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catbookishlife's review against another edition
3.0
O Circo das Maravilhas.
sou sincera. gostei, mas não adorei — esperava mais.
tem um início que me agarrou, mas ao longo da história centrou-se em questões muito estáticas o que se traduziu numa narrativa muito parada. aborda momentos da guerra da Crimeia e pensava que iria estar muito mais centrado do ponto de vista da Nell, mas não. os irmãos Jasper e Toby também têm os seus pontos de vista, o que por um lado dá mais dinamismo à história mas também a tornou, para mim, mais aborrecida.
de um lado temos um Jasper altivo, em busca de fama, sucesso, a querer ser o melhor e maior Showman do seu tempo e de outro lado temos um Toby só grande de estatura e de fisionomia, sempre atrás do seu irmão, queria ser como ele, queria ser validado por ele, muito calado, tímido, inexpressivo, mas por dentro uma raiva vai-se acumulando.. ao não me conseguir relacionar com estes dois irmãos, acho que para mim a história perdeu muito encanto, porque são dois pontos de vista que vamos tendo ao longo de todo o livro.
quanto a Nell esperava muito mais desenvolvimento, penso que poderia ter sido muito mais explorada e acho que não teve o destaque merecido.
Nell é uma menina nascida numa aldeia piscatória, pobre, só conhece o amor do irmão e um pai que a vende por 20 libras. por ser como é, por ter marcas de nascença que pintam a pele do seu corpo.
ainda que tenha sido o pior momento da sua vida, Nell descobre uma paixão. a de artista, de entregar performances tão bonitas e tão bem executadas que o seu nome chega a todo o lado, inclusive à rainha que era uma grande fã destes “freak shows”.
no geral gostei de toda a construção deste mundo escuro, sujo, quase sombrio de uma Londres nos anos de 1860. gostei de toda a pesquisa relacionada com o "freak show" da altura.
fez-me sair da minha realidade e entrar na era vitoriana e esse objetivo foi cumprido.
sou sincera. gostei, mas não adorei — esperava mais.
tem um início que me agarrou, mas ao longo da história centrou-se em questões muito estáticas o que se traduziu numa narrativa muito parada. aborda momentos da guerra da Crimeia e pensava que iria estar muito mais centrado do ponto de vista da Nell, mas não. os irmãos Jasper e Toby também têm os seus pontos de vista, o que por um lado dá mais dinamismo à história mas também a tornou, para mim, mais aborrecida.
de um lado temos um Jasper altivo, em busca de fama, sucesso, a querer ser o melhor e maior Showman do seu tempo e de outro lado temos um Toby só grande de estatura e de fisionomia, sempre atrás do seu irmão, queria ser como ele, queria ser validado por ele, muito calado, tímido, inexpressivo, mas por dentro uma raiva vai-se acumulando.. ao não me conseguir relacionar com estes dois irmãos, acho que para mim a história perdeu muito encanto, porque são dois pontos de vista que vamos tendo ao longo de todo o livro.
quanto a Nell esperava muito mais desenvolvimento, penso que poderia ter sido muito mais explorada e acho que não teve o destaque merecido.
Nell é uma menina nascida numa aldeia piscatória, pobre, só conhece o amor do irmão e um pai que a vende por 20 libras. por ser como é, por ter marcas de nascença que pintam a pele do seu corpo.
ainda que tenha sido o pior momento da sua vida, Nell descobre uma paixão. a de artista, de entregar performances tão bonitas e tão bem executadas que o seu nome chega a todo o lado, inclusive à rainha que era uma grande fã destes “freak shows”.
no geral gostei de toda a construção deste mundo escuro, sujo, quase sombrio de uma Londres nos anos de 1860. gostei de toda a pesquisa relacionada com o "freak show" da altura.
fez-me sair da minha realidade e entrar na era vitoriana e esse objetivo foi cumprido.
