Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham

Nightmare Alley

William Lindsay Gresham

296 pages • first pub 1946 (editions)

fiction crime mystery dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Description

Nightmare Alley begins with an extraordinary description of a carnival-show geek—alcoholic and abject and the object of the voyeuristic crowd’s gleeful disgust and derision—going about his work at a county fair. Young Stan Carlisle is working as a...

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Community Reviews Summary of 450 reviews

Moods

dark 100%
mysterious 58%
tense 46%
sad 35%
challenging 27%
reflective 23%
emotional 15%
adventurous 12%
funny 2%
informative 2%

Pace

medium 54%
slow 38%
fast 6%

Plot- or character-driven?

Character: 56% | A mix: 39% | N/A: 2% | Plot: 2%

Strong character development?

Yes: 57% | It's complicated: 28% | No: 14%

Loveable characters?

No: 76% | It's complicated: 20% | Yes: 3%

Diverse cast of characters?

Yes: 42% | No: 39% | It's complicated: 15% | N/A: 2%

Flaws of characters a main focus?

Yes: 98% | It's complicated: 1%

Average rating

3.66

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Content Warnings

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