A Hindi film star, an American missionary, a pair of twins separated at birth, a diminutive chauffeur, and a serial killer collide in a riotous novel by the author of The World According to Garp“His most entertaining novel since Garp.”—The New York Times Book Review“A Son of the Circus is comic genius . . . get ready for [John] Irving’s most raucous novel to date.”—The Boston Globe“Dr. Farrokh … most raucous novel to date.”—The Boston Globe
“Dr. Farrokh Daruwalla, reared in Bombay by maverick foes of tradition, educated in Vienna, married to an Austrian and long a resident of Toronto, is a 59-year-old without a country, culture, or religion to call his own. . . . The novel may not be ‘about’ India, but Irving’s imagined India, which Daruwalla visits periodically, is a remarkable achievement—a pandemonium of servants and clubmen, dwarf clowns and transvestite whores, missionaries and movie stars. This is a land of energetic colliding egos, of modern media clashing with ancient cultures, of broken sexual boundaries.”—New York Newsday
“His most daring and most vibrant novel . . . The story of circus-as-India is told with gusto and delightful irreverence.”—Bharati Mukherjee, The Washington Post Book World
“Ringmaster Irving introduces act after act, until three (or more) rings are awhirl at a lunatic pace. . . . [He] spills characters from his imagination as agilely as improbable numbers of clowns pile out of a tiny car. . . . His Bombay and his Indian characters are vibrant and convincing.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Irresistible . . . powerful . . . Irving’s gift for dialogue shines.”—Chicago Tribune
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from John Irving’s In One Person.
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John Irving can tell a story just about as well as anyone. This was the first of his books I’ve read, but won’t be the last.
John Irving says in an introduction to the novel that A Son of the Circus isn’t about the circus. He’s right of course, but like the best circus performances, Irving’s plot is fearless and messy and bawdy and smelly and flawlessly executed. His plot has three rings. His characters have multiple roles, lead double lives, inhabit more than one …
One of his best books!
Good read
I am a big John Irving fan, but this was not one of his best
Read this if you have a lot of fortitude. The book is incredibly long winded and not altogether interesting.
Fascinating story line and told only in the way Irving can.
My third or fourth John Irving novel. I wasn’t immediately hooked until a new character entered the scene about 70 pages in but that made all the difference. Irving’s writing is delicious and takes me to places with characters that are always fully developed. Wonderful read.
It is a wonderful John Irving Book!
I love books and books about elephants are fascinating because elephants are extremely smart and show love, care about their children and show affection toward those who care for them.
A great read
This is the first John Irving novel that I just couldn’t finish. I tried it on Audible and found myself listening to am radio just to avoid listening to it. I finally said “enough” and decided to never finish it.
John Irving is back to displaying the talent of his earlier novels. An Indian neurosurgeon writes movie scripts which turn his adopted son into an insanely famous screen detective. They help catch a serial killer.
I hadn’t read a John Irving book in a long time. I didn’t enjoy “A Son of the Circus” as much as I remember loving his early books, but I also couldn’t put it away. It has an improbable plot and odd characters, set in India. I had to keep reading to see what more he could do with the characters.
one of the best!!!!
A typical John Irving book with quirky characters and in-depth character development. One can learn a great deal about life and culture in India from this novel. Makes me want to try a Thumbs Up cola. A good read.
I loved this book and the writing style. We need more authors that appreciate the art of storytelling.
John Irving is a masterful storyteller!
John Irving is a master of the art. His books are all wonderful, this may be the best.
A son of the circus is one of my favourite books. I RE-read it every few years and it’s just as good as the first time I read it