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The Little Shadows
MARINA ENDICOTT PRESENTSTHE THREE GRACEFUL AVERY GIRLSTHE SISTER ACT TO TAKE VAUDEVILLE BY AURORA, CLOVER and BELLA As they set off on the road to fame and fortune, the Avery sisters join a cast of extraordinary and unforgettable characters charming charlatans, unpredictable eccentrics, and some who seem ordinary but have magical gifts. Taking us behind the curtain and into their lives, THE LITTLE SHADOWS reveals how the art of vaudeville in all its variety, madness, melodrama, hilarity and sorrow echoes the art of life itself.
544 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2011
22 people are currently reading
2125 people want to read
About the author
Marina Endicott
14 books140 followersMarina Endicott was born in Golden, BC, and grew up with three sisters and a brother, mostly in Nova Scotia and Toronto. She worked as an actor and director before going to England, where she began to write fiction. After London she went west to Saskatoon, where she was dramaturge at the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre for many years before going farther west to Mayerthorpe, Alberta; she now lives in Edmonton. Her first novel, Open Arms, was short-listed for the Amazon/Books In Canada First Novel award in 2002. Her second, Good to a Fault, was a finalist for the 2008 Giller Prize and won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, Canada/Caribbean region. The Little Shadows, her latest book, longlisted for the 2011 Giller Prize, was a finalist for this year’s Governor General’s Award and will be published in the UK and Australia in spring 2012. She is at work on a new novel, Hughtopia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
April 5, 2012
Oh. My. God. It actually took me 2 weeks to read this book. It was my own private hell. This is the story of 3 Canadian sisters' travels through early 1900's vaudeville. The author must have done extensive research on vaudeville acts pre WWI and she describes each and every one of them, ad nauseum. An editor would have been greatly appreciated and this 520+ page book should have been half the length. However once you strip away all the description of the acts the story of the 3 sisters has been told before, nothing very interesting or different here. Very boring.
February 23, 2012
What a wonderful story!
It began Canada, to a cold, snowy day in 1912.
Flora Avery took her three daughters – Aurora, Clover and Bella – to an audition. She had been a vaudeville star, before her marriage to a school-teacher, and now she wanted the same for her girls.
I wondered if she was a pushy, show business mother, but she wasn’t. She was a widow, struggling to cope, and doing the best she could for her girls.
Vaudeville was hugely popular in those days, when cinema was in its infancy and television was a long way in the future. But it was very, very competitive.
The girls – The Belle Aurores – sing and dance well, but so do many others. Fortunately though they have Flora’s contacts – and her tenacity – and a little luck to set them on the road.
The three girls will go through many ups and downs as they travel the Vaudeville circuit. And there will be tears and laughter, joy and pain as they all come of age.
Three sisters quite beautifully drawn. I saw so much that they had in common, I saw the ties that bound them together, but I also saw that the three were quite different.
Aurora is the oldest and she is bright, practical, and prepared to apply herself to do what she knows is best for her family.
Clover is a little younger, and she is quieter and more thoughtful than her sisters, but every bit as willing as Aurora to do whatever needs to be done once she has seen things through.
And Bella, the youngest, is vivacious and warm-hearted, but maybe just a little bit headstrong.
They were utterly real, their relationships and their interactions were exactly right, and I loved them all.
Life would sometimes take them in different directions, but the bond between them was unbreakable.
Watching them as the years passed was a little like watching a theatre show: indeed the book is divided into acts, and then those acts are divided into short scenes, sketches, vignettes.
And I saw every detail. Their lives on and off stage, all of the people around them, the theatres, the boarding houses. The picture of their world was so complete that I really did feel that I had stepped into another age.
That isn’t to say that I didn’t have to do a little work: there were times when things were left unsaid, events were left unreported; times when I could only see things from a distance.
I didn’t mind that. It helped to draw me in to the story, whereas if everything had been explained I probably would have just stood back and enjoyed the spectacle.
The story moved slowly at first, but as the three sisters grew from girls into independent young women, as they found new interests, as they formed new relationships, as they had to make difficult choices, it gathered momentum and it was quite irresistible.
Because this isn’t just a wonderfully vivid picture of the world of vaudeville; it’s also a moving account of the lives of four women, moving forward with their lives, supporting and understanding each other, and holding on to the ties that made them into a family.
It’s a book to read slowly, so that you can take in every character, every song, every sight, every little incident. There really is so much to appreciate, and it is all drawn so beautifully.
And now it is over, but I’d like to think that the Belle Aurores are still out there somewhere, still performing …
It began Canada, to a cold, snowy day in 1912.
Flora Avery took her three daughters – Aurora, Clover and Bella – to an audition. She had been a vaudeville star, before her marriage to a school-teacher, and now she wanted the same for her girls.
I wondered if she was a pushy, show business mother, but she wasn’t. She was a widow, struggling to cope, and doing the best she could for her girls.
Vaudeville was hugely popular in those days, when cinema was in its infancy and television was a long way in the future. But it was very, very competitive.
The girls – The Belle Aurores – sing and dance well, but so do many others. Fortunately though they have Flora’s contacts – and her tenacity – and a little luck to set them on the road.
The three girls will go through many ups and downs as they travel the Vaudeville circuit. And there will be tears and laughter, joy and pain as they all come of age.
Three sisters quite beautifully drawn. I saw so much that they had in common, I saw the ties that bound them together, but I also saw that the three were quite different.
Aurora is the oldest and she is bright, practical, and prepared to apply herself to do what she knows is best for her family.
Clover is a little younger, and she is quieter and more thoughtful than her sisters, but every bit as willing as Aurora to do whatever needs to be done once she has seen things through.
And Bella, the youngest, is vivacious and warm-hearted, but maybe just a little bit headstrong.
They were utterly real, their relationships and their interactions were exactly right, and I loved them all.
Life would sometimes take them in different directions, but the bond between them was unbreakable.
Watching them as the years passed was a little like watching a theatre show: indeed the book is divided into acts, and then those acts are divided into short scenes, sketches, vignettes.
And I saw every detail. Their lives on and off stage, all of the people around them, the theatres, the boarding houses. The picture of their world was so complete that I really did feel that I had stepped into another age.
That isn’t to say that I didn’t have to do a little work: there were times when things were left unsaid, events were left unreported; times when I could only see things from a distance.
I didn’t mind that. It helped to draw me in to the story, whereas if everything had been explained I probably would have just stood back and enjoyed the spectacle.
The story moved slowly at first, but as the three sisters grew from girls into independent young women, as they found new interests, as they formed new relationships, as they had to make difficult choices, it gathered momentum and it was quite irresistible.
Because this isn’t just a wonderfully vivid picture of the world of vaudeville; it’s also a moving account of the lives of four women, moving forward with their lives, supporting and understanding each other, and holding on to the ties that made them into a family.
It’s a book to read slowly, so that you can take in every character, every song, every sight, every little incident. There really is so much to appreciate, and it is all drawn so beautifully.
And now it is over, but I’d like to think that the Belle Aurores are still out there somewhere, still performing …
January 29, 2012
The Little Shadows is a beautifully written coming-of-age tale of three sisters at the beginning of the twentieth century. At a time when moving pictures were in their infancy and television was the stuff of science fiction, vaudeville was one of the few forms of entertainment available and was hugely popular. So, when their father dies, Flora, the girls' mother decides to have them audition as a song-and-dance routine. They are not particularly talented but, thanks mainly to the eldest sister's beauty and Flora's connections, they soon find themselves on the vaudeville circuit in the western US and Canada.
Author Marina Endicott is obviously fond of her subject and has done her research. She describes in great detail many of the acts which were popular at the time. Although most of the characters are fictitious (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle does make a cameo appearance), many of these acts are based on real performers like Buster Keaton. Also, many of the songs the girls sing are ones which most of us would know like Danny Boy. Although very few of us (including myself) have ever experienced a real vaudeville show first-hand, being able to recognize and hum along with the tunes lends a sense of familiarity to the story.
The book is divided into acts as the girls progress from novices to seasoned veterans of the circuit and these acts are further divided into short vignettes or skits just as a vaudeville show would have been. There is even an encore and Ms Endicott has definitely saved the best for last.
The Little Shadows is historical fiction at its finest - three dimensional characters the reader can relate to, a vibrant picture of a bygone era, and an author with the ability to make it all come to life while remaining true to the time - so let's all give a warm round of applause to this heartwarming ode to vaudeville.
