Catch Trap

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: I recommend this book to anyone interested in good storytelling, believable characters and a fantastic love story between men.

Rating:
Summary: A Rare Jewel
Review: I was given "The Catch Trap" as a Christmas present two years ago. Since that time I have read it a dozen times and with each new reading, I fall in love with it all over again. It is a delicate weave of love and passion and struggle and commitment which touches the reader on so many levels that it is impossible for someone with an heart to walk away unmoved. It is the story of something we all hope to find someday but portrayed in a fashion that underscores the importance of earning the prize, not simply winning it. If this sounds cryptic, it is meant to be. Very little of the power of this book can be resolved out of context. Read it and you will understand. Read it and you will never look at the world in quite the same way again.

Rating:
Summary: I hate love stories - but I loved this book!
Review: I was given this book several years ago and was extremely skeptical. I don't usually like love stories and I'm not a big science fiction fan so when I saw that it was a love story by a science fiction writer I was sure I would hate it. I didn't. In fact I started reading it one Saturday afternoon and didn't put it down until I finished it that evening. The relationship between these two men (Tommy Zane and Matt "Mario" Santelli) was so moving and so real. All of the characters in this book are so multi-dimensional that you think you know each of them intimately and you start to feel like one of the family. Set in the circus world of the 40's, this book takes you on a fantastic ride through the lives of two young men who risk everything to be together. I've probably read this book over two dozen times and I love it just as much each time. In fact, my copy is so worn out that I had to order a new one. Read it! You won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: An absolute masterpiece!
Review: I was given this book to read by a friend and was very skeptical, but once I started, I couldn't put it down. Everytime I read it, I find something new and fascinating, and I wonder why Bradley hasn't written more books like this. Read it and give it to a friend. You'll love it for sure.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent novel that surprised and moved me
Review: I would have given the book a 10 and perhaps should have but I am a petty person and the typos in it were very numerous and distracting. Other than that this book is by far the best I have ever read. I have not read any of her other books and seeing as I don't like fantasy books there is a good chance I never will read anything else by her. But because of this book alone she is my favourite author. I fell completely in love with the characters and the entire circus theme. The love story was well done and reasonably real. I would love to read a novel exploring the lives of the older members of the family (ie, Lucia and Joe, or even the older Mario). I loved this novel and all the characters. I could not put it down while I was reading it and as soon as I finished (in the middle of the night) I began reading it from the beginning again. This is a wonderful novel. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: I plan on making this a movie one day!!!
Review: Imagine reading a book, that seems to be based off you. I have never found such a great read. I am Tommy, and Matt. Marion Zimmer Bradley, I would like to thank you for living your dream of writing. The Catch Trap is an honest, loving, tender, and cruel reality of the love of two men. All under one tent. I would also like to give thanks to my Dark Knight for sharing this work of art with me. I know now, that I can move on, and that I can achieve my dream. Thank you for opening up my eyes, to the both of you.

Rating:
Summary: perfect love story
Review: it was the best love story ever, perfectly designed by a great author like marion zimmer bradlley. if you like romance, action, drama, family values, this is the book for you. you'll love it from the first page till the last.a passionant book, i started reading it, and just couldn't stop, when i finished it i held it close to my chest. it's that good.

Rating:
Summary: Impossible to Put Down
Review: Let me say at the onset that THE CATCH TRAP has a number of flaws. It is unevenly written; the storyline is somewhat repetitive; the characters are sometimes poorly motivated; the relationship between central characters Mario Santelli and Tommy Zane betrays a certain innocence on the part of the author. But for all its flaws and failings, THE CATCH TRAP is simply one of the most compulsively readable novels I have ever encountered.

The thing that makes the novel so impossible to put down is that everything about it is vividly, vividly alive. Set in the world of the circus of the 1940s and 1950s, the novel tells the story of teenager Tommy Zane, the son of a lion tamer, who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist--and who is taken under the wing of a famous family, The Flying Santellis. Bradley not only gives the novel tremedous sweep, she is so meticulous in her portrayal of circus life that you can smell the popcorn and feel the sawdust; the environment lives and breathes around the characters in a most remarkable way.

But no novel survives on atmosphere alone. Bradley's story is equally unexpected: the star flyer, Mario Santelli, is homosexual--and he and teenage Tommy embark on a passionate love affair. But not only is Tommy underage, this is the 1940s and 1950s; the secrecy their relationship requires proves devastating to both, driving them into a downward spiral of guilt and despair even as they risk their lives on the trapeze with every performance. And around the two swirl a myriad of colorful characters as brilliant as a storm of confetti: the tempetuous Santelli family itself, the movers and shakers of their profession, the contrasting high flyers and lowlifes they encounter as they move from carny midway to center ring, from stardom to disaster.

