Born into a family of trapeze artists, Olympia Knife leads an idyllic life as a travelling circus performer until her fellow troupers vanish before her eyes. First are Olympias parents, the Flying Knifes, who disappear mid-air during their act. Second is Arnold, the The Worlds Smallest Major General (he was neither) Tiny Napoleon Only Three Feet Tall, followed by Magnus, the lobster-clawed circus director--one by one, they are all, simply, gone. into the fray walks Diamond the Danger Eater, daring and determined, and together, she and Olympia face their crumbling world, having only each other to cling to in the struggle for existence.in the tradition of magical realism, Olympia Knife is a tale of survival and resistance for LGBTQ folks and all others who live unseen, untethered, or outside the margins.
Alysia Constantine lives in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York with her wife, two dogs and a cat. She is the author of the novels SWEET and OLYMPIA KNIFE (coming November 2, 2017).
In another life, Alysia was a professor at an art college in NYC. In a life before that, she was a baker/cook for a baker/caterer. In a life even before that, she was a miserable gay teen studying to be a concert violinist, and before that, she was Joan of Arc (though there’s no evidence for that).
Argh, this was such a frustrating book! The premise is so intriguing and the opening chapter sets up what was promising to be a very interesting story and mystery. Circus performers mysteriously disappearing into thin air during their acts--how can someone mess that up? Look no further than this book! The disappearances are really just treated as a device, they're not investigated and none of the remaining circus performers seem to want answers. Each chapter for the most part introduces the back story of the latest character who will disappear, but with just a few exceptions, the characters are introduced in the same chapter they disappear. Am I supposed to feel anything for these people? Is the intention that I'm supposed to care? Olympia Knife herself is just as big a mystery as the disappearances. Even though it's primarily her point of view in the book, she is such a detached and boring character. I just didn't "get" this book at all, so much telling and no showing. At the end, I couldn't even really tell you what this was really about, or what it may have been a metaphor for, but frankly I don't want to waste any more time even thinking about it.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This was an interesting book to me, but if you're looking for something with some closure or a real ending you should probably look elsewhere. I really liked the structure of the book - each chapter has a flashback / background story for a different member of the circus juxtaposed against what is going on in the circus in the present and then at the end of the chapter the person it was about generally vanishes. This was a really great way to break up the story and give us background info about all the characters and I just really liked it as a framing device.
However the characters' behavior doesn't really make sense to me and none of it is every really explained. I mean first of all why does Olympia go invisible in the first place and is it actually related to all the other other disappearances? Why does no one seem that concerned that people are literally vanishing into mid-air? I mean you would think after a few such disappearances they would either start trying to find answers or break up the circus in an attempt to make it stop but everyone seems to kind of just keep going along on autopilot. And why does Diamond float away instead of disappear?? What is the point of any of it???
I gave it three stars because I thought it was an interesting concept and liked the way the story was set up, but there are definitely no answers for anything so if you need a good ending I wouldn't recommend it. I can ignore a bad ending if the journey is interesting but I know a lot of people can't.
This is a gem of a novel, bright and edgy and hard to describe. Each time you turn it over there's a new sparkling facet.
The people in the story are complicated and interesting and so queer. They deeply understand what it is to be outside the world. I learned more about being an outsider with each new person and each new act of the book.
The third person omniscient storytelling gives the book a peculiar pace, which works as the characters are uncovered. It allows us to know all the futures and pasts of everyone we see.
There's romance and adventure and circus acts, and mostly there's a story about love and found family.
If you're a fan of the author's poetic prose, then you'll enjoy this unusual story of a vanishing girl in a disappearing attraction.
Each character has left behind their life for being 'too much' or 'too little' - for not fitting in - only to, ironically, find refuge and a living making a spectacle of their difference. To this vein, the entire story plays with this spectrum of exhibition and disappearance: Intimately highlighting a person, only to have them inexplicably extinguish; escaping one's past only to be haunted by it; the pageantry of putting on a show vs. the struggle to stay "visible" or relevant in a crumbling industry; falling in love, while having to keep to the shadows.
More than a love story, it's a loving ode to those who are pushed to the corners of the world, restoring voice to the silenced.
I'm not a big fan of the circus, but I've always been fascinated by the people who live behind it. I loved the sense of magic realism you get from the book but, at the same time, the thin plot felt weirdly paced. I couldn't seem to get a real sense of peril or anxiety from the disappearances of the crew members: only a couple of them caused some shock and distress from the others; the rest went almost completely unnoticed or easily dismissed. It didn't seem to me that the characters had any agency in their own story. Some of them were introduced just to be gone some page after: I couldn't connect with them. At some point, I had a hard time emphasizing with the main characters, too. It hurts to say that even the romance between Olympia and Diamond didn't give me much to think about, even though I do appreciate some f/f love.