Author Marina Endicott is obviously fond of her subject and has done her research. She describes in great detail many of the acts which were popular at the time. Although most of the characters are fictitious (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle does make a cameo appearance), many of these acts are based on real performers like Buster Keaton. Also, many of the songs the girls sing are ones which most of us would know like Danny Boy. Although very few of us (including myself) have ever experienced a real vaudeville show first-hand, being able to recognize and hum along with the tunes lends a sense of familiarity to the story.
The book is divided into acts as the girls progress from novices to seasoned veterans of the circuit and these acts are further divided into short vignettes or skits just as a vaudeville show would have been. There is even an encore and Ms Endicott has definitely saved the best for last.
The Little Shadows is historical fiction at its finest - three dimensional characters the reader can relate to, a vibrant picture of a bygone era, and an author with the ability to make it all come to life while remaining true to the time - so let's all give a warm round of applause to this heartwarming ode to vaudeville.
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October 16, 2011Extremely mixed feelings about this one. It is probably quite good, but I just couldn't get into it. I ended up reading a multitude of books while reading this one, which is a sign that a book is not doing something for me.
That said, one of the reasons why I didn't like it was because I LOVED "Good to a fault." I find that sometimes when I love, love, love one book by an author, it makes it more difficult for me to love other books by them. (See Lynn Coady's "The Antagonist" due to "Mean Boy" love and Miriam Toews' "A complicated kindness", which makes everything else she does pale in comparison) This is unfortunate.
There are a lot of things that Endicott does right in this book. I loved the prairie locations, and the history in this book. I loved how the characters moved around and travelled and the history of vaudeville.
However, I had a really hard time telling two of the sisters apart and I couldn't keep them straight in my head. I read another review which said that the reviewer was distracted by the recounting of the vaudeville sketches- and I had the same problem. I think that this book would actually make a great movie.
I suspect that I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read it at a different time. I've been sick and my concentration is off, and I felt like I needed to concentrate to follow this.
So, yes, there's a lot of good stuff here, but I wasn't in the mood to get into it.
That said, one of the reasons why I didn't like it was because I LOVED "Good to a fault." I find that sometimes when I love, love, love one book by an author, it makes it more difficult for me to love other books by them. (See Lynn Coady's "The Antagonist" due to "Mean Boy" love and Miriam Toews' "A complicated kindness", which makes everything else she does pale in comparison) This is unfortunate.
There are a lot of things that Endicott does right in this book. I loved the prairie locations, and the history in this book. I loved how the characters moved around and travelled and the history of vaudeville.
However, I had a really hard time telling two of the sisters apart and I couldn't keep them straight in my head. I read another review which said that the reviewer was distracted by the recounting of the vaudeville sketches- and I had the same problem. I think that this book would actually make a great movie.
I suspect that I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read it at a different time. I've been sick and my concentration is off, and I felt like I needed to concentrate to follow this.
So, yes, there's a lot of good stuff here, but I wasn't in the mood to get into it.
October 17, 2015
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night
the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime
the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
~Crowfoot
The Little Shadows opens in 1912 as Flora – recent widow and former vaudeville star, down to her last twenty dollars – ushers her three teenage daughters to an audition at the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod. Having been trained in song and dance by their mother for their entire lives, the girls believe themselves ready to perform professionally, but it's not until they tread the boards and rub elbows with seasoned acts that they recognise their own amateurism. Fortunately, some leads and luck and a willingness to work for next to nothing sends the Belle Auroras off on the vaudeville circuit of western Canada and the US, where the girls hone their craft until they become headline acts themselves. Spanning the years from 1912 – 1917, we watch as the girls grow into women against a backdrop of the drums of war from Europe and the last glory days of vaudeville before the motion pictures take over. What a fascinating time for author Marina Endicott to explore with this lovely work of historical fiction.
As a regular patron of live theater, I was hooked by this book right from the start. More particularly, I once sat in the audience of the Empress Theatre and watched as actor friends of mine were married on that very stage, and when the fictional sisters later move into The Arlington in Edmonton, I could recall the artsy friends I had who also lived there (not in a coveted top floor suite, but with an original murphy bed nonetheless). As I can see that reviewers either love or hate The Little Shadows, I must acknowledge that part of my own enjoyment of the book is likely related to how much I could identify with the world portrayed within it; where some readers might think the book would benefit from fewer song lyrics and Abbot and Costello-type comedy routines written out in full, I loved how immersive they made the reading experience; like watching an evening of theater.
As for the sisters themselves, I got a real Little Women vibe from their relationship, and although the time periods of these two books don't quite overlap, they had similar writing styles (complete with parenthetical exclamations!), and as both books are about girls and their mothers trying to get by without the presence of a man, I don't think that the similarities are accidental (and appreciate the authenticity that the tone lends; I believed it could have been written in the time in which it's set.) But whereas the March sisters had their passions held in check by the Victorian morals of their age, Aurora, Clover and Bella Avery are fully human and sexual beings, constantly pulled between the backstage licentiousness of their profession and the need to appear as respectable artistes of “polite” vaudeville (they might vamp and wink to the audience, but this is never burlesque). The honesty of their emotions – and the awareness that girls on their own must do what they must to get by – is what marks The Little Shadows as a thoroughly modern book, full of self-awareness and compromise. As the three grow older and more distinct, I believed each one of them and the choices that they made.
What makes this a wonderfully Canadian book is the growing presence of WWI. Even though the male vaudeville performers are mostly Americans, when the setting switches to a farm in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan and a flat in London, England, the effects of the war in Europe on the Canadian consciousness is vividly portrayed, complete with telegrams notifying deaths and returning soldiers suffering the effects of gassing and shell shock. That Endicott chose to set her story in the overlap of vaudeville and Canada's first great international war effort makes for a fascinating and holistic view of our own history.
All men who had been in battle knew things she would never know. She was eavesdropping. But she, waiting without word for weeks, being with Victor when the visions plagued him, knew things that men did not seem to remember.
As I started with, I've known plenty of actors and other artistes and I could never imagine myself performing onstage – not just because I have no talent for it but because I have no intuition for it. What Endicott demonstrates so well in this book is that her performers aren't just trying to entertain their audiences, they're attempting to commune with them; to create an interactive conversation of subconscious call and response. When the Belle Auroras – or even the elocutionists and comedians – reach that level of interconnectedness with their spectators, amusement is elevated to art and we're all the better for it. As one artiste explains the importance of this effort:
Perfecting it. Making it – realer, or less real ... We are only pointing at the moon, but it is the moon.
With The Little Shadows, Endicott also achieves this level of transcendence; this elevation of amusement to art. Throw in some funny patter, a truly Canadian backdrop, and a believable coming of age story, and this book checks all my boxes.
July 27, 2017
I have been looking forward to this novel since it came out and I first read its blurb, and despite requesting several review copies, I had to wait until it was given to me as a birthday present back in June. What I found when I opened its pages was a marvellous novel. I am so interested in vaudeville, and this story is such a great one. I love the way in which the story is split up into sections pertaining to the theatre – ‘Ouverture’, ‘Act 1/Act 2’, ‘Intermission’, ‘Act 3/Act 4’ and ‘Finale’. Endicott’s descriptions are sublime, particularly those which relate to the theatre. Her words weave a vivid picture. I loved the relationship which she built between the Avery sisters, and their care of one another was very sweet. The many strands of story which come together and then separate again have been well realised, and make for a very rich and unforgettable plot. True to its content, The Little Shadows is a novel which sweeps you up and takes you on tour with it, and I for one cannot wait to read more of Endicott’s books.
November 7, 2011
First I would like to say kudos to Marina Endicott for receiving some very prestigious nominations being first long listed for the Giller and now in the running for the Governor General. These are very important awards and clearly many people have seen something praiseworthy in her characters and writing.
Unfortunately, I was supremely disappointed in this novel. The characters lacked depth and diversity; the sisters were uninspiring and their relationship with each other rather flat; the mother's back story and the death of their father and little brother were underdeveloped. The secondary characters were too flighty, Endicott's portrayal of them felt was lacking in scope and tangible experiences. Ultimately, I felt no emotional connection to any of the characters.
