When I was in sixth grade, my class put on a play about the life of P.T. Barnum. I played a bit of a know-it-all whose main function in the play was to provide exposition and factual information about Barnum’s life. After sharing a fact, I’d punctuate the tidbit with the phrase, “It’s in the book!” First, I’d like to admit my role was more than a little typecast - I’m a total trivia nerd. Second, in the course of learning my lines, I discovered that P.T. Barnum was born on July 5, 1810. This was interesting to me, as I was also born on July 5. That’s about where any similarity ends. Other than a brief fascination with animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams at age four, I never really enjoyed the circus itself. Especially as a little girl, I was easily overwhelmed by flashing lights and loud noise, so trips to the circus were marked by tears and an early exit. As I got older and learned about how circus animals have historically been trained and treated, I was even less inclined to enjoy the circus as entertainment. Despite my distaste for attending the circus, I love books and movies about the circus. So, since I’m about to mark another jaunt around the sun (Mr. Barnum not so much), I thought I’d share some great circus-themed entertainment!

Geek Love - Katherine Dunn

I spotted Geek Love in high school, thinking the title referred to smart, socially awkward folk finding romance. Instead, I discovered a beautifully written novel about a family of carnival folk. Rather than find and recruit special and different individuals for their traveling carnival, the Binewski family breed their own freak show features by utilizing combinations of drugs and radioactive materials while Mrs. Binewski is pregnant. The resulting brood features Arturo “Aqua Boy” who has flippers instead of feet and hands, conjoined twins Electra and Iphigenia, Olympia - a hunchback albino dwarf, and the seemingly normal-looking Fortunato who shows himself to be telekinetic. The story takes place in two timelines - one following the Binewskis’ life on the road as Arturo transitions from feature attraction to sadistic Svengali; the other tracks Olympia in her life after the carnival as she attempts to keep the daughter she abandoned from falling prey to the persuasion of a rich woman who tries to convince beautiful young women to surgically disfigure their bodies. Geek Love has had a cult following for over thirty years, and a quick Google search can provide hours of distraction in the form of amazing and sometimes disturbing fan art.

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Jacob Jankowski’s veterinary studies and future career are cut short when his parents are killed in a car accident just before his final exams. After realizing the future he had planned for would never be , Jankowski hops a train in the middle of the night. An old circus hand saves him from being tossed from the train and finds him odd jobs around the circus. The owner circus learns of Jacob’s training and quickly puts him to work caring for the various circus animals including Rosie the elephant and August and Marlena’s performing horses. August is a cruel man who treats his wife and their animals with disregard and disdain. Marlena turns to Jacob for kindness and they soon become romantically involved. Some of the more vulnerable troupe members are used as leverage against Jacob in an attempt to reunite the stars of the equestrian show, but the lovers cannot rip themselves apart. When disgruntled former circus employees return to exact revenge, tragedy results. Beyond the story within the pages of Water for Elephants, the story of the book itself is quite aspirational - it is the first novel written during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) to be published.

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”

The Night Circus currently sits comfortably in my favorite books list. When folks ask for reading recommendations, I usually ask if they’ve read The Night Circus; and if they haven’t, I’ve been known to give them a copy just to push them along. The titular circus is the creation of two apprentice magicians unwittingly set against one another by their mentors. Celia and Marco create complex illusions within the framework of the circus - tents scattered across the circus grounds feature fortune tellers who truly see the future, gardens filled with ice flowers, and mazes made of clouds. Celia performs within the circus itself as an illusionist while Marco works as an assistant to the producer of Le Cirque des Rêves (The Circus of Dreams) influencing the circus from afar. Marco and Celia fall in love and rather than writing love letters, they create exhibits within the circus for one another. Fortunately, the circus is not just a series of mystical exhibits; there is Tsukiko the contortionist, Widget and Poppet and their performing small cats, and Bailey - a small town boy who runs away with the circus after falling in love with all its spectacle. Eventually, the pawns in the game demand a winner be declared, without realizing what consequences they face when the competition is over.

The Night Circus also happens to be a NaNoWriMo book.

Trapeze, 1956 starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Gina Lollabrigida

Tino Orsini (Tony Curtis) wants to learn the triple somersault and become a world- famous circus performer. Tino travels to Europe to find Mike Ribble (Burt Lancaster) and convince him to to share his secrets of the triple. Ribble - who is only the sixth person in the world to successfully complete the triple - works for a circus despite being severely injured performing the difficult triple. Tino is frequently distracted from his training by the beauty and manipulation of Lola, another circus performer. The tension and electricity of the love triangle that develops between the three leads is a wonderful secondary plot to Orsini’s ambition for the triple. I can remember watching this movie at my grandmother’s house a kid and absolutely loving the glamour and dirt of the circus. It’s probably about time to dig out Trapeze for a rewatch!

The Greatest Showman, 2017 starrring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, and Zac Efron

I’m an absolute sucker for a musical. I grew up on Disney and Rodgers and Hammerstein, so despite my absolute inability to carry a tune you’ll hear me singing along with the big numbers. I missed The Greatest Showman in theaters, unfortunately, but caught it as soon as it came out for digital release. If you’ve read much about PT Barnum, it appears he was quite the single-minded businessman with little concern for anyone who got in his way. This is alluded to in The Greatest Showman, but since the projected audience is kids and family, it is not spelled out at all. Second to Hugh Jackman’s smile and charisma, the soundtrack deserves much of the credit for this movie’s success - “Rewrite the Stars” and “This is Me” are my top favorites from the movie itself along the reimagined theme “The Greatest Show” as performed by Panic! At the Disco. I love the message of acceptance that the movie projects, embracing the differences that set apart many of Barnum’s star attractions. This is just a delightful feel good family movie with a wide range of positive messages and catchy tunes, perfect for a singalong solo, or with family or friends!

As I said before, I’m more a fan of the idea of the circus than I ever was of the circus itself, so these books and movies are a wonderful way to wrap yourself in the romance and intrigue of the shows of old. Might I suggest a little popcorn to enhance the experience?