A review by riedlmatt
The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert
4.0
Let me be clear. I am a hopeless romantic. And if you’re like me, Timothy Schaffert’s “The Swan Gondola” is perfect for you, too.
The story, set largely at and around the events of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, is a delight. Schaffert’s plot revolves around Ferret Skerritt, a ventriloquist on the midway of the fair. He falls in love with a traveling actress named Cecily, and the two spend their summer together against the fair’s gleaming backdrop. When William Wakefield, the well-to-do Omaha businessman spearheading the fair, also takes an interest in Cecily, Ferret is left trying to pick up the pieces of his summer.
Ferret’s story is a believable, touching and occasionally maddening tale of love, loss, and life afterward.
Just like the fair, Ferret’s life is heartbreakingly ephemeral. His story won’t have you openly weeping, though don’t be surprised if you do shed a tear or two at his misfortune.
It’s an intriguing plotline befitting of his fancifully-imagined setting.
Schaffert conjures up a vaudeville world of magic, love and wonder – a world that, once entrenched in it, is incredibly hard to put down.
His cast of characters is delightfully refreshing, from the carnies Ferret hangs out with, to Wakefield. In the novel, Wakefield plays a Gatsby-esque character, the ultra-rich man who has come into his wealth somewhat dubiously. He’s that odd antagonist that you find yourself hating in one chapter and feeling pity for by the next.
His characters come across so real that I found myself wishing, almost to the point of believing, Ferret Skerritt was real, if for no other reason than to prove that magic was at one time real.
As a whole, the novel is an exercise in the fragility of love and life in general, and it’s not one to be missed.
I’d hesitate to call this steampunk literature, but it certainly has a few trappings of the genre – wire-strung aerial waltzes, tornado-generating machines, and women who wear red-tinted glasses to “calm their ovaries,” according to their iridologists’ prescription.
At 464 pages, the book seems a tad overlong, especially when reading the earlier sections, which I found struggled a bit with pacing issues. Personally, I was not hooked on it until about 125 pages in, which is a long way to read for someone only mildly curious in its plot. However, the plot does pick up significantly about halfway through.
It’s a rewarding book to finish, though its denouement came on rather quickly – too quickly for my tastes. I found myself flipping through the last few pages of the novel, trying to ferret out even a paragraph more of conclusion before the author’s notes. It leaves quite a bit to the reader’s imagination, as some major plot points seem only halfway resolved.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel, though make sure to dedicate enough time to reading the first hundred pages or so in one sitting. After that, you’ll be hooked, and you will not come away disappointed.
The story, set largely at and around the events of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, is a delight. Schaffert’s plot revolves around Ferret Skerritt, a ventriloquist on the midway of the fair. He falls in love with a traveling actress named Cecily, and the two spend their summer together against the fair’s gleaming backdrop. When William Wakefield, the well-to-do Omaha businessman spearheading the fair, also takes an interest in Cecily, Ferret is left trying to pick up the pieces of his summer.
Ferret’s story is a believable, touching and occasionally maddening tale of love, loss, and life afterward.
Just like the fair, Ferret’s life is heartbreakingly ephemeral. His story won’t have you openly weeping, though don’t be surprised if you do shed a tear or two at his misfortune.
It’s an intriguing plotline befitting of his fancifully-imagined setting.
Schaffert conjures up a vaudeville world of magic, love and wonder – a world that, once entrenched in it, is incredibly hard to put down.
His cast of characters is delightfully refreshing, from the carnies Ferret hangs out with, to Wakefield. In the novel, Wakefield plays a Gatsby-esque character, the ultra-rich man who has come into his wealth somewhat dubiously. He’s that odd antagonist that you find yourself hating in one chapter and feeling pity for by the next.
His characters come across so real that I found myself wishing, almost to the point of believing, Ferret Skerritt was real, if for no other reason than to prove that magic was at one time real.
As a whole, the novel is an exercise in the fragility of love and life in general, and it’s not one to be missed.
I’d hesitate to call this steampunk literature, but it certainly has a few trappings of the genre – wire-strung aerial waltzes, tornado-generating machines, and women who wear red-tinted glasses to “calm their ovaries,” according to their iridologists’ prescription.
At 464 pages, the book seems a tad overlong, especially when reading the earlier sections, which I found struggled a bit with pacing issues. Personally, I was not hooked on it until about 125 pages in, which is a long way to read for someone only mildly curious in its plot. However, the plot does pick up significantly about halfway through.
It’s a rewarding book to finish, though its denouement came on rather quickly – too quickly for my tastes. I found myself flipping through the last few pages of the novel, trying to ferret out even a paragraph more of conclusion before the author’s notes. It leaves quite a bit to the reader’s imagination, as some major plot points seem only halfway resolved.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel, though make sure to dedicate enough time to reading the first hundred pages or so in one sitting. After that, you’ll be hooked, and you will not come away disappointed.