While I believe the book was thoroughly researched as was evident in the rather blunt historical references to songs, acts and theaters the book lacked the "a feel" of the decade. I wasn't completely immersed in another era, and not for a lack of accuracy, but I think a lack of character diversity and development. Each character seemed cut and dry, there was no building around them of friends, family, past, present, future, to give any sense of how people were living. I realize this seems absurd given what the entire book was supposed to be about, but this is just my opinion. Many of the theater managers blended into one another, I didn't care about them even as villains. Everyone had an air of overacting and flamboyancy that I deeply disliked because it seemed an easy way to write nothing substantial on their character.
Another thing I found hard to grasp was how their mother and father even ended up together. I don't need an author to hit me over the head or anything, but when your suggestions are so contradictory that a flash back or longer explanation would be suitable, please don't tread lightly around the subject. Their father's suicide doesn't make any sense and, frankly, I didn't even care about it especially after the 10th or so mention of it. We aren't really given any understanding of their lives before Vaudeville - school, friends, family, boyfriends? So really as an outsider looking in there's no emotional strings for me to grab hold of besides the fact that he was their father and every little girl loves their father. Endicott also mentions how their father loved the girls' singing, but he seems to have abhorred vaudeville which was their mother's passion. It seems strange to me that she would give up vaudeville, even if it was a difficult life, for that of a quiet farm wife. Love at first sight to me is a scape goat. There has to be more. It is also strange that she would take the girls into vaudeville immediately after her husbands death when it wouldn't have been something that he wanted for them. It seems an insulting really, given the way Endicott has written the relationship with their father.
The mother I found a weak character. She seemed kind of flaky and naive. Although she loved her daughters she wasn't ruthless in the way that the nature of vaudeville seemed to call for.
I could go on. Some of what I have to say I find hard to articulate though. I feel as though all the ground layer is there, but even being over 500 pages, nothing was said. The characters stumble through relationships that have no real build up. It just seems like a series of this happened, then this happened, then we went here. Endicott just seemed to be skimming the surface of a very deep pool.
Unfortunately, I was supremely disappointed in this novel. The characters lacked depth and diversity; the sisters were uninspiring and their relationship with each other rather flat; the mother's back story and the death of their father and little brother were underdeveloped. The secondary characters were too flighty, Endicott's portrayal of them felt was lacking in scope and tangible experiences. Ultimately, I felt no emotional connection to any of the characters.
While I believe the book was thoroughly researched as was evident in the rather blunt historical references to songs, acts and theaters the book lacked the "a feel" of the decade. I wasn't completely immersed in another era, and not for a lack of accuracy, but I think a lack of character diversity and development. Each character seemed cut and dry, there was no building around them of friends, family, past, present, future, to give any sense of how people were living. I realize this seems absurd given what the entire book was supposed to be about, but this is just my opinion. Many of the theater managers blended into one another, I didn't care about them even as villains. Everyone had an air of overacting and flamboyancy that I deeply disliked because it seemed an easy way to write nothing substantial on their character.
Another thing I found hard to grasp was how their mother and father even ended up together. I don't need an author to hit me over the head or anything, but when your suggestions are so contradictory that a flash back or longer explanation would be suitable, please don't tread lightly around the subject. Their father's suicide doesn't make any sense and, frankly, I didn't even care about it especially after the 10th or so mention of it. We aren't really given any understanding of their lives before Vaudeville - school, friends, family, boyfriends? So really as an outsider looking in there's no emotional strings for me to grab hold of besides the fact that he was their father and every little girl loves their father. Endicott also mentions how their father loved the girls' singing, but he seems to have abhorred vaudeville which was their mother's passion. It seems strange to me that she would give up vaudeville, even if it was a difficult life, for that of a quiet farm wife. Love at first sight to me is a scape goat. There has to be more. It is also strange that she would take the girls into vaudeville immediately after her husbands death when it wouldn't have been something that he wanted for them. It seems an insulting really, given the way Endicott has written the relationship with their father.
The mother I found a weak character. She seemed kind of flaky and naive. Although she loved her daughters she wasn't ruthless in the way that the nature of vaudeville seemed to call for.
I could go on. Some of what I have to say I find hard to articulate though. I feel as though all the ground layer is there, but even being over 500 pages, nothing was said. The characters stumble through relationships that have no real build up. It just seems like a series of this happened, then this happened, then we went here. Endicott just seemed to be skimming the surface of a very deep pool.
October 22, 2011
Let me begin by saying that my estimation of this book suffers from two biases. First is the fact that I read Good to a Fault earlier this year and loved its exploration of the complexity of modern life, its depth of characterization, and its choice of a messy and somewhat ambiguous ending. Second is that I am growing weary of historical fiction and annoyed by the fact that almost every major Canadian publisher has released a 'big name author' work of historical fiction this fall - Vanderhaeghe, Ondaatje, Hay - I'm sure there are more. What I'm not sure of is if there have been any 'big' Canadian novels that deal with contemporary characters and settings - nothing comes to mind. And in my attempt to read at least the six Booker shortlist titles, I was confronted by yet another historical novel, Carol Birch's Jarmusch's Menagerie.
Obviously these are my problems, not those of this novel itself.
And yet....
Reading other community reviews I too found this one difficult to get into. I spent the first hundred pages trying to keep the three sisters straight in my mind while being simultaneously plunged into the hectic world of vaudeville and encountering a cast of dozens of other characters as well. This situation improved as the novel progressed, but I'm not so sure other readers will have the same amount of patience and commitment to finishing a novel as I do.
This is a huge book both in terms of sheer page numbers and subject matter, although really it focuses on less than a decade in the lives of the three main characters. Should there have been three main characters, though, I wonder, especially since the middle and youngest sister get short shrift? The eldest sister gets far and away the greatest share of air time (even though the middle and youngest sister are, in many ways, far more interesting as potential characters). Should the villain be quite so cheerfully, pragmatically villainous and should he really be allowed to drive off into the sunset without our ever getting another peep at him - even though he leaves the eldest sister in a lifetime of limbo and is far too flamboyant to imagine doing anything but working as a vaudeville impresario? And yet, presumably, a man known to every newspaper reporter in North America, successfully vanishes with only one rumour of a sighting from the close-knit vaudeville circuit. Should some of the minor characters (such as the comedy duo East & Verrall) be ever-so-hauntingly revealed as sexual-preference-ambivalent in a scene of less than a paragraph? Would an upright Saskatchewan family really have opened its arms during World War I to not one but six down-on-their luck members-by-marriage, especially when one of them is a 'no better than she should be' sister-in-law, another her daughter who may or may or may not have been legally wed when she conceived the child she arrives with, and a third another of her daughters who's living and having children in a Fabian-style arrangement with her non-husband?
I found the ending implausible and the backstory unconvincing. By the time the three sisters enter the world of vaudeville the youngest is 13 and yet not one of the sisters has formed a single friendship at the schools they presumably attended (after all, their father was a school teacher). In order for this to really have worked as a novel, the alternative to vaudeville would have to have been set up as truly unbearably spirit-crushing, and it wasn't. Still, I found the book grew on me and the characters became clearer as time went on. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love it. I'm happy to see an author tackle a very different style of novel from her previous one. But I would have to rate this one a not-so-near miss.
Other takes on this novel: (positive) http://ow.ly/75JFO and http://ow.ly/75JJb and a particularly scathing review that rather more emphatically focuses on some of the points I've mentioned: http://ow.ly/75JMu
Obviously these are my problems, not those of this novel itself.
And yet....
Reading other community reviews I too found this one difficult to get into. I spent the first hundred pages trying to keep the three sisters straight in my mind while being simultaneously plunged into the hectic world of vaudeville and encountering a cast of dozens of other characters as well. This situation improved as the novel progressed, but I'm not so sure other readers will have the same amount of patience and commitment to finishing a novel as I do.
