Customer Reviews

Under the Big Top: A Season with the Circus

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I just finished Feiler's "Under the Big Top" and my first thought was "I wish I could contact this guy and compare notes." I joined Ringling Brothers on a lark in '82, and his descriptions of travelling with the circus brought back feelings and memories I hadn't had in a long time. From the descriptions of the social fabric (yes, there is a very real class structure) to the smell of the lot where the animals are kept (not unpleasant) to the dangers, and the thrills of watching the performers every night, he has DONE it. If you want to know what it's really like to join the circus, but aren't feeling quite that romantic, read this book.

Whatever your opinions are of American circuses, whether or not you wince at the spectacle or get angry at the use of animals for entertainment, chances are you have a treasured childhood memory of being there in the stands. Whether it was a kind and jovial clown, a dazzling trapeze act or the courage of a lion tamer, you were probably amazed by the magic and mystery of the big top.

Bruce Feiler, acclaimed author of ABRAHAM and WALKING THE BIBLE, was also fascinated. And, like the old saying goes, "he ran away with the circus." For one season Feiler traveled with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, recording both his experience as a writer and performing as a clown. The result is UNDER THE BIG TOP, an informative and very readable look at circus life, culture and history.

Feiler's status in the circus was unique. All the circus employees knew he was writing a book about them, but he was also allowed to travel as a performer. Thus the perspective of this book is unique, both insider and outsider. As an outsider (which on most levels, he always remains), Feiler explains the historical development of the circus and its acts, divulges the reality behind the seemingly miraculous feats of daring and discusses the circus as a business --- its marketing strategies and day-to- day operations. Here the narrative is interesting and enlightening: who knew how many phrases in American English such as "hold your horses" and "get this show on the road" originated with the circus? This view of the circus reveals the lives and talents of hard-working professionals, generations of performers and those misfits and adventurers who join the circus for various reasons, all working together to put on a grueling and dangerous show several times a day, day after day, for months on end.

As an insider, a performing clown called "Ruff Draft," Feiler came to understand the hierarchy of the circus, its code of conduct and the nature of its tiring work and demanding schedule. He also learned what happens after the show, when the big top is dark and gained insight into the personal lives of those people who make the circus possible. Those Feiler met and came to know during his season traveling with them are real people behind the spangles and stereotypes. Feiler contends the circus is a microcosm of America, a diverse group of 200 people representing several ethnicities, religions and nationalities. This, he suggests, is helpful to keep in mind when trying to understand how a group often seen as marginal to the American mainstream is so important to American culture. The circus workers and performers are not so marginal after all because, despite all the glitter and spectacle, they reflect the diversity of American culture --- they understand the audience much better than the audience understands them. Furthermore, the circus itself is often a defining childhood moment and those who create it, despite their career and mobile lifestyle, share much with Americans who work traditional jobs and don't live in trailers and fifth wheels.

At all times, Feiler is respectful of his subject and is careful to present their normality in the midst of the fantastic work they do. Feiler doesn't neglect to mention the issue of animal rights, but he refrains from taking sides on the issue. Instead, he presents the treatment of animals in the circus he traveled with as well as the opposition they faced in several towns and cities, leaving readers free to draw their own conclusions.

The big top, as experienced by Feiler seems to be a wonderful and dramatic place of old world values and close-knit ranks. In turn, UNDER THE BIG TOP is an exciting, often dramatic, read. It is a special glimpse into a subculture few understand but many derive pleasure from. This book is a well-written and very honest portrayal of the circus and those who compose and orchestrate it, yet it is still a fun read. The author's season with the circus was a whirlwind of excitement and devastation. With UNDER THE BIG TOP, Feiler brings the reader one step closer to life under the tent, in the spotlight and behind the scenes.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

I first discovered Bruce Feiler from reading his "Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan" in preparation for the JET Program. Being a longtime fan of the circus, when I saw "Under the Big Top," I couldn't resist. Bruce's humorous writing style (think an overeducated Dave Barry - Feiler has degrees from Yale and Cambridge) chronicles a season spent with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, the largest tented circus in the world. He cleverly works in the fact that most circus novels (he makes thinly veiled references to Angela Carter's "Nights at the Circus" and Katherine Dunn's "Geek Love") deal with the fantastic (half-swan half-woman) and horrific (circus freaks seeking revenge), but not the day-to-day lives of the performers and crew (one notable exception is the excellent "The Circus In Winter" by Cathy Day).

