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A review by aprilcote
The Ringmaster's Daughter by Carly Schabowski
4.0
The Ringmaster’s Daughter….Don’t Judge This One by It’s Cover
Carly Schabowski
I received this book with gratitude from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The cover is what caught me- I’m not one to normally judge based on what I see, but in this case, I did just that, and was very surprised.
This book is not so much about a circus, but about a man named Michel who was orphaned at a young age and finds himself fleeing Paris during WWII. He is encouraged by his only “family,” a dear friend and neighbor, Bertrand, to run from the war and find safety. He finds himself aboard a train- his ticket, some whispers and money exchanged in the shadows. It doesn’t take long for Michel to realize that he is not on just any train, but Le Cirque Neumann, a traveling circus led by Ringmaster Werner. Michel is fascinated by the characters he meets- the bearded lady, the giant, a lion, a fortune teller a monkey and many more. But the one person he wants to get to know, Frieda, the astoundingly beautiful trapeze artist, is untouchable and under the control of the fierce and unforgiving Ringmaster.
Michel is hired after some trials to train the circus horses. The train the the performers travel from town to town where they pitch tents, put on a show, which is getting increasingly harder as the war goes on, then back to the train again for the next town. After while, the circus sort of fades into the background of the story and the tale of WWII and the need to hide from the Nazis takes hold.
This is where the cover comes in- this story may be premised on a travelling circus, but it’s not really about the circus or the performers so much as it is a sad tale of love and loss during an unthinkable time in our history. Families torn apart, Jewish people in hiding and running, and those that helped them along the way. This is not the uplifting and fun trapeze/clowns/elephant style read that you would think without reading the jacket copy (which I tend not to do purposefully).
I appreciated that this book was based on the true story of a Ringmaster in the 1940s who sought to protect Jewish people from the Nazis by hiding them in plain sight as his circus performers. For me, the story was well written and enjoyable. But do not be mistaken- this is not a lighthearted fun book about the glamour of the circus, but more about the dark underbelly of WWII and the plight of the people and the lengths they would go to to seek safety in a time of fear.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII Historical Fiction with a bit of a romantic underpinning.
Carly Schabowski
I received this book with gratitude from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The cover is what caught me- I’m not one to normally judge based on what I see, but in this case, I did just that, and was very surprised.
This book is not so much about a circus, but about a man named Michel who was orphaned at a young age and finds himself fleeing Paris during WWII. He is encouraged by his only “family,” a dear friend and neighbor, Bertrand, to run from the war and find safety. He finds himself aboard a train- his ticket, some whispers and money exchanged in the shadows. It doesn’t take long for Michel to realize that he is not on just any train, but Le Cirque Neumann, a traveling circus led by Ringmaster Werner. Michel is fascinated by the characters he meets- the bearded lady, the giant, a lion, a fortune teller a monkey and many more. But the one person he wants to get to know, Frieda, the astoundingly beautiful trapeze artist, is untouchable and under the control of the fierce and unforgiving Ringmaster.
Michel is hired after some trials to train the circus horses. The train the the performers travel from town to town where they pitch tents, put on a show, which is getting increasingly harder as the war goes on, then back to the train again for the next town. After while, the circus sort of fades into the background of the story and the tale of WWII and the need to hide from the Nazis takes hold.
This is where the cover comes in- this story may be premised on a travelling circus, but it’s not really about the circus or the performers so much as it is a sad tale of love and loss during an unthinkable time in our history. Families torn apart, Jewish people in hiding and running, and those that helped them along the way. This is not the uplifting and fun trapeze/clowns/elephant style read that you would think without reading the jacket copy (which I tend not to do purposefully).
I appreciated that this book was based on the true story of a Ringmaster in the 1940s who sought to protect Jewish people from the Nazis by hiding them in plain sight as his circus performers. For me, the story was well written and enjoyable. But do not be mistaken- this is not a lighthearted fun book about the glamour of the circus, but more about the dark underbelly of WWII and the plight of the people and the lengths they would go to to seek safety in a time of fear.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII Historical Fiction with a bit of a romantic underpinning.