After a devastating personal tragedy, the young Jacob Jankowski runs away to the circus, where he encounters a menagerie of characters, both human and animal, who captivate and trouble him at the same time. There, he falls in love with a beautiful performer, Marlena, who happens to be married to the charming, but cruel, ringmaster, August. This love triangle, which also includes an elephant, sets the plot in motion like a runaway train. Disaster will and does happen. Gruen places each of her characters into their own personal performance rings, and has multiple story lines going on at the same time. One track chronicles Jacob as he lives out his last lonely years in a nursing home, remembering the glorious days of his former circus life.

With Bookclub-in-a-Box:

• Discover the thrilling and tragic nature of the circus of the past.
• Consider what circus life and aging have in common.
• Marvel at Sara Gruen’s excellent story-telling skills, her vivid characters, and her innovative use of traditional images.

Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author, as well as a complementary RAG (Read-Along-Guide), a quick reference pamphlet offering interesting facts and questions to consider while reading the novel.

Detailed Product specifications:

Weight of the product is 1.0000 kilogram

Dimensions of the product are 9x6x1 inches

In Stock: 498

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