This is a huge book both in terms of sheer page numbers and subject matter, although really it focuses on less than a decade in the lives of the three main characters. Should there have been three main characters, though, I wonder, especially since the middle and youngest sister get short shrift? The eldest sister gets far and away the greatest share of air time (even though the middle and youngest sister are, in many ways, far more interesting as potential characters). Should the villain be quite so cheerfully, pragmatically villainous and should he really be allowed to drive off into the sunset without our ever getting another peep at him - even though he leaves the eldest sister in a lifetime of limbo and is far too flamboyant to imagine doing anything but working as a vaudeville impresario? And yet, presumably, a man known to every newspaper reporter in North America, successfully vanishes with only one rumour of a sighting from the close-knit vaudeville circuit. Should some of the minor characters (such as the comedy duo East & Verrall) be ever-so-hauntingly revealed as sexual-preference-ambivalent in a scene of less than a paragraph? Would an upright Saskatchewan family really have opened its arms during World War I to not one but six down-on-their luck members-by-marriage, especially when one of them is a 'no better than she should be' sister-in-law, another her daughter who may or may or may not have been legally wed when she conceived the child she arrives with, and a third another of her daughters who's living and having children in a Fabian-style arrangement with her non-husband?
I found the ending implausible and the backstory unconvincing. By the time the three sisters enter the world of vaudeville the youngest is 13 and yet not one of the sisters has formed a single friendship at the schools they presumably attended (after all, their father was a school teacher). In order for this to really have worked as a novel, the alternative to vaudeville would have to have been set up as truly unbearably spirit-crushing, and it wasn't. Still, I found the book grew on me and the characters became clearer as time went on. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love it. I'm happy to see an author tackle a very different style of novel from her previous one. But I would have to rate this one a not-so-near miss.
Other takes on this novel: (positive) http://ow.ly/75JFO and http://ow.ly/75JJb and a particularly scathing review that rather more emphatically focuses on some of the points I've mentioned: http://ow.ly/75JMu
November 16, 2014
A very enjoyable book. Captivated and enchanted as I was with Marina Endicott's earlier book, "Good to a Fault", I was excited to read The Little Shadows. Set in 1912-17 in western Canada and focused on the Vaudeville phenomenon of that time, This story revolves around the experiences and relationships of four women: Flora a new widow and former Vaudeville performer, and her three teenage daughters: Aurora, Clover and Bella. Switching seamlessly back and forth through the different Points of View of Flora and each of the sisters, Endicott deftly gives the reader a real sense of each personality and an appreciation of the differences between these women but also why the love and loyalty between them is so strong and unbending no matter what unfortunate circumstance threatens their well-being or their family unit. Life on the Vaudeville circuit was not something I had any understanding about but this story effectively portrayed what that must have been like: constantly negotiating and dealing to keep your act "on the bill", forever altering routines and adopting new ones to keep your act fresh and perennially on the road traveling from small town to small town as your act moved up (or down) in popularity and notoriety. Reading about this lifestyle and seeing how driven these performers had to be gives new meaning to the phrase "the show must go on" no matter what. As much as I enjoyed the insights into Vaudeville that this book gave me, what I enjoyed most was the love and loyalty felt and the relationship between these sisters. With their story spanning the beginning and a good chunk of World War I and what the devastation and horror for men fighting overseas meant to mothers, wives, sisters, girlfriends and small towns everywhere, the story of the war, overhanging the lives of these three sisters, emphasized the importance of the presence of love, loyalty and resiliency in families in order for them to survive and thrive no matter what. A moving and self-affirming story of sisterly love and acceptance and a recommended read.
December 19, 2014
The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott is a historical novel set in the years preceding and during World War I. It is the story of three sisters, teenagers as the story begins, who travel with their mother to support the family as a vaudeville act. The book is 527 pages long, but I was engaged in the story immediately. I loved the way the author switched back and forth between the sisters (especially) and the mother (occasionally). It took a while for the characters to grow on me, but I enjoyed all of the story telling and the pictures of life in vaudeville.
Through the first half of the book, we follow the sisters in their travails in vaudeville. They all love the life and entertaining people, and I liked that it wasn't a chore for them. If they were tied down in one place for too long, they got bored. In the money or not, they wanted to be entertaining in vaudeville more than anything else.
At around the midpoint of the book, the sisters are all maturing and various aspects of life intrude upon their plans and goals. I don't like to say more than that, but at this point, I was more involved with the characters and pulling for them with their various problems or triumphs in life. This book covers the years from 1912-1917 and thus World War I figures a great deal. That was also a plus for me. I like to learn about wars in a fictional setting.
Marina Endicott has done extensive research on vaudeville, as she describes in her acknowledgements and at her website. This book shows the poverty and uncertainty in the vaudeville life for most performers, and how their fortunes may rise or fall based on luck just as easily as talent.
Through the first half of the book, we follow the sisters in their travails in vaudeville. They all love the life and entertaining people, and I liked that it wasn't a chore for them. If they were tied down in one place for too long, they got bored. In the money or not, they wanted to be entertaining in vaudeville more than anything else.
At around the midpoint of the book, the sisters are all maturing and various aspects of life intrude upon their plans and goals. I don't like to say more than that, but at this point, I was more involved with the characters and pulling for them with their various problems or triumphs in life. This book covers the years from 1912-1917 and thus World War I figures a great deal. That was also a plus for me. I like to learn about wars in a fictional setting.
Marina Endicott has done extensive research on vaudeville, as she describes in her acknowledgements and at her website. This book shows the poverty and uncertainty in the vaudeville life for most performers, and how their fortunes may rise or fall based on luck just as easily as talent.
August 6, 2012
Damn that is one good book.
The ending had me weeping. It was perfect.
The story of three sisters, their mother and the people of their lives. vaudeville.
I love how smoothly she moves from girl to girl. I watch it, these last few days with Elephant Shoes (a novella I’m working on) in mind.
I’m not sure I understand all the little titles for the scenes/chapters or the structure as a whole - though I’m betting it is intensely “built” along those lines. I might have to study it to really appreciate those bones underpinning it all.
I was just swept away.
Swept away so much that I sent her an email about it.
KUDOS, Marina.
The ending had me weeping. It was perfect.
The story of three sisters, their mother and the people of their lives. vaudeville.
I love how smoothly she moves from girl to girl. I watch it, these last few days with Elephant Shoes (a novella I’m working on) in mind.
I’m not sure I understand all the little titles for the scenes/chapters or the structure as a whole - though I’m betting it is intensely “built” along those lines. I might have to study it to really appreciate those bones underpinning it all.
I was just swept away.
Swept away so much that I sent her an email about it.
KUDOS, Marina.
October 6, 2018
Loved this book. It kept me going through a very hectic and stressful summer. I really liked most of the characters n this book, and I found it very realistic.
April 12, 2021
DNF at page 250.
A very interesting premise about three sisters trying to make their way in the early 1900’s vaudeville scene.
Unfortunately, it just drags on and on and couldn’t keep me engaged.
A very interesting premise about three sisters trying to make their way in the early 1900’s vaudeville scene.
Unfortunately, it just drags on and on and couldn’t keep me engaged.
July 16, 2020
This novel takes readers back to the years 1912 to 1917 and the stages of vaudeville when performers toured the country before and during World War I. The story is set for the most part in the Canadian Prairie Provinces where Flora Avery and her daughters Aurora, Clover and Bella are determined to make a living following the death of their father. Flora had been a successful vaudeville performer before her marriage to Arthur a schoolmaster, but she has been left alone with little to support herself and her three children. Forced to earn a living, she has been training her daughters to perform in a sentimental singing act, hoping to go back to the life she knew in former days. Although the girls have little talent, they are all charming and good looking, filled with the innocent look of young women on the brink of womanhood. Flora knows that a tug at the heartstrings is part of the pleasure audiences expect in a vaudeville act and she is counting on it to help get the girls ahead. Neither she nor the girls are interested in farming, so it is either a gig in vaudeville or a life working as domestic servants.
The story unfolds slowly. Readers must be patient as the pace is slow but steady during the first one hundred pages. This book is a huge handful at over five hundred pages and Endicott takes her time setting up the girls’ story before picking up the pace. I found those first pages difficult to hold my attention before I became more fully invested in what happens to the characters. Once it reached that critical point, it moved along nicely, but it wasn’t a story I found easy to get into.
The girls and their mother have been living on the edge of poverty as they travel from one audition to the next, trying to earn a spot on a playbill. When they are finally hired by impresario Gentry Fox, it is more from luck than talent. He pays them little but helps improve their act and gets them before the public. The girls, billed as the Belle Auroras, slowly learn how to delight the crowds as they tour from Fort Macleod down to Montana, making just enough for their board and costume expenses but never enough to eat properly and are often hungry. They meet Sybil Sutley and Julius Foster Koningsburg, friends of Flora’s and longtime performers who worked with her in the past and prove to be an important connection in the future. Sybil and Flora carry on a rambling catalogue of every gig they ever played and it at least provides Flora with some happy diversion.
