Rating: 
Summary: Smartly Entertaining!
Review: "Is she fact or is she fiction?" This is the central question that drives journalist Jack Walser to join the circus in an investigative attempt to follow the source of his inquiry-the aerialiste Sophie Fevvers, renown for her uncanny ability to fly thanks to her seemingly magical endowment-a pair of wings. A fancifully imaginative tale, Nights at the Circus takes the reader on a journey from fin de ciecle London to St. Petersburg and finally to the wilderness of Siberia, as the tale grapples with such themes as love and female identity. The story itself is altogether fun with a cast of charmingly eccentric characters ranging from the outlandish, entrepreneurial circus owner Colonel Kearney, whose companion is an oracular pig named 'Sybil,' to the character of Boffo the Clown, whose outwardly comical appearance belies the disturbing and tragic pagliaccio figure within. The most prominent aspect of the portrayals in the text, however, is found in the female characters who are presented as strong and triumphant, outshining their often emotionally infantile male cohorts. From the naïf turned musical ingenue Mignon to the main character Fevvers, whose wit and charm is balanced by her down to earth portrayal (a woman who eats!), the representation of females challenges the depiction of women by the male authorial voice that had dominated throughout the centuries. Smartly set at the tail end of the Victorian Era, the images of femininity in the text are made to break free from the restrictive representation of women in literature as either the goddess on the pedestal or the imbecilic whore. Carter has an amazing ability to subtly incorporate philosophical and historical elements in her humor, ranging from existential musings on the nature of the self to a satiric portrayal of the impact of sensationalist journalism on proto-revolutionary peasants in turn of the century Russia. With the overarching structure of the circus setting, the tale is amusing and funny with its lively romp through the lives of its characters, while maintaining an awareness of the more darkly disturbing aspects of life and human behavior. Nights at the Circus is an enjoyable read that also delivers a more profound and intelligent assessment of society and culture.
Rating:
Summary: Smartly Entertaining!
Review: "Is she fact or is she fiction?" This is the central question that drives journalist Jack Walser to join the circus in an investigative attempt to follow the source of his inquiry-the aerialiste Sophie Fevvers, renown for her uncanny ability to fly thanks to her seemingly magical endowment-a pair of wings. A fancifully imaginative tale, Nights at the Circus takes the reader on a journey from fin de ciecle London to St. Petersburg and finally to the wilderness of Siberia, as the tale grapples with such themes as love and female identity. The story itself is altogether fun with a cast of charmingly eccentric characters ranging from the outlandish, entrepreneurial circus owner Colonel Kearney, whose companion is an oracular pig named 'Sybil,' to the character of Boffo the Clown, whose outwardly comical appearance belies the disturbing and tragic pagliaccio figure within. The most prominent aspect of the portrayals in the text, however, is found in the female characters who are presented as strong and triumphant, outshining their often emotionally infantile male cohorts. From the naïf turned musical ingenue Mignon to the main character Fevvers, whose wit and charm is balanced by her down to earth portrayal (a woman who eats!), the representation of females challenges the depiction of women by the male authorial voice that had dominated throughout the centuries. Smartly set at the tail end of the Victorian Era, the images of femininity in the text are made to break free from the restrictive representation of women in literature as either the goddess on the pedestal or the imbecilic whore. Carter has an amazing ability to subtly incorporate philosophical and historical elements in her humor, ranging from existential musings on the nature of the self to a satiric portrayal of the impact of sensationalist journalism on proto-revolutionary peasants in turn of the century Russia. With the overarching structure of the circus setting, the tale is amusing and funny with its lively romp through the lives of its characters, while maintaining an awareness of the more darkly disturbing aspects of life and human behavior. Nights at the Circus is an enjoyable read that also delivers a more profound and intelligent assessment of society and culture.
Rating:
Summary: Imagination has no limits!