This book really paints a unique world that depicts the grittier sides of the circus; where audiences come to ogle at those who are different. This paved way for a very diverse and interesting cast.
I’ll admit, I was a little concerned at first because there’s a lot of telling and little showing. I worried the fast pace would make it difficult to connect to the characters, but once the scenes settled down, I was able to as well. It was when the relationship between the girls sparked that I grew more and more invested. In the end, I actually found that the style worked best when we delved into each character’s backstory. They read like anthologies of sorts, and it was nice that everyone got screen time.
So yeah; I quite enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone drawn to magical circuses and lesbian romances.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I’m always intrigued by stories that use the circus as a backdrop and the author certainly created a uniquely interesting world that showed the dark side of that glittery arena.
One of the negatives for me is that there was A LOT of the author telling you stuff instead of letting the story and characters show you so it came off like I was being talked at rather than guided. I wanted more dialogue and action. There were also some questionable things like claiming kangaroos came from the Wilds of Africa – I couldn’t figure out if that was a typo that didn’t get caught or if the author really believes kangaroos come from Africa instead of Australia.
Of course it was hard when you got to parts that had the characters being made fun of by audience members so if you get triggered by people degrading others be prepared. Even if it was true to what happened during these type of circus events it still makes it hard to read about people using degrading insults and physically assaulting those who are different.
You do get a diverse and intriguing cast of characters so that helped take some of the annoyance out of the way the story is written as you become curious about them and how their lives are going to unfold. The author handled the lesbian relationship well so it felt realistic rather than something on display to gawk at.
In some ways it felt more like an anthology of stories as you get chapters focusing on different characters such as Arnold, Daniel, Madame Barbue, Magnus, Ramus and more. You get their backstories all the while the author keeps weaving Olympia’s story in between.
A huge positive for me was showing how everyone, no matter how different, has a place and purpose in this world. Rather than judge and demean those who are not like you we should embrace and celebrate what each has to offer so we can make this a more magical world.
The first word that comes to my mind when I think about Olympia Knife is strange. Closely followed by sad. And kind of creepy. I’ve never read anything like this and I was a bit unsure whether I liked it or not. But it’s so unusual and memorable, I just had to give it the full five stars.
First things first: This is classified as literary/genre fiction and as such doesn’t have much of a love story and definitely not your run-of-the-mill HEA. The ending is very open and leaves many questions unanswered. I’m not always a fan of open ends, but in this case it fit the tone of the whole book perfectly.
I love circus settings, especially historical ones. They give you so many possibilities. It can be utterly magical and charming or it can be utterly terrifying and creepy. Olympia Knife was definitely more creepy than charming, though it did have a bit of a magical air.
People keep disappearing in the middle of their acts, Olympia keeps turning invisible and there are some other otherworldly things going on, so I guess this would qualify as Fantasy. The circus acts, especially those in the sideshow, are all fakes and don’t have any magical abilities. The correct genre correct is probably magic realism, combining reality with some fantastic elements. It’s an unusual genre and I really enjoyed it.
There isn’t all that much action but I didn’t mind. This was a very slow book and it was all about the atmosphere of the book. I was completely immersed into the world and it sometimes took a while for me to resurface.
At times, this book does get pretty brutal and very intense. It was a hard read and it really took a lot out of me. “Olympia Knife” is such a gritty, intense and heartbreaking read. It’s one of the most extraordinary books I’ve ever read.
If you’re looking for an easy, magical romance, this is definitely not the book for you. I think this is a case of love it or hate it. And I loved it. I’ll have to keep an eye out for future releases by this author. If you’re easily triggered, you might want to check out the content warnings on the publisher’s page.
The cover is utterly gorgeous. It’s the kind of cover that I’d love to have in my physical bookshelf, just to show it off.
I won a copy of this book on a free raffle and I’m very happy to leave a review.
Olympia Knife reminded me of colombian Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s magical realism. I think is wise to know that is the type of story you are about to read. I liked the way the author describes all the characters and how there is a common theme of feeling unloved, unwanted and so very different. At the end, all of us, want the same, to feel loved and feel like we belong and I really liked how they all find it in the circus. I didn’t give it 5 starts only because I wished I had more connection to the characters before reading about their lives. Maybe less characters would have allowed more connection? I know is hard to let go of characters, they were all so interesting. Anyway, I’m not sure. Thank you for continuing to write beautiful touching stories. I’m patiently waiting for the next one.