Vaudeville is a dangerous place for young women and although Flora keeps a sharp eye on the length of her daughters’ costumes and whether they reveal too much skin, she is too unhinged by her recent loss to keep an eye on what happens to the girls when they are off stage. Her children are growing up in an adult world and she knows from past experience how full of pitfalls it can be, having set out alone from her Aunt’s home when she was only fourteen.
Aurora is sixteen, but for stage purposes is billed as eighteen, the prettiest, the best singer and the most ambitious of the three. Clover is just a year younger and the more thoughtful and clever. Bella who is thirteen but billed as being sixteen, is considered the baby of the family. She hates being the youngest and is impulsive, head strong and eager to grow up as fast as she can.
It is not long before the girls get into trouble: Bella is physically assaulted when she naively wonders off with one of the Tressler brothers who tours as part of a comedy duo; Aurora comes under the spell of Maurice Kavanagh a handsome elocutionist who charms her, uses her and quickly drops her and Clover falls for Victor Saborsky the young man she considers a true artist, a boy with manners who comes from an unconventional family.
Vaudeville is an artificial world filled with doers, dreamers, charlatans and talented performers. It is the way most get their start. In this competitive environment success often depends on attaching yourself to an important player. Everyone competes to make those connections which can help them keep their job and potentially seal their next contract. In this sketchy environment, domestic violence is “an open secret” a common but accepted part of vaudeville life, where women are often abused, disadvantaged and paid less than their male counterparts. Everyone does what they must do to get ahead, creating a toxic atmosphere of false emotions, cunning acting and easy seduction. It is a world of falsehoods: false eyelashes, magic tricks, cunning illusions and hucksters. Women must contend with the advances of powerful men who can get them on or off the playbill, extend or shorten their performance time or place them in an advantageous spot in the program. A nighttime refusal can mean they are out the door the next morning. The lowest rung on the ladder is the opening act when the audience is still talking and settling in and the closer is the most coveted spot. They jockey to avoid the first spot and land in the finale.
Alcohol is accepted as a necessary part of this life, the oil that turns the wheels of life on the road where contracts can be abruptly terminated, playbills altered to change the spotlight on particular acts and a quick boot is an option when revenues don’t meet expected targets or an act proves disappointing for the audience. Performers always deal with the threat of being reduced to playing burlesque if things go badly. It is a definite step downhill, but from time to time when the wolf is at the door, they are forced to take that route, knowing it lowered their value for other stage work.
The girls prove able to adapt quickly to this environment. They have the discipline to work hard, learn new routines, cover their mistakes both on and off stage and keep a tight hand on their money.
When the girls meet well known impresario Mr. Fitzjohn Mayhew on the circuit, their lives change. He is a showy man who likes to throw his authority and his money around, proud in his fine clothes and his ownership of a Pierce-Arrow Touring Car. Fitz is enchanted by Aurora’s beauty and begins courting the entire family with wonderful meals, accommodations in good hotels, wine and champagne. Aurora loves the attention Mayhew gives her and has never felt so cared for and relaxed. He convinces her that she, her sisters and her mother need protection, booking and management and offers his services, what he refers to as a practical arrangement. Although he is thirty years her senior, almost the same age as her mother, he proposes marriage. Aurora sees what this kind of connection could do for her family. There would be no more worry about pennies and pawnshops, no more hungry nights after two meals a day of bread and milk. They could buy the costumes they need, stop stuffing cardboard in their boots to reinforce the soles and buy new dancing shoes. Seeing it as a way to a new kind of life, she quickly accepts.
Aurora’s happiness is short lived as Mayhew soon shows his true colors. He has a volatile temper and acts unpredictably, is reckless, unscrupulous and dishonest. It is not long before he is in trouble with his backers, owes money and flees his creditors. Before he abandons Aurora he offers to take her with him but her mother and sisters are not included in the proposal. For Aurora there is no choice, she stays behind with her family and Fitz’s debts. They are now in a precarious with their careers. They had been headliners only because of Mayhew’s favour, but are now in the difficult position of finding out where they stand in the natural order of things without that favoritism.
Endicott describes the atmosphere of vaudeville, taking readers behind the stage and into the crowded, dank, dusty, over crowded dressing rooms. Readers learn about acts from those times, all based on historical facts or a combination of them from Endicott’s historical research. There are singers, dancers, jugglers, comedians, magicians and acrobats, all in search of their big break and following their dreams of big money. Endicott creates a richly conceived cast of supporting characters that stay close to the girls, including East and Verrall a Laurel and Hardy-like comedy team and Nando Dent a member of the Knockabout Ninepins, a hilarious physical comedy act.
To immerse her readers in the vaudeville life, Endicott narrates entire evenings of entertainment as the actors, singers and comedians perform in real time. Scripts are quoted word for word and acts described as each movement takes place. She recounts in detail dozens of eccentric routines which at times it gets tedious and readers may be tempted as I was, to scan these sections, as sometimes this works and other times it doesn’t. These acts were meant to be viewed by a live audience and not every act translates easily to the written page, especially the visual ones.
The story is played out against the backdrop of the war when audiences are badly in need of some happy diversion. Initially the battles overseas serve as a backdrop as Europe is seen as a country far away from everyday life, but as months pass and news of the conflict gradually fills the newspapers, Victor decides to enlist and the war becomes a larger part of Clover’s reality.
The Avery sisters and their mother Flora are vividly portrayed although the author’s focus remains on the physical aspects rather than on their thoughts or feelings. Endicott describes the girls putting on their make-up, working on their costumes and learning to sing from their diaphragms, but she rarely describes their inner thoughts so readers seldom know what they think or feel. Flora is portrayed as a woman barely holding it together through these tough times, but determined to help her girls succeed, selling some of her things at the local pawn shop, taking on jobs as a waitress when things get tight and leaning on former friends and connections to help the girls get ahead. She spends hours repairing old costumes or sewing new ones, yet she also turns a blind eye to Auroras contrived marriage and makes no effort to make sure the girls get some schooling.
Where Endicott excels is in describing the close connection between each of the sisters and their relationship with their mother. Through her narrative, Endicott reveals every nuance in these complex caring relationships, underscored with kindness and fierce loyalty.
Of the three sisters, Clover is the one who changes the most during the story, emerging from being the almost forgotten middle sister to becoming an accomplished actress. Her ability to improvise gets them out of a difficult spot when Aurora’s sudden illness in the middle of their act puts Clover front and center in the spotlight, alone on stage. She quickly pulls a monologue out of her head that captivates the audience and earns the respect of the other performers. She later emerges as a courageous young woman who raises her daughter while her husband fights in the trenches at the front. And when he returns home a broken and damaged man, she prepares to return to performing knowing her husband’s recovery will be difficult and long, with no guarantee for a good result. She will do what she has done in the past -- whatever it takes.
Even as two of the sisters leave the stage, Aurora to care for her ailing mother, Clover to raise her baby and care for her husband, Bella moves on to a successful solo career, delighted to no longer be seen as the youngest sister. She has a natural talent for the stage and is the one who supports the others through her successful career. Aurora, now a mother herself lives in comfortable circumstances but finds the life stifling. She misses work and the company of her sisters.
As each of their lives moves in different directions the girls maintain their connection which helps them reunite and head back to performing at the close of the novel. The have learned how much they loved their life together in vaudeville despite it difficulties, the back stage shenanigans and the uncomfortable lodgings.
This was an entertaining and original work with a unique setting, much of it based on the real life experiences of performers from that era. The girls and the other artists, theaters and managers are all composites of well known or forgotten performers, adding a clear sense of authenticity to the story. The writing is strong but the narrative is unnecessarily overextended which may test the patience of readers. This combined with the on-going experience of the family criss-crossing the landscape, performing with both close friends and former enemies, presents a challenge to readers to keep all the names and various acts straight. But the writing, the original story and the meticulous research helped this novel nab a coveted spot on the long list for the prestigious Giller Prize in 2011. It proved to be an enjoyable read.
