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clearingthebookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
I grew up visiting the P.T. Barnum museum in Bridgeport, CT multiple times a year, so I have always felt a connection to the circus. The dad got me the stuffed monkey pictured here from the museum when I was 7, and I’ve kept him ever since. My parents would often take me to the circus when it was in town, and I collected the red clown noses. When the Ringling Brothers circus closed down a few years ago I took my parents to a performance on the last weekend. I definitely believe that the circus instilled a love of entertainment in me that has led to a life in the theatre. All that to say, I was primed to love this book.
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This novel is a collection of short stories that center on the people around Barnum, not necessarily the man himself. However, what I discovered while reading is that this is more or less glorified historical fiction. The author took the names and dates of real people and then fabricated the interactions. For a man that had his own series of faults, and the lack of recognition that those around him get, this felt like a real disservice. It would have been great to read what the circumstances of those he employed was really like. It was also clear from the first chapter that the author lacked some basic knowledge about the Barnum family, getting the ages of his children wrong repeatedly, and made me wonder just how little research she did into the rest of her stories. As an entry way into his life for young readers, this book does a decent job on focusing on those around the man, but it should be clearly categorized as fiction.
.
This novel is a collection of short stories that center on the people around Barnum, not necessarily the man himself. However, what I discovered while reading is that this is more or less glorified historical fiction. The author took the names and dates of real people and then fabricated the interactions. For a man that had his own series of faults, and the lack of recognition that those around him get, this felt like a real disservice. It would have been great to read what the circumstances of those he employed was really like. It was also clear from the first chapter that the author lacked some basic knowledge about the Barnum family, getting the ages of his children wrong repeatedly, and made me wonder just how little research she did into the rest of her stories. As an entry way into his life for young readers, this book does a decent job on focusing on those around the man, but it should be clearly categorized as fiction.
harpea23's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I went into it with no expectations except that I would be immersed in the world of Barnum and I was. Barnum himself was absent most of the time but this book flitted in and out of the lives of those who orbited him and I understood the title. For Barnum they were all his creatures. He was like a child who played with them when it suited him. Some of the structure was confusing and I wished the stories painted a clearer picture but I understand what Noyes was trying to do. I think the unfinished edges made you realize how much Barnum himself missed in the lives of these people he supposedly loved.
booksandbosox's review against another edition
2.0
A series of short stories from the people in P.T. Barnum's life. I just didn't find it very compelling.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
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