One of the most surprising things about the novel is how romantically Bradley presents the relationship between Mario and Tommy and--for all her rather elementary assumptions about gay men and their relationships--how effective her approach is. You believe in them, you believe in the world in which they move, and page after page you want to know what happens next. This is not a book to place on your nightstand... because you'll never get to sleep. Surprisingly powerful, amazingly memorable, and very strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Impossible to Put Down
Review: Let me say at the onset that THE CATCH TRAP has a number of flaws. It is unevenly written; the storyline is somewhat repetitive; the characters are sometimes poorly motivated; the relationship between central characters Mario Santelli and Tommy Zane betrays a certain innocence on the part of the author. But for all its flaws and failings, THE CATCH TRAP is simply one of the most compulsively readable novels I have ever encountered.

The thing that makes the novel so impossible to put down is that everything about it is vividly, vividly alive. Set in the world of the circus of the 1940s and 1950s, the novel tells the story of teenager Tommy Zane, the son of a lion tamer, who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist--and who is taken under the wing of a famous family, The Flying Santellis. Bradley not only gives the novel tremedous sweep, she is so meticulous in her portrayal of circus life that you can smell the popcorn and feel the sawdust; the environment lives and breathes around the characters in a most remarkable way.

But no novel survives on atmosphere alone. Bradley's story is equally unexpected: the star flyer, Mario Santelli, is homosexual--and he and teenage Tommy embark on a passionate love affair. But not only is Tommy underage, this is the 1940s and 1950s; the secrecy their relationship requires proves devastating to both, driving them into a downward spiral of guilt and despair even as they risk their lives on the trapeze with every performance. And around the two swirl a myriad of colorful characters as brilliant as a storm of confetti: the tempetuous Santelli family itself, the movers and shakers of their profession, the contrasting high flyers and lowlifes they encounter as they move from carny midway to center ring, from stardom to disaster.

One of the most surprising things about the novel is how romantically Bradley presents the relationship between Mario and Tommy and--for all her rather elementary assumptions about gay men and their relationships--how effective her approach is. You believe in them, you believe in the world in which they move, and page after page you want to know what happens next. This is not a book to place on your nightstand... because you'll never get to sleep. Surprisingly powerful, amazingly memorable, and very strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes vivid life into the circus world of the 1940's and 50's with this unforgettable love story, a timeless classic about the triumph of love in the face of all odds. Bradley did her homework on the circus world of the 1940's, as well as on the gay sub-culture of that era. The book is so detailed, so nuanced, that you will end the book feeling as if you know all the characters --- the passionate and angst-filled Mario, his seemingly frail sister-in-law Stella who grows stronger and more sure as the years pass, Mario's Uncle --- the solid-as-a-rock but bigoted Angelo. And, of course, Mario's love Tommy Zane, the anchor of this panoramic novel. The tale of Tommy's coming into adulthood is mesmerizing, as is Mario and Tommy's fight to keep their love together, while struggling to keep it hidden in a prejudiced world.

This book is so amazing that I'm almost at a loss for words. I just finished reading it for the third time. The first time I read it was 10 years ago. I was in college and I remember reading it between classes, during classes, and at red lights on the way to class. It was so incredible that I couldn't put it down. And now, 10 years later, reading it for a third time, the book lost none of its power - I still found layers in it that I hadn't discovered before. I found myself reading and re-reading passages and paragraphs because the book is so rich that I wanted to keep savoring it.

Whether you're gay or straight or whatever, you should be able to relate to the characters and understand them. You are in for an intense, page-turning read with The Catch Trap. The book is almost a bit overwhelming --- I recommend that you start it when you have some time to get immersed in it, as you won't be able to put it down once you pass the first 100 pages or so. (It does start a bit slowly but once it gets started, hold onto your hats!)

Another strength about this book is that it's a lot more than a love story. It has many themes---what is artistic integrity?, how do we stay close to our families while asserting our own personalities?, and how do you stay true to your soulmate while growing into your own independance?

In a way, I would have loved a sequel, but Bradley ties everything together so perfectly, that a sequel isn't necessary.

I would give my right-arm to join a book discussion group about this book. If anyone wants to discuss it over email with me, please drop me a note at [e-mail] I think it's a shame that the book is, apparently, out of print. Marion Zimmer Bradley's hidden treasure!