The story unfolds slowly. Readers must be patient as the pace is slow but steady during the first one hundred pages. This book is a huge handful at over five hundred pages and Endicott takes her time setting up the girls’ story before picking up the pace. I found those first pages difficult to hold my attention before I became more fully invested in what happens to the characters. Once it reached that critical point, it moved along nicely, but it wasn’t a story I found easy to get into.
The girls and their mother have been living on the edge of poverty as they travel from one audition to the next, trying to earn a spot on a playbill. When they are finally hired by impresario Gentry Fox, it is more from luck than talent. He pays them little but helps improve their act and gets them before the public. The girls, billed as the Belle Auroras, slowly learn how to delight the crowds as they tour from Fort Macleod down to Montana, making just enough for their board and costume expenses but never enough to eat properly and are often hungry. They meet Sybil Sutley and Julius Foster Koningsburg, friends of Flora’s and longtime performers who worked with her in the past and prove to be an important connection in the future. Sybil and Flora carry on a rambling catalogue of every gig they ever played and it at least provides Flora with some happy diversion.
Vaudeville is a dangerous place for young women and although Flora keeps a sharp eye on the length of her daughters’ costumes and whether they reveal too much skin, she is too unhinged by her recent loss to keep an eye on what happens to the girls when they are off stage. Her children are growing up in an adult world and she knows from past experience how full of pitfalls it can be, having set out alone from her Aunt’s home when she was only fourteen.
Aurora is sixteen, but for stage purposes is billed as eighteen, the prettiest, the best singer and the most ambitious of the three. Clover is just a year younger and the more thoughtful and clever. Bella who is thirteen but billed as being sixteen, is considered the baby of the family. She hates being the youngest and is impulsive, head strong and eager to grow up as fast as she can.
It is not long before the girls get into trouble: Bella is physically assaulted when she naively wonders off with one of the Tressler brothers who tours as part of a comedy duo; Aurora comes under the spell of Maurice Kavanagh a handsome elocutionist who charms her, uses her and quickly drops her and Clover falls for Victor Saborsky the young man she considers a true artist, a boy with manners who comes from an unconventional family.
Vaudeville is an artificial world filled with doers, dreamers, charlatans and talented performers. It is the way most get their start. In this competitive environment success often depends on attaching yourself to an important player. Everyone competes to make those connections which can help them keep their job and potentially seal their next contract. In this sketchy environment, domestic violence is “an open secret” a common but accepted part of vaudeville life, where women are often abused, disadvantaged and paid less than their male counterparts. Everyone does what they must do to get ahead, creating a toxic atmosphere of false emotions, cunning acting and easy seduction. It is a world of falsehoods: false eyelashes, magic tricks, cunning illusions and hucksters. Women must contend with the advances of powerful men who can get them on or off the playbill, extend or shorten their performance time or place them in an advantageous spot in the program. A nighttime refusal can mean they are out the door the next morning. The lowest rung on the ladder is the opening act when the audience is still talking and settling in and the closer is the most coveted spot. They jockey to avoid the first spot and land in the finale.
Alcohol is accepted as a necessary part of this life, the oil that turns the wheels of life on the road where contracts can be abruptly terminated, playbills altered to change the spotlight on particular acts and a quick boot is an option when revenues don’t meet expected targets or an act proves disappointing for the audience. Performers always deal with the threat of being reduced to playing burlesque if things go badly. It is a definite step downhill, but from time to time when the wolf is at the door, they are forced to take that route, knowing it lowered their value for other stage work.
The girls prove able to adapt quickly to this environment. They have the discipline to work hard, learn new routines, cover their mistakes both on and off stage and keep a tight hand on their money.
When the girls meet well known impresario Mr. Fitzjohn Mayhew on the circuit, their lives change. He is a showy man who likes to throw his authority and his money around, proud in his fine clothes and his ownership of a Pierce-Arrow Touring Car. Fitz is enchanted by Aurora’s beauty and begins courting the entire family with wonderful meals, accommodations in good hotels, wine and champagne. Aurora loves the attention Mayhew gives her and has never felt so cared for and relaxed. He convinces her that she, her sisters and her mother need protection, booking and management and offers his services, what he refers to as a practical arrangement. Although he is thirty years her senior, almost the same age as her mother, he proposes marriage. Aurora sees what this kind of connection could do for her family. There would be no more worry about pennies and pawnshops, no more hungry nights after two meals a day of bread and milk. They could buy the costumes they need, stop stuffing cardboard in their boots to reinforce the soles and buy new dancing shoes. Seeing it as a way to a new kind of life, she quickly accepts.
Aurora’s happiness is short lived as Mayhew soon shows his true colors. He has a volatile temper and acts unpredictably, is reckless, unscrupulous and dishonest. It is not long before he is in trouble with his backers, owes money and flees his creditors. Before he abandons Aurora he offers to take her with him but her mother and sisters are not included in the proposal. For Aurora there is no choice, she stays behind with her family and Fitz’s debts. They are now in a precarious with their careers. They had been headliners only because of Mayhew’s favour, but are now in the difficult position of finding out where they stand in the natural order of things without that favoritism.
Endicott describes the atmosphere of vaudeville, taking readers behind the stage and into the crowded, dank, dusty, over crowded dressing rooms. Readers learn about acts from those times, all based on historical facts or a combination of them from Endicott’s historical research. There are singers, dancers, jugglers, comedians, magicians and acrobats, all in search of their big break and following their dreams of big money. Endicott creates a richly conceived cast of supporting characters that stay close to the girls, including East and Verrall a Laurel and Hardy-like comedy team and Nando Dent a member of the Knockabout Ninepins, a hilarious physical comedy act.
To immerse her readers in the vaudeville life, Endicott narrates entire evenings of entertainment as the actors, singers and comedians perform in real time. Scripts are quoted word for word and acts described as each movement takes place. She recounts in detail dozens of eccentric routines which at times it gets tedious and readers may be tempted as I was, to scan these sections, as sometimes this works and other times it doesn’t. These acts were meant to be viewed by a live audience and not every act translates easily to the written page, especially the visual ones.
The story is played out against the backdrop of the war when audiences are badly in need of some happy diversion. Initially the battles overseas serve as a backdrop as Europe is seen as a country far away from everyday life, but as months pass and news of the conflict gradually fills the newspapers, Victor decides to enlist and the war becomes a larger part of Clover’s reality.
The Avery sisters and their mother Flora are vividly portrayed although the author’s focus remains on the physical aspects rather than on their thoughts or feelings. Endicott describes the girls putting on their make-up, working on their costumes and learning to sing from their diaphragms, but she rarely describes their inner thoughts so readers seldom know what they think or feel. Flora is portrayed as a woman barely holding it together through these tough times, but determined to help her girls succeed, selling some of her things at the local pawn shop, taking on jobs as a waitress when things get tight and leaning on former friends and connections to help the girls get ahead. She spends hours repairing old costumes or sewing new ones, yet she also turns a blind eye to Auroras contrived marriage and makes no effort to make sure the girls get some schooling.
Where Endicott excels is in describing the close connection between each of the sisters and their relationship with their mother. Through her narrative, Endicott reveals every nuance in these complex caring relationships, underscored with kindness and fierce loyalty.
Of the three sisters, Clover is the one who changes the most during the story, emerging from being the almost forgotten middle sister to becoming an accomplished actress. Her ability to improvise gets them out of a difficult spot when Aurora’s sudden illness in the middle of their act puts Clover front and center in the spotlight, alone on stage. She quickly pulls a monologue out of her head that captivates the audience and earns the respect of the other performers. She later emerges as a courageous young woman who raises her daughter while her husband fights in the trenches at the front. And when he returns home a broken and damaged man, she prepares to return to performing knowing her husband’s recovery will be difficult and long, with no guarantee for a good result. She will do what she has done in the past -- whatever it takes.
Even as two of the sisters leave the stage, Aurora to care for her ailing mother, Clover to raise her baby and care for her husband, Bella moves on to a successful solo career, delighted to no longer be seen as the youngest sister. She has a natural talent for the stage and is the one who supports the others through her successful career. Aurora, now a mother herself lives in comfortable circumstances but finds the life stifling. She misses work and the company of her sisters.
As each of their lives moves in different directions the girls maintain their connection which helps them reunite and head back to performing at the close of the novel. The have learned how much they loved their life together in vaudeville despite it difficulties, the back stage shenanigans and the uncomfortable lodgings.
