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A review by kate66
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
4.0
Not quite what I was expecting from what is usually acknowledged as Angela Carter's best work or perhaps it is simply the most famous. This was strange but not quite strange enough for me. Still, it's an amazing undertaking to tell Fevvers' story.
The story is told by Fevvers and her adoptive mother, Lizzie via the medium of an American journalist called Walser who is not entirely sure whether to believe the legends that have grown up around the winged aerialist. Are the wings really real he wants to know.
So with some jiggery pokery the story is told of not just Fevvers but also several other circus members, none of whom are there because they had a calling rather that it is the last chance saloon.
The story itself takes us from London across Europe to the frozen wastes of Siberia where the denouement occurs after several disasters.
I listened to the audio recording by Adjoa Andoh who did the stage version I'm reliably informed. She certainly brought Fevvers and Lizzie to life. In fact the only bit that was irritating to my ears was the circus owner - Colonel Carney who had a voice you could cut yourself on and went right through me. I suspect it was meant to.
In general I enjoyed this strange flight of fancy. Its certainly worth the read or listen. Andoh is superb on the audio.
The story is told by Fevvers and her adoptive mother, Lizzie via the medium of an American journalist called Walser who is not entirely sure whether to believe the legends that have grown up around the winged aerialist. Are the wings really real he wants to know.
So with some jiggery pokery the story is told of not just Fevvers but also several other circus members, none of whom are there because they had a calling rather that it is the last chance saloon.
The story itself takes us from London across Europe to the frozen wastes of Siberia where the denouement occurs after several disasters.
I listened to the audio recording by Adjoa Andoh who did the stage version I'm reliably informed. She certainly brought Fevvers and Lizzie to life. In fact the only bit that was irritating to my ears was the circus owner - Colonel Carney who had a voice you could cut yourself on and went right through me. I suspect it was meant to.
In general I enjoyed this strange flight of fancy. Its certainly worth the read or listen. Andoh is superb on the audio.