Charles G. Finney (2) (1905–1984)

A completely different book from the author of The Circus of Dr Lao. There's no fantasy, and just a hint of sex, albeit non-human. A low-key series of connected comical stories, about two brothers, Willie and Tom, always getting into trouble with the animals they find "past the end of the pavement" and bring home. Very much in the mold of Peck's Bad Boy and numerous stories and cartoon strips about mischievous kids. Each chapter is one story, each story is one summer, and one thing that raises this a bit above the rest is the gradual growth in Willie and Tom from year to year. They begin collecting water beetles, then frogs, then they buy a duck. These first three episodes all involve sex -- the beetles form a mating clump, though the boys don't know what is happening. Then they watch the entire life cycle of frogs from mating to polliwogs to frogs. Their fascination with frog reproduction concerns their mother who tries to distract them by having them buy some chickens. But because everyday animals bore them they buy a duck instead, who turns out to be incredibly sexually aggressive, attacking the neighbor's chickens and even a rabbit. The focus on sex trails off but the depth of engagement of the boys with nature -- including death -- increases. Much of the humor comes from the portrayals of the various adults whose lives are disrupted in some way by animals brought back to town by Willie and Tom. Also noteworthy is a scene near the end, when the boys show their mother two snakes. Very briefly she too sees the beauty in what normally would have frightened or repulsed her. My only criticism is a closing plot development that is far too convenient and conventional, and out of keeping with what has gone before.

Warning: one chapter includes a very stereotyped Black garbage collector, as was sadly common for the times.

Recommended, taking into account the above caveat. This is not the creative explosion of Circus, but it is a charming book.… (mer)

Much better than I expected but several warnings. First, while it doesn't ever use the N word (at least in my edition), part of the cast of the circus are Africans who put on a peepshow performance that plays on the worst racist stereotypes presumed to be held by it small western Arizona town audience. Second, that same audience frequently uses the C word when referring to Dr. Lao, which is not unexpected for the time and place. Dr. Lao himself occasionally suddenly lapses into the most caricatured Chinese-English, but only when he doesn't want to answer some question about the circus. In literally the next breath he returns to his narration of the wonders of the circus in fluent, highly-polished English. Third, sex makes a frequent appearance, clear but not in pornographic detail. Dr. Lao at one point spends some time on the importance of sex and procreation, in order to introduce the sex-less Hedge Hound, a "dog" created by plants in a burst as the ultimate expression of life.

So what makes this short novel of worth, given these potential issues? An incredible imaginative drive that begins with a newspaper ad promising one wonder after another to be seen, climaxing in one that surely must be false, and yet.... The drive falters a bit when the circus parade passes through town, because this is when most of the townspeople are introduced, and there are quite a few. But once we enter the circus, the unexpected never stops. It begins with Agnus Birdsong, high-school English teacher (as she is repeatedly described) visiting the aged dirty satyr in his tent -- wine lees in his beard, manure on his hooves -- and there is no false "oh my goodness" on her part. Dr. Lao's narration not only tells the history of the circus crew - mostly Greek myths who eventually had to leave civilized Europe for the Far East -- but eventually reveals some of Dr. Lao's motivations and dreams. How much control he has over the circus is often in doubt.

And when the story ends, the book does not. There is another 20 pages, call "The Catalogue", listing every character, animal, and god that appeared, however briefly, some with just a pjhrase, e.g., "a good party man", and some with a paragraph or two, a mix of hilarious and poignant.

If the issues listed at the front are now a show-stopper, then I highly recommend this, especially for fans of modern fantasists such as Kelly Link. This is one of the few books I've read where some idea or turn of phrase surprised every few pages from beginning to end.… (mer)