Bruce acts on his lifelong desire to be a clown (he had a previous history of theatre at Yale and of miming), and is tossed into the testosterone-fuelled world of the circus's Clown Alley, where he meets an assortment of lively characters (most with criminal records) and some sexual deviants. He quickly becomes acquainted with his circus "family": the performers (acrobats, lion tamers, human cannonball), and brings the reader along on a fascinating journey into a vanishing world (confrontations with animal rights groups become more and more frequent as the season progresses). The narrative is slightly choppy, due to the present description of action in the ring that dissolves into a past narrative, then back, but "Under the Big Top" is sure to please young-at-heart fans of the circus with its menagerie of unique personalities and talents that would be out of place in the "real world."

You don't have to run away to join the circus; Bruce Feiler's done it for you, and has written a wonderful account of what the inner life of the circus is all about. He discovers a unique subculture and lives the adventure by participating as a clown. I've enjoyed Feiler's Walking The Bible and Abraham; here is lighter fare that is pure pleasure reading.

An interesting ramble with a non circus person who learns to be a clown and along the way, learns what being with a 'show' really means.
Lots of insights that we outsiders will never see, and a peek into some that are gone forever. Not like, Water for Elephants, but the view from a May Wine character on a
world he couldn't have anticipated.

I found an old copy of Bruce Feiler's Under the Big Top in a thrift store. At a glance, I knew that this was just the type of book that I love - nonfiction that allows you to travel into a world about which you know very little. Feiler joined the circus as a clown for a year (1993); he then experienced the joys and sorrows of circus life as the circus traveled the east coast from Florida to New Hampshire and back. Under the Big Top is the captivating story of that year.

The most-fascinating aspect of this book is its depiction of circus life away from the bright lights. In some ways, that life is every bit as seedy as one imagines it to be; Feiler notes that, during his year, he encountered "...murder, rape, arson, bigamy, bestiality, group sex, and organized crime. If you find it in America, I found it in the circus" (page 32). In other ways, circus life is more normal than one might imagine; many of the performers raise families, celebrate holidays, and practice religion while on the road.

In addition to providing an overall portrait of carnival life, Feiler also introduces many people that you come to care about. (You learn not to call them carnies; that's the ultimate insult). Among many others, readers meet:
- Khris Allen, the new tiger tamer who is anxious to prove himself,
- Sean Thomas, the absurdly-cocky "human cannonball," and
- Buck Nolan, a 7-foot, 2-inch clown who had been with the circus for decades.
Feiler has a gift for characterization and you feel sad to leave these people behind at the end of the book.

I highly recommend Under the Big Top.

I really loved this book. If the circus life has always fascinated you, you can live in it for a while through this book. It was short and easy to read and really satisfied my yearning to run away with the big top. Here is a man who certainly followed an unlikely dream. His style is conversational and likeable. Unexpected books that take you into other peoples lives like this are why I love to read so much.

A wonderful book. The review a few down about the author being "bitter" and mocking of circus people is just bizarre, to say the least. He is incredibly warm in how he depicts these people and its clear that he has tremendous respect for them. The idea that he's a bitter wanna be is so far off the mark as to hardly merit a response. He's made me exciting to see this circus this Summer, which I've never done before. Bravo, Bruce. Great book.

Under the Big Top has rekindled my love for the circus. With an amazing blend of describing his season with the circus and the back stories of the others working to put on the show, Bruce Feiler provides an engaging and exciting account of circus life. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to go see the circus when it comes to town!

A very eye-opening book about the circus, must read for anyone who is thinking about heading that direction. This book gives you a view of the Circus from behind the curtain, after that show is over and the cheering stops.