The Dead Circus: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Corrupted lives on a tide of nostalgia
Review: In this compelling yarn, a group of disparate Hollywood denizens - including minor crooks, an ex-cop, an alcoholic screenwriter, a member of the Charles Manson clan, and others - live lives inhabited and motivated by memories of their youth. The ostensible plot has to do with the ex-cop, Gene Burk, finding out who years ago murdered a popular rock-and-roll musician, but in fact the story is more that of Burk's attempt to reconstruct the early life of his fiancee, who has died in a plane crash. Charles Manson and the violence he instigated figure heavily in the story, but Manson emerges as a sort of twisted philosopher/poet of the corruption that infects everyone. Manson seems to be only the most corrupted among a cast of damaged characters in a town where violence and predation abound. The author's skill at evoking the names and events of Hollywood in mid-twentieth century make this an intriguing novel rather than just another sordid tale.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Reading
Review: The Dead Circus is fun reading. Gene Burk, a 40ish ex-LA cop in the mid-eighties, mourning the death of his fiance in a plane crash, decides to solve the one unsolved "crime" from his life as a cop that still haunts him--the apparent suicide of Bobby Fuller. Kaye' story is sort of all over the map--jumping from character to character, discussing three events in one short paragraph--but somehow it's not overly confusing. Burk's quest brings him into the warped and bizarre world of Charles Manson. The Dead Circus is an unpredictible story that starts off almost as a standard crime novel and then goes into something unto itself. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Reading
Review: The Dead Circus is fun reading. Gene Burk, a 40ish ex-LA cop in the mid-eighties, mourning the death of his fiance in a plane crash, decides to solve the one unsolved "crime" from his life as a cop that still haunts him--the apparent suicide of Bobby Fuller. Kaye' story is sort of all over the map--jumping from character to character, discussing three events in one short paragraph--but somehow it's not overly confusing. Burk's quest brings him into the warped and bizarre world of Charles Manson. The Dead Circus is an unpredictible story that starts off almost as a standard crime novel and then goes into something unto itself. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A fair read with no defined direction
Review: To be fair, I enjoyed reading this book. I went through it in two days. My interest in the book was based in the fact that I was from El Paso and a Bobby Fuller fan. I eagerly read the book and kept waiting for a plausible theory or investigation into Bobby Fuller's mysterious death but it never came. The plot veered off into the Manson murders, again with no new information or resolution to the case. I thought the plot was all over the place and maybe that is to be expected. That may be in reality the actions of someone who lost their loved one in an accident. Gene Burk seemed to go in all directions with no focus--as would be expected by someone in grief.

The characters seemed somewhat shallow and not well developed. Was that a reflection of the shallow nature of the music and entertainment industry of the 1960's or a problem with the author's style--I couldn't decide. I do think there was far too much 'name dropping' and trying to weave Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, and other famous musicians into the storyline as minor players when it would have been better to develop the characters or the plot in more depth.

There were at least four subplots: 1) getting over his personal loss, 2) solving the Fuller murder, 3) the Manson murders and 4) the corruption of the LAPD. None of these were fully developed or resolved to my satisfaction. The ending of the book tied them all together but not in a convincing manner I felt.

However, as I said I found it compelling and read it in two days. my personal disappointment may stem from the fact that I thought it would be an expose on the Bobby Fuller murder and cover up. For those without that expectation it's a good read.

Rating:
Summary: A fair read with no defined direction
Review: To be fair, I enjoyed reading this book. I went through it in two days. My interest in the book was based in the fact that I was from El Paso and a Bobby Fuller fan. I eagerly read the book and kept waiting for a plausible theory or investigation into Bobby Fuller's mysterious death but it never came. The plot veered off into the Manson murders, again with no new information or resolution to the case. I thought the plot was all over the place and maybe that is to be expected. That may be in reality the actions of someone who lost their loved one in an accident. Gene Burk seemed to go in all directions with no focus--as would be expected by someone in grief.

The characters seemed somewhat shallow and not well developed. Was that a reflection of the shallow nature of the music and entertainment industry of the 1960's or a problem with the author's style--I couldn't decide. I do think there was far too much 'name dropping' and trying to weave Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, and other famous musicians into the storyline as minor players when it would have been better to develop the characters or the plot in more depth.

There were at least four subplots: 1) getting over his personal loss, 2) solving the Fuller murder, 3) the Manson murders and 4) the corruption of the LAPD. None of these were fully developed or resolved to my satisfaction. The ending of the book tied them all together but not in a convincing manner I felt.

However, as I said I found it compelling and read it in two days. my personal disappointment may stem from the fact that I thought it would be an expose on the Bobby Fuller murder and cover up. For those without that expectation it's a good read.