The Circus of the Earth and the Air [Paperback]

Brooke Stevens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 1995 | Series: A Harvest Book

A woman volunteers for a circus magic trick...and vanishes. When her husband sets out to discover what has happened, he is tortured, tempted, and analyzed and eventually sheds his identity and gains a new one-as a tightrope walker whose strength is his vulnerability. Photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The surreal odyssey of a man whose wife vanishes on the stage of a circus is the subject of this impressive debut.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In this dreamlike, nightmarish novel, the action is continually shifting from the nearly incomprehensible to the nearly normal. The protagonist, Alex, watches as his wife volunteers for a disappearing act at a circus on the island of Verre. When she does not return, and no one seems even to remember her, he sets off on a surreal odyssey filled with horrors, torture--both physical and mental--and a cast of characters from a different world: the world of the circus. Alex's adventures, bizarre encounters, and musings are punctuated by photographs of circus performers. He finds what he seeks, but what is it? What was it? Author Stevens, who worked as a tiger groom with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses, has written an amazing first novel that strikes repeatedly at the core of the notion of the performer, the performance, and the unknown. Eloise Kinney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (March 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015600206x
• ISBN-13: 978-0156002066
• ASIN: 015600206X
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brooke Stevens has held numerous jobs across the country. He's worked on a shrimp boat off of Fort Meyers, Florida, as a bartender in New Orleans, as a steam locomotive engineer on the Mt. Washington Cog Railroad, as movie programmer at the Bleecker Street Cinema in New York, as a horse groom in Ringling Brothers Circus, a screenplay writer and a creative writing teacher at Sarah Lawrence Collge. His novels have been translated into French, German and Japanese. They have also been published in the UK. Please visit his website www.brookestevens.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Circus of the Earth and the Air, September 4, 2000

By 

George Parker (Gainsville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Circus of the Earth and the Air (Paperback)

This book operates on an entirely different plane than most other novels. It is an action novel that's simultaneously psychological, mythological and emotional. The many scenes, which are almost entirely visual and exquisitely beautiful, operate on multiple levels. Proof of this is the way the story and characters seem to infiltrate the reader's dreams. For myself and most of my friends who read it, we found it nearly impossible to put down or to stop thinking about for that matter. It is an experience that you will not forget.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Interesting and a Great Read, December 22, 2000

By 

"fireflyoftheearth" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Circus of the Earth and the Air (Hardcover)

This book was quite a surprise. I read only the back cover when it was presented to me as a rather interesting book. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it and then I started to read it. It was fast paced right from the start. The writer didn't waste 2 chapters explaining in detail the charaters and background... and for me that was a wonderful thing. The story flowed well and I couldn't seem to put the book down, even when I knew I had to.

This is a must read for anyone that likes romantic adventures.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the Elite, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Circus of the Earth and the Air (Hardcover)

There are thousands of novels published every year, but only a few ever rise to the top of the literary heap. Stevens' novel is among the elite few. It manages to deftly combine the elements of a love story, Americana, surrealism, Gothic art, and European film into one beautiful engulfing tapestry. Stevens does what few writers do successfully: carve out a unique landscape that is completely his own. The classic American journey-novel has been given a much needed shot in the arm by Stevens, and I hope that in 10 to 20 years this becomes a part of the so-called canon in high schools and colleges.

This is one of three books I'd take with me if I were on a desert island. A big-hearted book that embodies the word "escapist".

So buy it now from Amazon!