The Circus Train

The Circus Train

Amita Parikh

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

At the World of Wonders, Europe's most magnificent travelling circus, every moment is full of magic, and nothing is as it seems--especially for the people who put on the show Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, despite her father's overprotection and the limits her world places on her because she is disabled. Her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past. Over several years, as their friendship flourishes and Alexandre trains as the illusionist's apprentice, World War II escalates around them. When Theo and Alexandre are contracted to work and perform in a model town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena becomes separated from everything she knows. Forced to make her own way, Lena must confront her doubts and dare to believe in the impossible--herself. A must-read for fans of The Night Circus and Water for Elephants, The Circus Train will take readers on a heart-wrenching and spectacular two-decade journey across Europe. When all is lost, how do you find the courage to keep moving forward?


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    I may have come into this one with too high of hopes - I found it through an author interview on 'the shit no one tells you about writing' podcast where it received high praise for a debut work. I was expecting lush prose, a love story, high suspense and war intrigue... instead, the story and characters felt flat and entirely unrealistic (example: one character, after being stuck in a Nazi-run Jewish ghetto for a year, literally says "It's fine" when another character apologizes for not letting him escape the camp....)
    It reads like a young adult novel, too simplistic and surface for the intense themes (WWII, disability, fight for survival, taking control of one's destiny) - the result was unemotional and only mildly entertaining.

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