Lovely magical romance set in an olde tyme circus whose performers are disappearing unexpectedly (but not violently). The departure of certain performers has a great impact on those left behind. They struggle to cope with loss and forge stronger, more supportive, relationships among themselves. Their world is changing with little advance notice, yet love and connection keeps the remaining troupe afloat. Readers for whom the language of the Night Circus is the primary appeal, should try Olympia Knife/
This book disappointed me a bit. It started out with such a strong premise and a mystery to be solved. I enjoyed the alternating viewpoints and exploring the pasts of the characters. That being said, I would like for it to have had a stronger sense of resolution. Characterization was strong, and I found myself drawn to many of the characters, which left me feeling all the more disappointed with the ending.
This book grabbed me by the heart and didn't let go until the very last word. Baffling, mind blowing, fantastic in every sense of the word! I loved the mystery entertwined with the mundane, and writing-wise, I loved the way this book was built, with a way to connect with each character in this gallery.
This book just didn’t really capture my attention. There was too much explaining and describing and not enough dialogue and actual doing, which made the story kind of boring for me. The style of the book just wasn’t for me.
Olympia Knife is a very peculiar book. It’s prose is intricate, flowery and absolutely delicious. The book tells it’s story in a very quirky way, making the voice of the narrator itself stand out and reminding me of movies such as Big Fish and even, to a certain extent, Nanny McPhee. If you’re a fan of that style of narrative, Olympia Knife will definitely feel like home.
The magical elements tie in with the mystery within the story and it all feels very real and flow naturally within the world, even if magic isn’t exactly common. The world itself is very easy to get into, which I think, outside of the writing itself, is the book’s biggest strength. Olympia Knife book felt magical to it’s very bones.
The plot itself can be a bit confusing at times, especially because the narrative isn’t linear. Olympia Knife has a big number of characters, many who are diverse in some way, and we do get to know about some of their back stories, which I appreciated. I especially loved that we get to follow, overall, a queer woman. As other queer fem bloggers have pointed out before, young adult isn’t exactly known for it’s love of f/f couples or wlw in general, so it always makes me happy to see new books with queer women main character coming out, especially a story as different and interesting as Olympia Knife.
While Olympia Knife might not be for everybody, it’s writing is gorgeous and the characters present a wide range of people. I recommend this book to anyone who wants an immersive and magical story.
I got this book from NetGalley a few months ago, but I've been terrible about staying on top of reviewing ARCs. Even when I actually read them on time, I keep writing "review to come" and then never writing it. One of my goals for 2018 is to actually review stuff straight away, so I'm trying to start as I mean to go on. This is my first book of the year, and tada! I wrote a review!
This was a strange, compelling book, but ultimately a tiny bit disappointing.
I'll start with the strangeness, which I enjoyed a lot. It's set in a travelling circus, which I enjoy as a setting. The cast is mostly focused on the sideshow 'freaks'; as outsiders they're both sympathetic and interesting characters. Their talents and oddities aren't where the strangeness comes in, though; while bearded ladies and contortionists may be unusual enough to find themselves in a circus, they're not inherently supernatural. Olympia, the titular character, starts out as an aerialist, who just happens to turn invisible sometimes -- but her invisibility isn't her talent or act. And things start to get stranger when members of the circus begin to disappear one by one in impossible ways.
This is where the word "compelling" comes in. I started this book quite late at night, with a bad headache, planning just to read a little bit to switch off my brain's dissertation mode that would inevitably keep me up if I didn't. Instead I ended up reading more than half the book. With each disappearance I became more and more interested in knowing WHY and HOW these characters were disappearing. Would the circus survive? Would they come back? The more I read, the more questions I had, and it was only reluctantly that I put it down to go to sleep.
However, it was in the resolution of this narrative that the disappointment arrived. I won't give too many details, as I don't want to spoil the ending, but I had a lot of questions and was given very few answers. Indeed, some of the hints that I was given confused me even further. I think I can see what the MEANING of the disappearances was, if that makes sense, but not how they happened. Like Olympia's invisibility, they weren't explained; however, while her invisibility wasn't the crux of the tension and mystery of the book, they were, and I felt there needed to be slightly more explanation, especially as I'd been so intrigued to know what was happening.
Other things I enjoyed about the book include the fact it centres on a f/f relationship, as well as featuring other characters from diverse backgrounds. I also liked the glimpses of each character's backstory that came periodically. At first they threw me off, but I settled into it and enjoyed the insight they offered into what had brought each character to the circus. The writing style, too, was enjoyable enough, although didn't blow me away (I measure that by how often I highlight phrases on Kindle just because I like them; I only highlighted a few bits of dialogue in this one).
It was probably shaping up to be a four star read, but the ending did disappoint me somewhat, as I really wanted some more concrete resolution, so I'm only going to give it three.