Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I'm so sorry to disappoint the many family members and friends that recommended this book to me but...I didn't like it. Let me start off with a disclaimer. I do NOT like circuses. I think they're creepy and abusive of animals. So this book had one strike against it going in. Since there are so few things I liked about this book, I'll start with those. I liked the voice of OLD Jacob Jankowski. It was genuine and funny. Since I'm a middle-aged woman, I can't know for sure, but my Dad thinks the author succeeded in capturing the angst of an old man and I would agree. The author clearly did her research...too well, as is often the case (gotta get all that hard-earned information in). So, on to the bad...There just isn't much of a plot here. Boy joins circus, travels across country, little "circusy" things happen periodically. This might have been better off as a non-fiction account of a traveling circus. The attempted plot, I assume, was Jacob's growing and dangerous love for Marlena. But the relationship never really developed--it was lust, not love. They hardly ever had a conversation, at least not that we were shown. And Marlena was a shell of a character--pretty on the outside, nothing on the inside. She cast lots of lustful glances Jacob's way and seductively twirled her foot but I never heard a substantial thing come out of her mouth. I guess my point is--what did Jacob see in her? The writing was utilitarian--the author's past as a tech writer clearly shows. Once again (I'm getting so tired of saying this), good idea, bad writing. I had mixed emotions about the ending. The ending, for young Jacob, was tied up a little too tidily and conveniently. A couple of characters who would have been a burden to Jacob and his fantasies of a life with Marlena were neatly dispensed with. Another character was messily dispensed with but in a very unbelievable way. The ending, for old Jacob was also not plausible, but, I have to admit, it, as well as the twist at the end, brought a slight smile to my face!