Rating: 
Summary: Still Intrigued?
Review: I found Mr. O'Nan's work a compelling and at times, a gut-wrenching effort. I had always been mesmirized by that tragedy, especially about Little Miss 1565. Yet the emphasis of this tragedy is not just on her, there are others who were went unidentified in this tragedy and their sadness is also highlighted in this book. Mr. O'Nan does a good job of interconnecting the sub-plots in this tragedy and weaves together the lives of the victims in a very artful way. I am still intriqued about the arguments made by Mr. O'Nan regarding the identification of Eleanor Brooks so I will continue to read more on this subject. He definitely makes the story very real, yet surreal!
Rating: 
Summary: Terrifying, haunting and so gently handled
Review: I have heard the story of this fire since I was a very little girl. It happened before I was born and my parents and brothers are among the hundreds of were-going-to-go-but-at-the-last-minute-did-not stories. They were enroute from Vermont to Watch Hill Rhode Island for a summer vacation at the shore. The plan was to attend the Hartford circus for the afternoon performance before going to the hotel at the beach. It was a blistering hot day and when they reached the turn in the road my father asked the boys to make their own decision, the circus to the left or, to the right, on to the beach. Because of the intense heat the boys changed their minds and begged to go to the beach so they could swin in the ocean. When they arrived at the hotel they met the horrible news of the fire. For the first and only time in her life my mother fainted dead away. I purchased this book immediately after I heard of it and was anxious yet hesitant to read it. The event had a significant effect on my own family and my mother at 84 still brings chills to my heart when she retells it. I was very afraid the book would focus on gruesome sensationalism or be just crudely voyeuristic, but I found instead a truly humane and gently handled story. The horror of the day is told in minute by minute clips which evoke an almost strobe-lite sense of the panic inside that inferno. Mr. O'Nan's humanity is the prime force behind this tight, crisp book. He treats every story and every person with respect. He never condemns the weak in character. This book provokes the very deep question in all of us of what would we do in a horrific situation like this. This story was long past due for telling and we must be grateful that such a superb author took up the task.
Rating:
Summary: A true story remembered by a survivor
Review: I saw the fact that this book was written in an ad in Yankee Magazine. Being one of the lucky people to survive it, I immediatley ordered the book from Amazon. When the book arrived I started to read it-but found I couldn't just keep reading. It brought back such memories-the anticipation of going to the circus-a big big treat for us. The dust and heat of that day. Our party of 6, mom dad, 2 sisters(Tibbals twins) and 2 friends. The heat as we entered the tent, the search for seats in the bleachers, up high so we could see, in what I now know was the Southwest corner of the tent. The excitment of seeing the first animal act, the anticipation of the ariel act to follow as the performers started climbing the ropes to the top of the tent, and then the scream FIRE! Turning around, and finding the tent on fire directly behind us. To their credit, our parents got us out, as we were near the main exit. But not without injuries. Bruises and superficial burns as dad hurried us to the exit, mom dropping my sister down to dad under the bleachers as the heat and smoke had got to her and she had fainted, dad rushing us out and telling us to stay together, and turning to get my mom, who, on her own, and who I can still see, walking out by herself-looking OK, but burned badly on her right arm, and the top of her head. Rushing us to our car and out of the city of Hartford and back to Middletown-his stopping at the police station in Middletown to let them know of the tragedy and then taking my mom to the hospital in Middletown and are not seeing her for a long time. The horror that the little girl who sat in front of me in school had to indure as she and her whole family perished. The terrible ordeal my other girlfriend and her sister (the Smith sisters) endured to live. It's all there. Mr. Nan has done and incredible job of putting it all together so that those of us who were little, yet were there, can know what happened and what was done. The fire was never mentioned at home and we were to little to read the newspapers of that day. While I spent many nights picking up and reliving the whole ordeal as I read on, I thank the author from the bottom of my heart for giving it the life it deserved.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting Story
Review: The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan is as riveting a narrative as is suggested by the blurbs and the other reviews. In some ways, the story is almost author proof as it comes with a easily recoginizable set of personalities and a moment that changes everyone lives. Fiction writers should have it so easy and that, in a way, is one of Stewart O'Nan's strengths. He turns his fiction writing skills towards writing a piece of history and creates this thrilling narrative. The bulk of the book is centred on that tragic day and we are led through the events with the help of some of the survivors and not a few of the victims. The book also shows the readers the aftereffects of such a tragedy on the lives of the survivors and the circus itself. This part of the story is presented in a manner that is as important and dramatic as the details of the actual fire. An exciting read.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing in depth story
Review: From the opening dedication to the last page of this book you are drawn into this story as if you were there yourself. You feel the excitement of the people as they are embarking on a festive day at the circus during the depressing strains of World War II. You can hear the circus music in your head,the smell of the popcorn,the sound of the children laughing excitedly. And you can feel the panic as thousands of people start screaming and running for their lives as the fire spreads. Very seldom have I come across a book that is so well written that I cannot put it down until I am done with it and then continue to read it a second time. The photo of Little Miss 1565 has haunted my thoughts for days as I am unable to get her out of my mind. Read this book. You will never look at the circus the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: Morbid Attraction... or Truest Optimism?