natalies7's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful first book for 2022. I loved it. If you like Water for Elephants and the Greatest Showman then you’ll enjoy this
notlikethebeer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really really loved this book: an incredible antidote to the furore of 'The Greatest Showman', I particularly enjoyed the reflective author's note at the end. I also enjoyed that each of the main characters was so complex and multi-layered, and that even the parts I thought were predictable had some kind of hidden hook to them. I think my main complaint is that I wish there had been more of the love story - not because I felt it was missing in itself, but because the love scenes were written so gorgeously, it made me greedy for more beautiful prose! And I did get a bit lost with the character's names/identities. In general though, a fantastic book with a wonderful ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Ableism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual violence
twstdtink's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn’t put this book down once I started. Macneal is amazing at building tension as different elements of her story come closer and closer to collision. This story takes place in Victorian era London, partly on the outskirts, where small villages are struggling to survive. But all classes are fascinated with the rise of traveling circuses and “freak shows.” McNeal delves into the dark side of these acts and how some find redemption in throwing themselves to the hungry masses.
marilynw's review against another edition
3.0
Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal
My rating of this story is based on how utterly depressed it made me feel. The story is well written but it is a really bad fit for me. Too much death, human and animal, the feeling of being mired in the muck, blood, gore, offal of this world was almost too much to endure.
Nineteen year old Nell was born with birthmarks, large and small, covering her body. The people of her poor village shun and or ridicule her. She gets no love from her drunken cheat of a father and her mother is long dead. The only person who cares for Nell is her beloved brother Charlie. But Charlie is getting married and Nell hates that she has no future, just life as the help in Charlies shack.
Then Nell's wretched father sells her to the circus. Nell is torn away from everything she's ever known and from her brother, Charlie. But Jasper, the circus owner, transforms her into Queen of the Moon and Stars, the star of his show, and Nell finds that she finally belongs. She loves her fellow performers even as she despises Jasper and his cruel ways. She also falls for Toby, Jasper's quiet, gentle, brow beaten brother.
We see that, for most of the performers, the circus becomes a real home for them and the other performers become the family most of them never had. But we also get horrible wartime scenes via Jasper and Toby's memories. As life was worth nothing during wartime, it also seems to be worth nothing in the world that Nell inhabits. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for a few of the characters but I can't see how they got from their wretched lives to their happy destination.
Publication: February 1st 2022
Thank you to Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
My rating of this story is based on how utterly depressed it made me feel. The story is well written but it is a really bad fit for me. Too much death, human and animal, the feeling of being mired in the muck, blood, gore, offal of this world was almost too much to endure.
Nineteen year old Nell was born with birthmarks, large and small, covering her body. The people of her poor village shun and or ridicule her. She gets no love from her drunken cheat of a father and her mother is long dead. The only person who cares for Nell is her beloved brother Charlie. But Charlie is getting married and Nell hates that she has no future, just life as the help in Charlies shack.
Then Nell's wretched father sells her to the circus. Nell is torn away from everything she's ever known and from her brother, Charlie. But Jasper, the circus owner, transforms her into Queen of the Moon and Stars, the star of his show, and Nell finds that she finally belongs. She loves her fellow performers even as she despises Jasper and his cruel ways. She also falls for Toby, Jasper's quiet, gentle, brow beaten brother.
We see that, for most of the performers, the circus becomes a real home for them and the other performers become the family most of them never had. But we also get horrible wartime scenes via Jasper and Toby's memories. As life was worth nothing during wartime, it also seems to be worth nothing in the world that Nell inhabits. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for a few of the characters but I can't see how they got from their wretched lives to their happy destination.
Publication: February 1st 2022
Thank you to Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
byronic_reader's review against another edition
Charming, brilliant and thoroughly entertaining.
jodiesbookishposts's review against another edition
3.0
This has been on my radar since I saw the beautiful editions of it in my local Waterstones on its original release. I got it from my library on audio as I was in the mood for a historical fiction.
Circus books I think are not for me. Something about it always leaves me feeling meh.
I liked this but I felt like majority of the characters were surface level. I didn’t get connected or invested in most.
Disappointed if I’m honest as I wanted to love it. It felt a little bit like it was riding on the coat tails of The Greatest Showman without fully delving into the issues it skirted around.
Circus books I think are not for me. Something about it always leaves me feeling meh.
I liked this but I felt like majority of the characters were surface level. I didn’t get connected or invested in most.
Disappointed if I’m honest as I wanted to love it. It felt a little bit like it was riding on the coat tails of The Greatest Showman without fully delving into the issues it skirted around.