Customer Reviews

Worlds Afire

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The book Worlds Afire is the best drama book I have ever read but since I'm only 13 I'm sure that there is a lot more better drama books out there I just haven't heard of yet. This book is about "a circus gone bad" as I would say. It is also a true story that is going to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. That's how good of a picture the book draws for you as you read. As your reading you can just see all the people dying in the torturous flames of the Hartford fire. The book takes place during the circus act of the tigers. The worst thing about the fire is that there is only one escape for all those people to get out of and barely half of them did. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone shape, color or size.

Paul Janeczko's collection of poems tells the story of the infamous Hartford Circus fire of 1944. From the gradual points of view of performers, parents and anxoius children, Janeczko leads his readers through the excitement of the Big Top event, to the horror and tragedy of the fire. From parents, freaks and photographers, the reader is lead through the terror and confusion of the fire and the anguish of the hospital afterward. The best poem in my opinion was not saved for last. The touching point of view of sally Weissman, the nurse attending the emergency room to which so many victems were rushed is this books most powerful moment.

This story is about terror and heros it is also about history and drama. This book was not the best book i have read but it kept me entertaind.

Each chapter here involves a character from the fire and the poems tell the story from that point of view. Characters include performers, policeman, children, an usher and even, the alleged arsonist himself. Every poem adds detail to the events of that hot July day.

I am not fond of mixing poetry with disasters, and the author is no Whitman, but the book is far from hopeless. If you are interested, and can get a cheap copy, it will probably be worth your while.

I am very excited about the new format of books written in poetry, some of my favorites being "Love That Dog" and "Shakespeare Bats Cleanup." However, both of these are fictional stories and the format really DOES NOT work for non-fiction.

The poems feel uninspired and would have been much better expressed in, say, a historical fiction novel. Also, the book offers us no real information about the fire or the circus.

If you would like to get books written in poetry, please check out "Love That Dog" by Sharon Creech or "Shakespeare Bats Cleanup" by Ron Koertge. Don't even bother with this one.

a glaring example of 'vanity press,' this 'author' has compiled thoroughly un-extraordinary prose and passes it off as something of importance and value. This thing was on a 99 cent table at books-a-million. I LOST 99 cents. Just wretched...