Review: On the back cover of "Circus Fire," a blurb suggests that reading it will make you "feel like you're inside the big top as it starts to burn." One must wonder about one's own attraction to such a promise, as well as the author's intent. And then again, O'Nan has dwelled on tragic circumstances in his previous novels. So is this a book that appeals to those who like to fixate on the bizarre and unfortunate suffering of others, while enveloped in secure comfort? HARDLY! O'Nan enters very delicate territory here, and he succeeds splendidly in giving this tragedy the humane reconstruction and moral underpinnings that it not only deserves, but absolutely requires. "Circus Fire" works on several levels. It is a recounting of human ignorance and cataclysmic consequences. It is a mystery. It is a microscopic examination of human nature being put to the test, and succeeding and failing in numerous ways. Most of all, I think, it is about optimism. O'Nan goes deep into the collective psyche of Hartford, the survivors of the fire, those responsible, and those who lost loved ones -- and finds in all this a profound meaning for the rest of us. Yes, people suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually. But we, the readers, are ALIVE, and we can FEEL COMPASSION. In these profound realizations, we can appreciate the precious nature of every waking moment of our existence. While O'Nan recreates the fire and its aftermath in exacting detail, giving life to those who experienced and remembered and endured, it is the precarious yet powerful nature of our own love for others that he is really addressing. In this way, "Circus Fire" becomes a true miracle -- the scathed survivors and those who lost others, as well as the souls of those who perished, speak to us, teach us, touch us, and encourage us: remember, reach out, love... I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The reviews below speak well to its value and its importance. I thank Mr. O'Nan, and I thank the 167 who left this life that day in 1944, for sharing these important lessons with me.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping and absorbing; I read it in two days
Review: One of the best disaster books I've ever read, if not in fact the best. Writer O'Nan focuses tightly in on the two days before the fire and the weeks afterward, with an almost minute-by-minute accounting of July 6, 1944. But it never once bogs down. I agree with the reviewer who said that the pictures could be better placed in a section of their own on better paper; however, there's no beating actual pictures of a fire in progress alongside the text describing it. I had always been gratified to see a happy ending to the mystery of Little Miss 1565; however, I did not know several facts surrounding her identification, namely, that the dental charts of Eleanor Emily Cook did not match the teeth of the girl in the morgue photo. I suppose we can take it as consolation that Mildred Cook died believing her daughter had been found and buried properly. Another tragedy is the missing little boy, Raymond Erickson, who vanished in the flames of the big top. His body was never recovered, and all his relatives have of him are his brown shoes and socks--a hearbreaking scene. His story was not widely reported as was that of Little Miss 1565, and a relative bemoans, "No newspaper stories wonder where Raymond is." Somewhat confusing are the interwoven recollections near the end; you tend to forget who is who and have to refer to the front of the book again. But that is one small flaw, easily forgiven. Brought vivdly to life is how, in an instant, tragedy can occur and how people can react. There seemed to be as many people who helped children get out of the big top as there were those who stepped on top of them to save their own lives. Each of us should wonder: What would we do in this situation? I would highly recommend this book to fans of the circus in general, disaster buffs, or people interested in the human psychology of disasters. A truly remarkable book!
Rating:
Summary: Chilling narrative told graphically and honestly
Review: This could have been the next book of fiction in a line of novels written by master storyteller Stewart O'Nan, but the fact that "The Circus Fire" actually took place allows Mr. O'Nan to cross successfully into the world of non-fiction. He does so combining broad strokes with intimate detail. Like a circus juggler, Mr. O'Nan keeps several narratives going at once, centering much of the time on several groups of friends and families who met death and injury head-on when they attended the circus in Hartford, Connecticut on July 6, 1944. "The Circus Fire" is a very scary book. Mr. O'Nan has spared nothing in chronicalling the events of that summer afternoon. The fates of hundreds of people who tried to flee the big top were decided in many cases by good or bad decisions and luck, often escaping by a matter of inches. He accompanies his stories with several "side shows"....how people react in panic situations, how the ongoing war effort and preparedness affected the response by local and state officials, how the circus hierarchy was run, and so on. I would suggest that readers keep a finger in page 24; the "principals" page. One will need to refer back to this particular list of attendees throughout the book. Although Mr. O'Nan sees their stories through to the end, I wish he had included that same list with their outcomes on a single page at the end of the book as his summaries tend to diffuse. I am impressed by Mr. O'Nan's attention to detail and his observation of dozens of ironic twists. The story could have ended with the investigation wrap-up, but the ongoing search for the cause of the fire, the man who may have set it, and the identity of "Little Miss 1565" carries the book to the present. Just like fire itself, "The Circus Fire" envelops you. I hope readers will take time to read it carefully. It is a profound book.
Rating:
Summary: fills in a missing page in U.S. history
Review: Until I read Stewart O'Nan's excellent, humane account, "The Circus Fire," I had never heard of the tragic event in Connecticut in l944. Since it took place in wartime, and during the bombing of civilians in European cities, it was overlooked by chroniclers of that period. O'Nan's style, which brings up personal stories of many people caught up in the fire, reminds me of Walter Lord's classic "A Night to Remember," about the Titanic sinking. Here are heroes and villains, and, very sadly, many children. O'Nan describes the admirable response of Hartford's policemen, firemen, medical personnel, and people of other agencies, who were ready for this devastating event due to their "emergency preparedness" wartime stance. Many readers will find that they will read this book in one sitting, unable to tear themselves away from this tragic tale, so well told.
Rating:
Summary: Great, gripping read on a ghastly subject
Review: Unlike murder, the disaster narrative genre rarely attracts first-rate chroniclers. More often than not, such accounts are turned out by local antiquarians who bring more enthusiasm than literary skill to their subjects. So it is a double triumph that acclaimed novelist O'Nan has turned his talents to one of the most poignant epics of American suffering: the 1944 Hartford Circus fire. Better yet, he's also done a splendid job at ferreting out the best human resources for his horrible tale and weaving their words and shattered lives--and deaths--together in a spellbinding narrative. Simply the best disaster book I've read.
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