'A captivating tale of love and loss and finding connection in the most unexpected places' Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas A lyrical and atmospheric homage to the strange and extraordinary, perfect for fans of Angela Carter and Erin Morgenstern. This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived... Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. Until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus. Now an adult, ...
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'A captivating tale of love and loss and finding connection in the most unexpected places' Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas A lyrical and atmospheric homage to the strange and extraordinary, perfect for fans of Angela Carter and Erin Morgenstern. This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived... Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. Until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus. Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child... But will her story be enough to bring the pair together again? Beautiful and intoxicating, A Girl Made of Air brings the circus to life in all of its grime and glory; Marina, Manu, Serendipity Wilson, Fausto, Big Gen and Mouse will live long in the hearts of readers. As will this story of loss and reconciliation, of storytelling and truth.
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Add this copy of A Girl Made of Air to cart. $4.93, very good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2020 by Quercus.
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I didnââ?¬â?¢t have many expectations going in to ââ?¬Ë?A Girl Made of Airââ?¬â?¢ other than what I learnt in the blurb - that it was a circus fantasy tale. As someone who has spent her life working in theatre, the circus has always held a fascination for me ââ?¬" itââ?¬â?¢s an artform and way of life which is so similar and yet so distant and I was excited to find out more.
A Girl Made of Air is an odd mix of narration; a lot of it is 1st person past tense as the older ââ?¬Ë?Mouseââ?¬â?¢ tells her life story. There is also a few transcripts of conversations and some unrelated folk stories weaved in as well. Although I enjoyed the folktales at the beginning of the story, when I started to get more invested in Mouseââ?¬â?¢s plight I found them a little annoying as a distraction from the main story. The story itself is rather dark and depressing, we donââ?¬â?¢t get much of a description of Mouseââ?¬â?¢s funambulist beginnings or the performance side of the circus which I thought was a little disappointing. I would have loved a little more description about Coney Island as well ââ?¬" itââ?¬â?¢s such an exciting place to set half of the book in and yet the setting felt like a missed opportunity in this instance as we get description of the house where Mouse lives and a very brief description of her travelling the wire a few times. I found myself not really feeling invested or sympathetic to any of the characters ââ?¬" especially Mouse who makes some silly decisions in places.
The book is fundamentally about a childââ?¬â?¢s obsession with an adopted mother figure of ââ?¬Ë?Serendipity Wilsonââ?¬â?¢ (a woman whose name is always spelled out in full despite there being no other Seprendipityââ?¬â?¢s in the book!) We get the story of a girl who wanted to find a family, who messed up her chance and who spent her life trying to redeem herself. Itââ?¬â?¢s an ok story and it is genuinely moving in places, but it isnââ?¬â?¢t exactly action packed or sparkling.
Overall, A Girl Made of Air is a depressing story which is moving in places but missed the opportunity to add some of the flair of the circus into its writing. Thank you to NetGalley & Quercus Books for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
