Wild, Weird, and Wonderful by F.W. Glasier

Wild, Weird, and Wonderful by F.W. Glasier

In both glory and grit, these remarkable photographs give us the American circus during the most vibrant period in its history, capturing both the intensity of the routines and the spirit of camaraderie of the performers. Glasier's work was unique in many ways, not the least of which was the offhand elegance he allowed his subjects, even the wonderful animals. His striking portraits make us recall the sober and revealing work of August Sander. (blurb from Goodreads)

Rating: PG, 4 stars
Trigger Warnings: racist/ableist language

There’s probably going to be an influx of circus-related books on the blog, as I’m writing an honors thesis about the circus this coming school year and have to do lots of research. I was really excited when I found this book, because it covers the time period I’m working with (turn-of-the-century) in photographs. It’s surprisingly hard to find old photos of the circus, particularly the kind of photos I want from the time period I want.

These photographs were all really cool, and the captions, when possible, gave a lot of details about the who, what, where, when, and why of each photograph. It was not at all a text-heavy book, but it’s a good companion to reference books and books like Queen of the Air, which I hope to read and review in the near future.

In the captions there is some language that could be considered racist or ableist. I appreciate the efforts to keep early 1900s circus jargon intact, but I did wonder sometimes about the manner in which that was done.

If you have any interest in circuses, or even turn-of-the-century Americana, this book is worth a look through. It won’t take too long, and the photographs really are a fascinating look at daily life for circus employees of that era.

The Maid by Kimberly Cutter

The Maid by Kimberly Cutter

Rating: R; 4 1/2 stars

Summary: The Maid is the story of St. Joan of Arc, told from the time she first heard the saints talking to her until her death at the hands of the English. The book moves back in forth in time, as Joan (or Jehanne, as she's called in this book) recounts her story to a priest that visits her in her cell before her execution. The Maid makes no qualms about showing the darker side of Joan's personality and her life. It tracks her journey from discovering her duty in the small French village of Lorraine, to recruiting soldiers and nobles to her cause, through the war, and up to her death. Along the way, the book introduces questions of duty, motive, and means to an end.

Opinions: Joan of Arc is my favorite saint. She has been for as long as I can remember. As a child, I remember liking the fact that she actually went out and did something. When I made my Confirmation (the Catholic coming-of-age sacrament), I took Joan as my Confirmation name (traditionally, one chooses the name of a saint). The Wishbone episode with Joan of Arc was one of my favorites. So yeah. I may be a bit biased, because when this book came out, I saw it and thought OMG Joan of Arc novel! Yeah.

Bias aside, this novel did not disappoint. I felt that historical details were memorable and accurate, and the dialogue was both period accurate and entertaining. I felt that this novel was incredibly well-written, and in fact, I read the first 200 pages of the book without stopping, simply because I enjoyed it so much.

I felt that The Maid was incredibly well-researched. In the author's note at the back of the book, Cutter wrote about how meticulously she researched Joan of Arc. Even the most unbelievable scene in the book is entirely based in fact (that is the scene in which Joan leaps from the top of a tower. According to records, she hit the ground without so much as a sprained ankle).

I think my favorite thing about the book was how well it characterized Joan. Joan of Arc is the sort of historical figure that, in my experience, is thought of only in relation to her actions. By contrast, The Maid presented Joan as a human being, with interests and flaws and feelings. I felt that her emotions in particular were very realistic and increased both my respect for her as a Saint and my appreciation for her as a human being. Scenes that are standing out to me are those when she overhears a sexual encounter, when she realizes she might be falling in love, and when she stops hearing from the saints. Those moments in particular seemed very human to me, nothing more, nothing less.

I gave this book an R rating for violence, language, and (oddly enough) sexual content. I gave it 4 1/2 stars because it was an incredibly enjoyable book. It was compelling, well-written, and well-researched. My only complaint with it was how quickly the ending came on. I just felt like the pacing was a little off as the book ended. However, this is still a fantastic book, and I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it. In short, The Maid is an excellent read for lovers of history, France, saints, or Joan of Arc in particular.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Rating: 2 stars; PG

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Jacob grew up on his grandfather's stories of an orphanage filled with children who weren't entirely normal: strongmen, invisible boys, a boy with bees in his stomach, a girl who ate with the back of her head. As he grew, the stories seemed less and less real, until, in the aftermath of his grandfather's death, Jacob finds out they're all too true.

Opinions: This book had a really rocky start for me. I was really about to stop reading it, because it just wasn't interesting. All the narrator does for the first few chapters is whine and complain. I was really disappointed, because conceptually, this book should be excellent. The idea of placing weird vintage photos into this paranormal, mystery-type book is a really good one. It's interesting and new. Unfortunately, it really just didn't live up to expectations. The first chunk of it was just boring, and I felt like the photos that were so important conceptually were just thrown in. Part of this may be because I read the ebook version, so there was no “two page spread” sort of thing, but still. The pictures almost felt unnecessary.

Granted, the book got better as it went on. After awhile I started to actually care about what was happening. But still, I did not like the narrator, and there was just something lacking about the writing. I felt like a lot of things were thrown in just to confuse the reader without being particularly relevant to the plot. It also seemed like a lot of things were too convenient, particularly the identity of the antagonist.

It was really hard for me to finish this book. I just wasn't all that interested in. I wasn't invested in the characters like I should have been. I found that I didn't really care what had happened. There was nothing really age-inappropriate, though some of the children and the monsters may frighten younger kids.

In short, if you are interested in the concept of this book, you can try reading it, but otherwise, it really isn't worth the time.