Clowns for Beginners

Writers & Readers Documentary Comic Book #54

by Joe Lee

Explores the history of clowns and clowning from early sacred origins to the Marx Brothers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology

180 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And in true clown fashion (and let us not forget the fashionable red nose of the clown is directly attributed to the glowing schnoz of the devil), you didn’t kiss the devil’s ring in allegiance, oh no, you puckered up to his other end and planted one on his butt” (31).

[Eliot Fiend · Rating 4 out of 5]

a pleasurably intro to clown/fool history. my major critique is that the history is primarily a(nother) dominant class men's history of the underdog. is notably lacking any female clowns and the author gives a nod at the end to the importance of queer/gay clowns but does not mention any names.

but super entertaining, and lots of good info! tracking from shaman to trickster to the circus to the marx brothers....a good beginning volume.

[Laura Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of Horrible Histories books that I read while growing up, and you can't fault that, but it actually wasn't *that much* about clowns, which was disappointing. Half the book at least is about trickster gods and mythology that inspire the sort of archetype behind clowns, and the real historical/cultural instances of jesters/clowns were often reduced to only a couple of sentences, and I would have loved to hear more about them.

[Jackie Perri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting but mostly a slog to read.
It got 2 stars and not 1 because the art style was captivating.
The author's voice is insufferable and distracting from the information I wanted to learn and made me pick the book up in the first place. I wanted something more purely informational, the attempted jokes weren't funny and added nothing to my reading experience.

[David Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the For Beginners series of books makes for great public transportation reading, though the quality varies. The best one I’ve seen so far is The History of Clowns. This one hops from the trickster god motif to fools, jesters, comedians, yippies and of course clowns. Trace back Pee Wee Herman’s family tree and find Diogines the Cynic.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Does not live up to its potential.