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The Circus In Winter
by Cathy Day

8.8 based on 10 reviews read critic reviews how did we calculate this? based on 8 votes read user comments rate this book

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From 1884 to 1939, the Great Porter Circus made the unlikely choice to winter in an Indiana town called Lima, a place that feels as classic as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and as wondrous as a first trip to the Big Top. Cathy Day follows the circus people into their everyday lives and brings the greatest show on earth to the page. [Harcourt]

Harcourt, 288 pages
07/05/2004
$23.00

ISBN: 015101048X

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
Short Stories

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Kirkus Reviews

Funny and tough-minded, yet tender and touched with magic: this is a real find.

Library Journal Beth E. Andersen

Meticulously researched and graced with a dozen lovely black-and-white historical circus photographs, Day's portrayal of life under and outside the big top is accomplished.

Los Angeles Times Wendy Smith

Cathy Day performs a balancing act as deft as any tightrope walker's in The Circus in Winter, a marvelous debut collection of connected stories about circus folk and their descendants in a small Midwestern town. [12 Sept 2004, p.R8]

Publishers Weekly

Thanks to finely observed details and lovely prose, each of these stories is a convincing world in miniature, filled with longing and fueled by doubt.

Boston Globe Caroline Leavitt

One of the most sublimely imaginative and affecting novels I've read in years.

Chicago Tribune Porter Shreve

Foregoing the rising and falling action of traditional plot, Day has assembled instead a living museum of the town's history, a portrait gallery of its fascinating residents across time.[27 June 2004, p.C5]

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

An elegantly juggled debut collection of interconnected stories.

Booklist Kaite Mediatore

A fascinating period in American history inhabited by colorful characters and told in a lively manner. [July 2004, p.1817]

San Francisco Chronicle Sarah Coleman

Because of this disjunction between its two halves, The Circus in Winter lacks some cohesiveness and emotional heft. That's a small price to pay, though, when an author has the kind of natural storytelling gifts Day exhibits here.

The New York Times Book Review Gary Krist

She succeeds in appropriating much of the garish pungency of the world of freaks, geeks and sideshow Houdinis without succumbing to its ready banalities...This is one circus act that doesn't rely on dependable gimmicks to keep the audience amused.

The average user rating for this book is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Robbo the Yobbo gave it an8:
Worthwhile reading - the cycle works well for the themes Day explores. The character sketches are strong, though one does have to work to remember them when characters are referenced in passing several chapters later. The novel ended with what I thought was a strong story that tied out the larger themes without dictating how the reader should feel. Day's work here reminds me somewhat of Ann Patchett's very good novel, "The Magician's Assistant".

Jonathan F gave it a9:
This was a truly fantastic collection of short stories. The one that stands out the most to be is "The LoneStar Cowboy". It was one of the shorter ones but it was one of the more affecting to me. The final story ("Circus People") also stands out. Just wonderful.

Paul C gave it a10:
One of the best short story cycles I've ever read. It ends with a note of power that I could relate to having come from a small town. That call to come home again, one more time.

Walt R gave it a9:
The Circus in Winter is a marvel. From beginning to end, Cathy Day weaves her stories together in a magical style. Looking forward to reading her next venture into fine literature.

Paul H gave it an8:
A nice quick read, though to me the best stories are the first half which makes the last half somewhat disappointing.

Paul C gave it a10:
Wonderful

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