The Pilo Family Circus [Paperback]

Will Elliott (Author), Katherine Dunn (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2009

“You have two days to pass your audition. You better pass it, feller. You’re joining the circus. Ain’t that the best news you ever got?” Delivered by a trio of psychotic clowns, this ultimatum plunges Jamie into the horrific alternate universe that is the centuries-old Pilo Family Circus, a borderline world between Hell and Earth from which humankind’s greatest tragedies have been perpetrated. Yet in this place—peopled by the gruesome, grotesque, and monstrous—where violence and savagery are the norm, Jamie finds that his worst enemy is himself. When he applies the white face paint, he is transformed into JJ, the most vicious clown of all. And JJ wants Jamie dead! Echoes of Lovecraft, Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and early Stephen King resound through the pages of this magical, gleefully macabre work nominated as Best Novel by the International Horror Guild.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Underland Press (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980226023
• ISBN-13: 978-0980226027
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The nicer the man, the meaner the clown", May 1, 2009

By 

Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pilo Family Circus (Paperback)

On his way home from work late one night, Jamie almost runs over a strange man in a clown suit. The very next night his car breaks down and he's pushing it off the road, he sees the same clown on the roof of a gardening store across the parking lot, a second clown trying to coax him down. One of the clowns tosses a bag near where Jamie is hiding, and he absentmindedly picks it up. He'll soon discover his mistake. Living in house with junkies for roommates, he sprinkles some of the powder in the milk his roommate Steve has been stealing from him. He also tries some himself, thinking it could be drugs.

Next, he comes home to a house completely and utterly trashed, nothing left unbroken and feces smeared everywhere. There's a note for Jamie, "Pass your audition, feller, you're joining the circus". Dreading the countdown, Jamie finally does something outrageous and finds himself awakening in the Pilo Family Circus. He's given a clown outfit, a bag of the powder, and facepaint. Now partners with leader Gonko, wordless but shrieking Goshy and his brother Doopy, Rufshod, and Winston. After putting on his facepaint, Jamie becomes JJ the clown, outrageous, mean, and out of control. There's something in the facepaint that changes him. You'll meet the members of the freak show ran by Fishboy, and created by MM (Master Manipulator) who turns normal humans into hideous freaks like Tallow Man and Nugget. The clowns pretty much have free run of the circus, only the acrobats dare to challenge them.

Kurt Pilo, a giant of a man, religious and strange, runs the circus with his dwarfish brother George. There's something very strange about Kurt, you'll be put on edge just reading about him. Clowns are scary enough, but after Pilo's Family Circus you'll be terrified of them. Between shows, there's night after night of malicious shenanigans in one form or another. I could not put this book down. It starts fast and runs at an incredible pace. The characters are frightening and their actions unexpectedly evil. 'Pilo Family Circus' is the best horror novel I've read this year. The climax to the novel is utterly fantastic! I can't recommend this book highly enough to the horror aficionados out there. Believe me, your collection is not complete without the creeping horror of 'Pilo Family Circus'. Even the cover art is great, I had to turn the book over at night because I couldn't sleep with the clown staring at me. A ten star debut from a very talented new author. I hope he comes out with another novel soon, it wouldn't be too hard imagine a sequel to 'Pilo Family Circus'. Do NOT miss out on this book. Enjoy!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody Tears of a Clown, June 11, 2009

By 

Shaggus McPhallus - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pilo Family Circus (Paperback)

Here's a book sure to grab your attention: grab it, shake it, chew on it and spit it out! The Pilo Family Circus is one part comedy and one part comic book violence.

Comparisons with "It" and other evil clowns are a little misplaced. The clowns are a rough and ready bunch to be sure: lead by the scheming, sadistic Gonko, the masochistic Rufshod, the creepy space-cadet Goshy and his puppy-dog psychopath brother Doopy as well as the mysterious Winston, the clowns draw the protagonist Jamie into the Pilo Family Circus when he accidentally comes to their attention. But the clown troupe is not the real evil of the Circus, no sir. That would be Kurt Pilo, the bestial proprietor who snacks on teeth and his Napoleonic brother George. Even these two serve shadowy masters who reside... elsewhere.

