Odeline and the unlikely characters that fill her days as she tries to make a living on her own until she finally realizes that she doesn't have to do it all alone.
April 3, 2014
Compelling with superb insight into human nature. Astute observations. Wonderful detail. I loved this book!
Odeline's mother dies prematurely, leaving the 19-20-year-old alone but not destitute. Her mother was an accountant/bookkeeper in suburbia in modern times. Odeline buys a canal longboat in London, hoping to keep expenses down while practicing the art of mime and finding a job doing what she does best in the city. Her father is a well-known and loved clown in a traveling circus, and Odeline naturally wishes to find him.
The marvelous array of characters that inhabit the canal area near Odeline's home/boat will beguile readers. The author's realistic rendering of all characters in the book stands out. There are no perfect people here.
Some stories are long remembered and this will be one of those for me. It's the story of people and the history of a boat and those associated with her. Fetchingly told, its a book I'd recommend to everyone. Loved this book!
Odeline's mother dies prematurely, leaving the 19-20-year-old alone but not destitute. Her mother was an accountant/bookkeeper in suburbia in modern times. Odeline buys a canal longboat in London, hoping to keep expenses down while practicing the art of mime and finding a job doing what she does best in the city. Her father is a well-known and loved clown in a traveling circus, and Odeline naturally wishes to find him.
The marvelous array of characters that inhabit the canal area near Odeline's home/boat will beguile readers. The author's realistic rendering of all characters in the book stands out. There are no perfect people here.
Some stories are long remembered and this will be one of those for me. It's the story of people and the history of a boat and those associated with her. Fetchingly told, its a book I'd recommend to everyone. Loved this book!
July 14, 2014
I received this copy for free through Goodreads First Reads.
First off I have to say the imagery in this book is amazing. It really makes you feel and see things as if you are really there. I have to say that as I read this book I grew quite a fondness for Odeline. I wasn't such a fan of hers in the beginning as she seemed very cold and self serving. But as the story went on you were able to see her grow as a person and learn to make friends, you really begin to like her and feel for her. In saying that, I also have to say this book had a slow start for me and it was hard to follow in the beginning. But as I read more, I found this book hard to put down. I couldn't wait to see what was gonna happen next. This is a book about how you meet some of the best friends in the most unlikely of situations. Just because this book was hard to follow for me, doesn't mean it will be for you. I am very happy that I read this book as the ending was great!
First off I have to say the imagery in this book is amazing. It really makes you feel and see things as if you are really there. I have to say that as I read this book I grew quite a fondness for Odeline. I wasn't such a fan of hers in the beginning as she seemed very cold and self serving. But as the story went on you were able to see her grow as a person and learn to make friends, you really begin to like her and feel for her. In saying that, I also have to say this book had a slow start for me and it was hard to follow in the beginning. But as I read more, I found this book hard to put down. I couldn't wait to see what was gonna happen next. This is a book about how you meet some of the best friends in the most unlikely of situations. Just because this book was hard to follow for me, doesn't mean it will be for you. I am very happy that I read this book as the ending was great!
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