The Blue Moon Circus: A Novel [Paperback]

Michael Raleigh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

"An absolute charmer."--Library Journal Starred Review

"Simply put, this is a ripsnorting good historical yarn full of circus lore, so smartly told by an expert storyteller that it's the kind of book truly deserving that overused term 'page-turner.'"--Chicago Sun-Times

"With no safety net, Raleigh takes a spectacular highwire route...making it all look easy in this captivating tale of a decent man in a very hard world. Beguiling, wise and wonderful."--Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

"A heartwarming, often humorous story filled with interesting circus lore as well as deeper themes about the value of human connection, especially as life winds down."--Booklist

"Rollicking, warmhearted...As dramatic and engaging as a high-wire act, the novel combines honest story-telling with down-home wit. There's plenty of smartly written, feel-good fun under this big top."
--Publishers Weekly

For the boy, it was the first real chance for a future. For the man, it was one last chance to triumph over his past. Opportunities like these happen only once in a Blue Moon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lewis Tully, the proud, resilient protagonist of Raleigh's rollicking, warmhearted seventh novel, ekes out a living managing a circus in Oklahoma circa 1919, even though his Blue Moon Circus and Menagerie is prone to hardships devastating enough to shut down show after show. A catastrophic flood is the latest disaster, forcing Tully to retire permanently. Fast-forward to 1926, when Tully is being tried in court for gambling at a speakeasy. The judge (a family friend) suspends his jail sentence with the stipulation that Lewis return to circus life for one more try. With confidence that mounts as the story gains momentum, Tully manages to round up most of his original group of performers, including an aging but agile posse of clowns, a pack of feisty animal acts, a terrifyingly unique snake charmer, a red-haired ape, and mind reader Harley Fitzroy, "the greatest magician there ever was." Along for the ride is nine-year-old Charlie, a new arrival in Tully's life since Tully's sister Alma can no longer care for the boy. Despite the threats of a rival circus owner, vindictive Hector Blaney, and the memory of past failures, Lewis bravely takes his show on the road. Dozens of successful performances across the Western states buoy his spirits, but then Hector Blaney's henchmen try to sabotage the campground. It is another natural disaster, however, that delivers the final blow to Lewis's circus career. As dramatic and engaging as a high-wire act, the novel combines honest storytelling with down-home wit. There's plenty of smartly written, feel-good fun under this big top.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Although he is a circus man through and through, Lewis Tully has not been in the business since he was wiped out by a flood in 1919. When a poker game generates a fair amount of cash, he decides to give it one more go. From across the country, he summons veteran performers to create a small but special circus with unique acts, including an ancient magician, a lonely giant, and an ailing clown, not to mention an outgoing red gorilla and a bellicose camel. Perhaps his most difficult task, though, is to take care of a nine-year-old orphan put in his care. Lewis then sets off to thrill the inhabitants of small western towns, many of whom have never seen a circus. This is a heartwarming, often humorous story filled with interesting circus lore as well as deeper themes about the value of human connection, especially as life winds down. Raleigh (In the Castle of the Flynns, 2002) knows how to tell an engaging story while never losing sight of the humanity of his characters. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402202385
• ISBN-13: 978-1402202384
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great circus novel, April 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Blue Moon Circus (Hardcover)

It's the "Lonesome Dove"of circus novels - without the sweep and epic scope of similar tomes, this is a character driven story with all the dung and sweat and mildewed canvas that the turn of the century big top held.
This is a great and intimate read, a decent and noble story about art and challenge and caring and,above all, the magic of the circus. Buy it and read it.
A genuine treat.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Life's A Circus, April 16, 2003

By 

Neil L. Shapiro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue Moon Circus (Hardcover)

In the hardscrabble world of the 20's, Lewis Tully opens circuses time after hardluck time because it's what he knows how to do. His small shows travel through Oklahoma, Wyoming and bordering states sometimes being blown away by the winds, sometimes flooding out but always being enjoyed not just by the audiences -- amazed to see this collection of fabulosity enter their dull lives -- but enjoyed by the performers as well. Not quite a family but certainly more than just a staff of performers; Harley the old magician (who has some wizardly scenes) as well as Sam Jeanette and Shelby Lewis are vividly drawn characters alive not only in their own designs but in the way they interact with Tully. But all characters from Helen the past flame to Lucy the bareback rider, none are bit players. In this novel's all-too brief 350-or-so pages author Michael Raleigh has generated more believable, alive, charismatic , well, people, then many another author in many of today's fat, unedited tomes.

Then a boy -- Charlie, a nine year-old orphan -- is sent to join up with the circus by Tully's sister. If you are thinking Toby Tyler you're not on the right track. Instead the way that Charlie's present life brings back Tully's past and allows Tully to reflect on and learn from his own life as it is lit by Charlie's candle makes for some of the most involving of scenes.

Oh, yes, there's a vilian named Hector Blaney who runs a circus that's as muddy as Tully's is clean. But even the setpiece's antagonist is painted with Raleigh's humanistic brush. Oh heck even Jupiter the pachyderm comes across as being more of a person than some of the central characters in today's best-sellers!

I hope that Raleigh gets the readership that this book deserves to bring him. If you are looking for a book that can take you out of yourself and make you feel the world might after all be a right enough place, pull up a chair and join The Blue Moon Circus. You'll come back for repeat performances.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you just want to enjoy a great read, here's your book., September 17, 2005

By 

datadame (TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blue Moon Circus: A Novel (Paperback)

At a time when book publishers are putting out way too many of the same things - international espionage, plucky heroines triumphing over romantic adversity, murder mysteries, deep dark intrigue, etc. - this book is a breath of fresh air.

It simply tells a good story that needs no plot twists, no obfuscation, no red herrings. Its strengths are its characters, its setting, and its straightforward story, all of which draw you in from the beginning.

I found myself looking forward during the day to getting back to the book in the evening, and I hated to see it end, and books that have that effect on me are few and far between! If Raleigh's got a sequel in the works, I'm ready for it.