Sideshow

by Nicole Smith

From Rio to Oostend to Amsterdam and beyond, a troupe of acrobats travel the world, performing miracles in the air, enthralling audiences. In between gigs, they drink, play and taunt each other. They get bored. They get up to no good. Then they jump on a plane to do it all again somewhere else. Sideshow is a hilarious and rollicking take on the thrill and drudgery of a life on the road and on what it takes to perform day . . . after day . . . after day. Winner of the 2014 Viva La Novella prize.

Genres: Fiction

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Nicole Smith was first published when she was twelve in the local paper for a science fiction short story called ‘Just Another Day In Space’. Since then she has realised that there are no days in space.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a strange, great little book. If you like plot, you won't like this; plot is pretty much entirely absent. You join up with a troupe of acrobats at the start of a tour, shift from town to town across Europe working, drinking, dancing and having sex, and then you leave. But the voice of this book is utterly charming. There's no plot when you meet up with your risk-taking, charming, willful, beautiful friend for a few too many drinks, is there? And yet, you still look forward to doing it again every time. Somewhere between three and four stars; let's call it four for just being so odd.

[Tien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, it was a reading challenge that got me to search for a particular sort of books at the library that landed me this book! And what an amusing read… totally unexpected despite the GR description of hilarious and rollicking. There aren’t many books that actually make me laugh (even if they’re shelved under humour) but this one did. Of course, I tried to contain as much as I could whilst reading on the commute which leads me to an apology to my fellow commuters who noticed my ugly contorted face & shaking body as I tried to hold back laughter; I swear I’m not certifiably insane.

As with all funnies, I do think that most times, there is something really sad behind it all. That was the feeling I got at the start of this little novel and each time, she put on or remove her stage make up. However, she was always very quick in pushing it to the back of her mind and got busy in the pleasures of life. Oh, the shenanigans they got up to!

The hilarity stems mostly from the characters. I think if I just read an extract of what I thought was funny in the book, without knowing the characters or the book, I wouldn’t think it funny at all. Interestingly, most of the characters were “un-named”, rather they were known by their Royal Stage Names: The Prince, The Duke, The Duchess, The Lady, The Courtesan (our main character whose perspective we enjoyed) Or their role in the troupe except… for one guy… or two…

Right now, I’m wondering whether I’d still find it as hilarious if I re-read it. Yes, I am considering a reread because it was so much fun!

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite the impressive read, which I think makes it four from four for my exploration of the Seizure Viva La Novella prize winners this year. I suspect it is time to support this noble creative not for profit artistic enterprise with cash money. And perhaps even have something to aim for with my own stalled writing career.

A meandering plotless tale of the joy and mundanity of travel and the conflict between fernweh and heimweh, with a structure and tone that very cleverly reflects the state of mind of the permanently traveling person including a denouement (which is an extremely generous word usage in this instance) which feels like a damp-squib downbeat disconnection from the previous reality.

It was an unexpected pleasure, a compulsive page turning experience and further confirmation that Australians seem to write about the importance of place with apparent ease, almost as if it’s something they’ve instinctively inherited from this remarkable stolen land.

[L T · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was lent to me by a colleague who knows the author. She told me it is almost entirely autobiographical and I think this tainted my reading of the book. While I found her way with words imaginative and expressive at times, the narrators voice came off as pretentious and sanctimonious and some of the anecdotes were just racist. I found the ending flowery and awful. I’m sorry to say, but this is a pointless and unenjoyable read overall.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky little novel that I enjoyed reading. It was very different from what I was expecting. No real continuous plot so to speak, but a travelling troupe. Their stories and the characters voice is most engaging. I wanted to keep reading. I did, however, find the ending disappointing.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky short read that just got too repetitive.

[Duncan Swann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful voice that really kept me hooked from the start. I loved the characters and the setting, though maybe the ending felt like a let down (even if appropriate).

[Fred Negro · Rating 5 out of 5]

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