This was an entertaining and original work with a unique setting, much of it based on the real life experiences of performers from that era. The girls and the other artists, theaters and managers are all composites of well known or forgotten performers, adding a clear sense of authenticity to the story. The writing is strong but the narrative is unnecessarily overextended which may test the patience of readers. This combined with the on-going experience of the family criss-crossing the landscape, performing with both close friends and former enemies, presents a challenge to readers to keep all the names and various acts straight. But the writing, the original story and the meticulous research helped this novel nab a coveted spot on the long list for the prestigious Giller Prize in 2011. It proved to be an enjoyable read.
November 13, 2020
This book is a compelling and informative piece of historical fiction about vaudeville in the early 1900s and the intersection of WWI.
June 29, 2017
Vaudeville was a popular form of entertainment that featured a variety of acts beginning in the late 19th century. Marina Endicott’s The Little Shadows is set just before and during the years of World War I. It is a form of entertainment that I have never read about before, so I was intrigued to discover what it was all about. The author drew influence from Buster Keaton and the Pantages theaters.
It was evident that the acts enjoyed at these shows were quite different than what is standard in the present day. Endicott painted a detailed picture of the in’s and out’s of theater life, both on stage and behind the curtain. Also described in detail was the different performances including song lyrics. Unfortunately I found this to become tedious to read after a few chapters.
At over 500 pages in length, it took me quite a while longer to finish this book, than I hoped. This was due in part to the fact that I had a hard time connecting with the sisters. The plot felt quite drawn out and anti-climactic.
Thankfully my interest began to pick up during the last 100 pages or so. I found this book to be written beautifully and the language rang true to the time period. I also liked the way each chapter was divided and named.
Even though I didn’t exactly love this book, I would still recommend The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott to those who enjoy historical fiction with a focus on entertainment.
It was evident that the acts enjoyed at these shows were quite different than what is standard in the present day. Endicott painted a detailed picture of the in’s and out’s of theater life, both on stage and behind the curtain. Also described in detail was the different performances including song lyrics. Unfortunately I found this to become tedious to read after a few chapters.
At over 500 pages in length, it took me quite a while longer to finish this book, than I hoped. This was due in part to the fact that I had a hard time connecting with the sisters. The plot felt quite drawn out and anti-climactic.
Thankfully my interest began to pick up during the last 100 pages or so. I found this book to be written beautifully and the language rang true to the time period. I also liked the way each chapter was divided and named.
Even though I didn’t exactly love this book, I would still recommend The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott to those who enjoy historical fiction with a focus on entertainment.
February 5, 2012
The year is 1912 and after the death of their father and baby brother the three Avery sisters, Aurora, Clover and Bella hit the road with their mother to start their career as vaudeville stars.
Flora Avery, the girls’ mother, worked in vaudeville before she married their father and gratefully uses contacts from the old days to get her girls started. But, it is by no means plain sailing.
The world of vaudeville is highly competitive and knows no mercy. If you don’t entertain the audience you are out, no matter who you are or how bad your circumstances.
Aurora Avery, aged 16 when the story starts, is the eldest of the three sisters and the clever one, shrewd and determined to do whatever it takes to make sure her family and she will not only survive but prosper. Clover, one year younger is thoughtful and quiet, but determined once she makes up her mind. Bella, the baby, is full of fun and good natured but headstrong and single-minded when push comes to shove.
The vaudeville world will take the Avery’s through ups and downs, expose their weaknesses and enhance their strengths. It will bring them into contact with a host of characters some good and dependable, others who would use them and others again who look down on them.
When the girls start on their career they have little but their hopes to sustain them, but as the years go by and they grow up they learn about life, about themselves and about the world. Ultimately they emerge as strong, independent women while never losing the close bond that was forged through blood, shared experience and a deep love.
This is a wonderful story about what ties a family together, about learning to deal with life and keeping your chin up no matter what obstacles you find in your way. Through ups and downs, and individual and joint interests the four women always have each other to fall back on. Innocence, pride, fear and naïve carelessness all combine to make the three Avery girls irresistible characters. By the time I finished the book I felt I knew the girls personally and would have been proud to call each one of them my friend.
The book shows the compromises that need to be made in order to gain or keep the life you want, and the rewards as well as the disappointments you might meet on the way.
This is also a fascinating insight into the world of vaudeville. Filled with intimate details the life of the artists on the stage is shared with the reader to such an extent that it is easy to visualise the settings, the performances and the hard work that goes into making it all look easy.
Readers will recognise some of the songs mentioned in the book, and quietly hum along as the lyrics appear on the page.
This is a book to read at your leisure, unrushed while savouring every word. Allow yourself to join the stars on the stage, let the descriptions of acts and sets transport you to the world of vaudeville in the early 20th century and enjoy the applause of the appreciative audience.
And, once you finish the book you will want to put your own hands together to applaud Marina Endicott for the wonderful book she has gifted her readers.
Flora Avery, the girls’ mother, worked in vaudeville before she married their father and gratefully uses contacts from the old days to get her girls started. But, it is by no means plain sailing.
The world of vaudeville is highly competitive and knows no mercy. If you don’t entertain the audience you are out, no matter who you are or how bad your circumstances.
Aurora Avery, aged 16 when the story starts, is the eldest of the three sisters and the clever one, shrewd and determined to do whatever it takes to make sure her family and she will not only survive but prosper. Clover, one year younger is thoughtful and quiet, but determined once she makes up her mind. Bella, the baby, is full of fun and good natured but headstrong and single-minded when push comes to shove.
The vaudeville world will take the Avery’s through ups and downs, expose their weaknesses and enhance their strengths. It will bring them into contact with a host of characters some good and dependable, others who would use them and others again who look down on them.
When the girls start on their career they have little but their hopes to sustain them, but as the years go by and they grow up they learn about life, about themselves and about the world. Ultimately they emerge as strong, independent women while never losing the close bond that was forged through blood, shared experience and a deep love.
This is a wonderful story about what ties a family together, about learning to deal with life and keeping your chin up no matter what obstacles you find in your way. Through ups and downs, and individual and joint interests the four women always have each other to fall back on. Innocence, pride, fear and naïve carelessness all combine to make the three Avery girls irresistible characters. By the time I finished the book I felt I knew the girls personally and would have been proud to call each one of them my friend.
The book shows the compromises that need to be made in order to gain or keep the life you want, and the rewards as well as the disappointments you might meet on the way.
This is also a fascinating insight into the world of vaudeville. Filled with intimate details the life of the artists on the stage is shared with the reader to such an extent that it is easy to visualise the settings, the performances and the hard work that goes into making it all look easy.
Readers will recognise some of the songs mentioned in the book, and quietly hum along as the lyrics appear on the page.
This is a book to read at your leisure, unrushed while savouring every word. Allow yourself to join the stars on the stage, let the descriptions of acts and sets transport you to the world of vaudeville in the early 20th century and enjoy the applause of the appreciative audience.
And, once you finish the book you will want to put your own hands together to applaud Marina Endicott for the wonderful book she has gifted her readers.
July 19, 2017
****Please note I won this book as a Goodreads Giveaway*******
I feel somewhat bad for only rating this book as okay. I feel guilty that it took me so long to finish reading it, especially after winning it as a giveaway. I thought this book would be more fun than it was, being about the vaudeville era.
The main disappointment was the plodding pace of the book. I put this down after barely a hundred pages to read other things. It dragged on, and didn't really catch my interest until somewhere around page 350. And even then, half my reason for finishing it was for the sake of finishing it not necessarily because I wanted to know what happened.
It was just too somber for my liking. The characters seemed thrown together, just like the jumble of all the different chapters. Which weren't even chapters so much as headers. It reminded me of reading an article in a textbook or something. The format was meant, I think, to resemble the nature of vaudeville and have the approach of vignettes, and a show, but it didn't mesh for me.
I felt that the background was really lacking as well. Especially the parts of the story regarding the girls brother Harry, and their father. They all cared for the brother and father, that was obvious, but there was little explanation in the way of their deaths and I felt that a little more back story would have been helpful.
The whole courtship (or lack thereof?) of Aurora and Mr Ridgeway seemed to be pointless filler. The relationship with their uncle seemed that way too. It served the purpose of helping bind up the end of the story but the way that the past fight is brought up in thought only without any real mention is just useless, it could have been cut out entirely.
There were too many characters and too much crowding of them, for me to get pulled in by the story.
