A review by serendipitysbooks
Vladivostok Circus by Elisa Shua Dusapin

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

Vladivostok Circus was a short easy read which follows Nathalie, a costume designer, who had just been hired to design costumes for a trio of circus artists who will be performing a Russian Bar act in upcoming festival. It had a fairly melancholic atmosphere, and I felt quite detached, like an outside observer looking in. While I enjoyed discovering what we did about each character's backstory and witnessing the interactions between them, what I liked most about this book was learning about the Russian Bar. Think trampoline skills performed by a "flyer" on an apparatus not much wider than a beam but springy since its made from poles used by pole vaulters and carried, often on the shoulders of the two "bases". Jaw dropping stuff