Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 8/21/2008 + 1235 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Told from the perspective of a 93-year old man in an "assisted-living" home, this was a very poignant story of his life with a circus during the depression of the 1930's. The protagonist was just about to graduate from Cornell as a veterinarian, when his parents were killed in an accident. He leaves the school without taking his final exams and ends up in a circus where his veterinary skills are found to be most useful. The novel really brings the old-time circus to life -- the performers, the roustabouts, the animals, the cooch tent, along with the sadistic owner and the animal trainer who is a certified paranoid schizophrenic with flights into madness and brutality. This was very well researched and very realistically presented circus life. I found this novel to be very readable and enjoyable and would highly recommend it.

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