This author is new to me, but sadly after struggling so much to get through this I don't think I'll be trying to read anything else by her. At least not anytime soon.
I feel somewhat bad for only rating this book as okay. I feel guilty that it took me so long to finish reading it, especially after winning it as a giveaway. I thought this book would be more fun than it was, being about the vaudeville era.
The main disappointment was the plodding pace of the book. I put this down after barely a hundred pages to read other things. It dragged on, and didn't really catch my interest until somewhere around page 350. And even then, half my reason for finishing it was for the sake of finishing it not necessarily because I wanted to know what happened.
It was just too somber for my liking. The characters seemed thrown together, just like the jumble of all the different chapters. Which weren't even chapters so much as headers. It reminded me of reading an article in a textbook or something. The format was meant, I think, to resemble the nature of vaudeville and have the approach of vignettes, and a show, but it didn't mesh for me.
I felt that the background was really lacking as well. Especially the parts of the story regarding the girls brother Harry, and their father. They all cared for the brother and father, that was obvious, but there was little explanation in the way of their deaths and I felt that a little more back story would have been helpful.
The whole courtship (or lack thereof?) of Aurora and Mr Ridgeway seemed to be pointless filler. The relationship with their uncle seemed that way too. It served the purpose of helping bind up the end of the story but the way that the past fight is brought up in thought only without any real mention is just useless, it could have been cut out entirely.
There were too many characters and too much crowding of them, for me to get pulled in by the story.
This author is new to me, but sadly after struggling so much to get through this I don't think I'll be trying to read anything else by her. At least not anytime soon.
March 16, 2012
This is a mammoth novel about three sisters, Aurora, Clover and Bella and their mother Flora, on the vaudeville circuit from 1912 until we leave them in 1917. Flora was living as a housewife, but after the death of her husband and young son, she has decided to take her girls on the road. The book begins with the young girls auditioning in a theatre when Aurora is just 16 and the youngest, Bella, only 13. There are jobs cancelled, hopes raised only to be dashed, working for experience with no pay, living in rented rooms and boarding houses, the cold and scraping by on bowls of bread and milk. This is, in other words, no glamorous world - although you do get the sense that once the girls feet hit the boards they are off and flying in the lights, and the once empty and cold theatre becomes otherwise for them. The novel shows their first fumbling loves, the betrayals and the ups and downs they face. Unfortunately, it often shows too much and the book did begin to drag at the end. I do feel a good editor could have helped and it might have been a better read if the storyline had been a little tighter. Three stars means "I liked it" and that's about as far as I can go.
September 18, 2013
Basically enjoyed this book - slow, gentle read with a lot of descriptive lovely language. Enjoyed the references to familiar geographical locations and once I got going it was a good compelling story. The strength of the bond of these four women and how they took care of each other and survived in a challenging social time was interesting. Wish that we were able to give "half" measures in our ratings as I would rate this a 3.5.
Found the concept of live vaudeville in the 1900s in Western Canada and the US very interesting. For these women to survive on their talent and wits and achieve success was quite a feat. Aurora carried the group initially as she was the most beautiful and most talented but her sisters came into their own along this journey and the bond between them and the care they showed their aging and troubled mother was heartwarming.
Found the concept of live vaudeville in the 1900s in Western Canada and the US very interesting. For these women to survive on their talent and wits and achieve success was quite a feat. Aurora carried the group initially as she was the most beautiful and most talented but her sisters came into their own along this journey and the bond between them and the care they showed their aging and troubled mother was heartwarming.
December 15, 2018
I found Endicott’s (GG finalist) Little Shadows both long and tedious. It seems well researched but huffs and puffs to accomplish something that I’m not sure is even possible. I think I can appreciate a good pratfall as much as the next person, stay alert during a well sung song, even chuckle at a well-timed bit of shtick. BUT. Having any of the above described in prose almost certainly deflates the balloon completely; having them propped up with pages of costume and make-up description does nothing to enhance the show. It’s one thing to experience a performance; it’s quite another to have many performances recounted verbally in detail. Good to a Fault both attracted an audience and disappointed it by comparison.
June 18, 2014
No... just no. Too long, characters have no depth, every vaudeville act the author could get her hands on was painstakingly repeated word for word (emphasis on pain). I read it to the end, I wanted something good to happen - it never did (I mean with the writing not the plot). Basically for me this was a waste of time. For book of 500+ pages it fell totally flat which is sad because it could have been so good.
October 31, 2011
I so wanted to love this book. Really. I'm actually giving it 2 1/2 stars. I saw the author at a Chapters event and was truly excited for this book. The main reason for the low rating is that it took me almost 3 weeks to get through this book. I normally read about one book a week. I was still half way through the book and was never really drawn into the story, or lack of I thought.
May 27, 2017
I couldn't finish this bbok, it just dragged on a bit. I don't actually know what the plot was supposed to be, if there even was one. I did enjoy the language used in the book but other than that it was all a bit boring.
May 16, 2017
Like having teeth pulled. Tediously dreary account. The author seems determined to cram the book with everything she ever read about vaudeville.
June 19, 2018
So much of this book could have been eliminated. It was difficult getting through all the vaudeville characters. The story of the girls took half of the book before it got interesting.
Read
November 7, 2025A summer evening. Moths dance in the lights outside the opera house.
...
Fresh red velvet: crimson lake, bright blood, the colour of love. Murmurs cease as the violins come creaking into tune, their mild excitable cacophony resolving into sense and meaning, into A, the one note they all seek. In the audience, silence falls. The cessation of visiting, the folding of programmes, the last adjustment to the seats.
Tips of shoes show beneath the bobble-fringe -- a quiet rumpus, that must be the girls.
The bandmaster taps his stand.
It is about to start.
Breathe in --
Breath out. I'm sorry -- I've decided to stop reading because it's getting really long and I'd rather dive into other stories.
What I like:
- the sisters' relationships with each other and with their mother. So sweet and genuine.
- the writing is beautiful. It's lyrical without being excessive
- reads like a period drama
- the cover design (this particular one with the stage) pulls me in -- if it's the other edition with 3 girls running in the meadow I definitely wouldn't have chosen to read this at all.
What fails to deliver:
- I'm not the right audience for this. I don't know much of these songs (except Early One Morning) or stage life in general so reading this book feels like a sneaky glimpse into that world, but not that it rings a bell within me.
- So many side characters and they feel stereotypically labelled.
- Some passages of sexual assaults, while brief, are uncomfortable to read.
- Even if I grow on the main characters from the start, their journey feels rather slow and even as I'm 60% in, it doesn't feel like they're growing that much.
- Reads like a period drama: but I'm not in the mood for this.
It's not a bad book, and I do appreciate many aspects of it, but it's gotten to me at the wrong time.
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
- Crowfoot
January 23, 2023
I would have enjoyed this book so much more ( and I've said this about a lot of books these last few years) if there still existed editors who didn't think 500 pages was the ideal book length, and authors who didn't think every bit of research had to appear on the page.
This story follows three young sisters (13-18) and their widowed mother, trying to gain success and survive the vaudeville circuit of western N.A. in the early years of the 20th c.
The girls have interesting personalities, the events can be interesting themselves, and it follows them into the events of WWI.
BUT pages 100-300 were an absolute slog. No feeling of plot, just a series of incredibly detailed descriptions of vaudeville turns and stars. No, we don't need the words of every song, or a description of every unsuccessful act.
This story follows three young sisters (13-18) and their widowed mother, trying to gain success and survive the vaudeville circuit of western N.A. in the early years of the 20th c.
The girls have interesting personalities, the events can be interesting themselves, and it follows them into the events of WWI.
BUT pages 100-300 were an absolute slog. No feeling of plot, just a series of incredibly detailed descriptions of vaudeville turns and stars. No, we don't need the words of every song, or a description of every unsuccessful act.
January 27, 2023
What an absolutely wonderful book. A delightful marvel really. I was skeptical at first but before I knew it I was hooked, completely absorbed by these three sisters and the whole world of vaudeville. I guess I can see where it wouldn't appeal to everyone but I just couldn't get over the wonderful storytelling, the dialogue that for me never put a foot wrong and fascinating life of all the characters in that world so unfamiliar to me. I'm so glad I happened upon this book in a neighbourhood book box and thank the kind person who left it for me to find.
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