Review: "This world of imagination is infinite and eternal, whereas the world of generation, or vegetation, is finite and temporal. The true vine of eternity, the human imagination." -- William Blake That quote describes Angela Carter's work. Nights at the Circus couldn't have possibly been better. You enter the realm of various characters whose descriptions are eclectic and vague at the same time. Angela truly captures the essence of magical realism in this book. How to describe the narrators of this book? There is no easy way to go about it. The characters are surreal and at times cartoonish. Even so, the strangeness and vagueness draw you in anyway. I can't help but compare Amanda Filipacchi -- of Vapor and Nude Men fame -- and Banana Yoshimoto -- Kitchen and NP fame -- to Angela Carter. The best quality of these authors is that they use their imagination to the fullest! Have you noticed my vagueness when describing this book? That is because you have to read it in order to grasp the meaning of this fabulous literary experience. Let your imagination go wild and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Talent like hers is so rare
Review: Angela Carter is a genius of detail. With the complex form of her style, she maximizes her meanings with such intricate verbal virtuosity and grace that it is difficult to discern which is more captivating: the story she has to tell or the manner in which she is telling it. This book is excellent in every respect, and as a work of art, it says many, many favorable things about its artist, who is revealed to possess an enormous capacity for compassion. This book is a huge literary achievement which manages to strike a depth I hardly expected, yet felt wholly rewarded by once I put it down. At times, Carter's cumbersome lexicon can prove distracting, but despite her tendency to use "fifty-cent words," I have never felt that these word usages were a) unfitting of their contexts or b) inconsistent with Carter's over-the-top style of prose. These words may appear often, but they are easily enough ignored due to Carter's gift for staggering the reader with her incomprehensibly beautiful prose. In addition to recommending this book with highest praise, I would first suggest that a reader new to Angela Carter read _Burning Your Boats_, a collection fo short stories published after her death which features stories which (I believe) are masterpieces. This woman's writing deserves exposure!
Rating:
Summary: A bit of feminism mixed with humor and a touch of satire...
Review: Angela Carter mixes satire and feminism to create an unusual but funny character in Sophie Fevvers. She is a non-traditional "woman" who burps and farts in the company of one certain man who ends up falling for this 6 foot two circus arialiste who sports dyed blonde feathers and an outfit of sequends. A very interesting look at life without men; circus clowns without a circus; etc
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I can never do this book justice. Riproaringly funny one moment, thought-provoking the next. The whole cast of characters are fascinating, as are their bizarre life stories (what other writer could turn a circus clown into some kind of mystical figure?) but over and above them all is the winged heroine Fevvers, larger-than-life in all respects. I love all of Angela Carter's books, but this is my favourite. Carter's death a few years ago was a tragic loss, just as she was beginning to get the recognition she deserved.
Rating: 
Summary: Had Me Going Until the End :-(
Review: Most of the other readers here have gushed about this work. For the most part, I uphold the sentiment that this is an amazing piece of work--no pun intended. I give it four stars because most of it is genuinely impressive, but the story only holds up for the first two-thirds. Seems like I'm alone here, but I was profoundly disappointed by the last half of the third section, and ultimately that ruined the book for me. Despite the fact that it's all just one big fantasy, it got so far-fetched that I couldn't buy into it any longer. So be forewarned--it's not without flaws.
Rating:
Summary: Nights At The Circus
Review: Nights At The Circus was required reading for my University course. I found the book highly enjoyable. Angela Carter created a truly unique character with Fevvers and led us through a series of fantastic situations. They were handled so well that in the end you found yourself suspending disbelief with ease and allowing the book to carry you along for the ride.
Rating:
Summary: Earthily airborne
Review: Only Angela Carter could have devised the coarse golden character of Fevvers, the Cockney miracle around whom this tale spins. Girl takes wing, boy flies after, girl loses and gets wing and boy -- that's mad enough, but it gives not the least taste of the crumbled, intricate, and ultimately wonderful world of this particular circus. Carter's ability to interlace sharp doses of political and intimate realities into the mix not only teaches you lessons unaware, but opens you to a larger definition of what can be. Once upon a time, or somewhere right now, chimpanzees condescend to humans, monstrosities speak with wise prophesy, a pig manages a business better than her owner. So open up another bottle of champagne, and surrender. It will be rough, it will hurt, it will be uproarious. It will ultimately be wonderful. So is this book.
Rating:
Summary: Earthily airborne
Review: Only Angela Carter could have devised the coarse golden character of Fevvers, the Cockney miracle around whom this tale spins. Girl takes wing, boy flies after, girl loses and gets wing and boy -- that's mad enough, but it gives not the least taste of the crumbled, intricate, and ultimately wonderful world of this particular circus. Carter's ability to interlace sharp doses of political and intimate realities into the mix not only teaches you lessons unaware, but opens you to a larger definition of what can be. Once upon a time, or somewhere right now, chimpanzees condescend to humans, monstrosities speak with wise prophesy, a pig manages a business better than her owner. So open up another bottle of champagne, and surrender. It will be rough, it will hurt, it will be uproarious. It will ultimately be wonderful. So is this book.
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