The Aerialist: A Novel (Sewanee Writers' Series)
by Richard Schmitt

List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $0.05
You Save: $26.90 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of The Aerialist: A Novel (Sewanee Writers' Series)

Book Review: A lasting pleasure
Summary: 5 Stars

There are plenty entertaining books, but few have lasting effects such as this. This book often comes flooding back to my thoughts. It made me wonder at the beginning, but now that I feel I understand why, I feel compelled to share.

This story is told in a subtle and understated way, avoiding the use of over-dramatisations that may make a book more easily accessible and attractive. The same is true of the protagonist. You get to know him slowly, by way of his actions and points of view, akin to how one gets to know a person in real life. It is not all at once, and not through anything dramatic, but through little things. It makes both the story and the protagonist seem real, true. And that's a feat. It is this quality that sets this book apart from other books that provide a temporary escape that ends once the book is finished.

Moreover, the authentic feeling of this book creeps up on you as you slowly realize the depths of the protagonist and his story. And the funny thing is this books deals with the circus, which had no reality value to me. I can't say I had a good view of the circus before reading this book. I certainly did not find it attractive, being preoccupied with potential animal abuse. But the heart of the book is the search of the protagonist of identity and meaning and his place is this circus of a world. And the writer manages to make both the protagonist's journey and the circus attractive and realistic at once. Not a dream or a hero and a Hollywood fantasy, but a sincerity that draws you in.

Trust me, this is a wonderful book, written by an intelligent and talented writer. What is more, this writer owns one of the most gorgeous bums around!

Literature & Fiction Books