In between the clowns' struggles to win Kurt's favour and sabotage other acts of the Circus (their running battle with the camp-but-deadly acrobats is hilarious) we witness Jamie's struggle with his alter-ego J.J., who emerges when Jamie is forced to don his magical face paint. This battle of wills can only have one winner - and one dead loser.

The action is fast paced, the dialogue is witty, salty and colours the characters very nicely. Subsequent readings of this book have revealed deeper allegorical elements to this story, for example the Jamie/J.J. struggle could be a metaphor for someone's struggle with addiction or schizophrenia. The circus itself may be a comment on our need for and addiction to distraction and entertainment, even as our souls are sucked our of our bodies.

In all this was a cracking read and I would recommend not reading it on the train or bus, as there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. For fans of The Young Ones and H.P. Lovecraft alike, enjoy this fine debut.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you afraid of clowns?, April 29, 2010

By 

A. Williamson "williaak" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pilo Family Circus (Paperback)

The Pilo Family Circus is an amazing dark comedy-a bizarre, hilarious, fast-paced, roller-coaster of a ride. I stumbled across it based on a reading recommendation and I'm very glad I took the plunge and purchased it. This novel is an absolute page-turner, gripping from the first page to the last, with the perfect pairing of outrageous characters, witty (and often salty) dialogue, situational humor, and sharp plotting to keep readers entertained at the circus. (Not to mention the creepy cover art!)

The story begins by following Jaime, an average Joe working an average job in Brisbane, Australia--until he nearly runs over a man dressed in a clown suit in the middle of the road driving home one night. The next night a seemingly random roadside breakdown forces Jaime to push his car home, where he spots the same clown on the roof of a garden shop while a second clown talks him down from the ledge. Jaime's casual retrieval of a velvet bag tossed away by one of the clowns soon spells disaster.

Living in an apartment full of junkies, Jaime assumes the mysterious powder in the bag is drugs. He even tries some--much to his dismay. Following a vividly realistic nightmare, Jaime receives the first disturbing note: "You have 2 days to pass your audition. You better pass it, feller. You're joining the circus. Ain't that the best news you ever got?"

What follows over the next few days is a chilling tale of stalking as a group of menacing clowns begin vandalizing his apartment, physically threatening Jaime and his roommates, and even appearing in his dreams to coerce him into joining the circus--and that's only the beginning!

The story follows Jaime through a shocking series of events as he is conscripted into the bizarre alternate-universe of the Pilo Family Circus, a border-world between earth and Hell, where the price of a ticket costs more than money--it takes your soul. Here, Jaime is forced to join a psychotic clown troupe where the rule of thumb is: "the nicer the man, the meaner the clown." Gonko, the sadistic leader, who is chiefly responsible for Jaime's predicament, decides that "JJ the clown" will make a fine replacement for their bumbling apprentice. Unwillingly paired alongside Rufshod the masochist, Goshy, the earsplitting lunatic, and his protective brother Doopy, Jaime must don the white face-paint and undergo a transformation into JJ the clown becoming the most brutal clown in the circus, and his own worst enemy.

Trouble starts immediately as JJ's cruel and reckless pranks land him--and Jaime--in all sorts of trouble: exacerbating the vicious rivalry between the clowns and the acrobats, menacing the carnie rats, theft of the fortune teller's crystal ball, and as JJ's personality becomes increasingly unstable--murder. As the body war continues, Jaime must take greater and greater risks among the monstrous creatures in the circus, including Mugabo the Magician, Fishboy and his friends in the freak show, Kurt and George Pilo--the giant and the dwarf--murderous brothers who run the circus--meanwhile steering clear while the brothers attempt to kill each other off.

Aside from one great read, this story also contains allegorical shades of one man's battle with schizophrenia, and the inherent evils of society that are mirrored in the circus acts and their performers whose purpose for being conceals true evil.

Desperate to escape the circus, Jaime must battle himself for control of his own body as JJ's personality becomes ever crueler, but when push comes to shove, is Jaime clever enough to keep JJ from killing...himself?

Are you afraid of clowns? If the answer is no, then check out The Pilo Family Circus and see if you change your mind. Fans of horror won't want to miss it.