Great World Circus

by William Kotzwinkle

It is night in Singapore. Down dark twisting alleyways, past the opium dens and oracles' shops, drifting through ebony bars a,d along solken breezes, moves a mysterious female figure. Utterly irresistible, utterly evanescent, she appears to a man, then retreats, leaving him forever haunted by the vision of a paradise lost. But at whose behest is she here? And what is her secret purpose?

Genres: Fantasy, Novels, Speculative Fiction, Poetry

158 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

William Kotzwinkle is a two-time recipient of the National Magazine Award for Fiction, a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Prix Litteraire des Bouquinistes des Quais de Paris, the PETA Award for Children's Books, and a Book Critics Circle award nominee. His work has been translated into dozens of languages.

Reviews

[Gronk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated uneven poetry inspired work. Perhaps my favorite passage:

Miller moths flutter, tossed by the wind,
white wings of dust, there is no end.
Miller moths flutter, flying in pairs
delighting in love while time is still theirs.

Fish feed on white wings, caught in the stream
swallowing hungrily the miller moth dream.
Miller moths flutter, dancing in pairs,
delighting in love while time is still theirs.

A brown-headed blackbird with ravenous beak
dines on the white bug who lives for a week.
Miller moths flutter, floating in pairs,
delighting in love while time is still theirs.

Dead on the window, killed by the heat,
limp in a dewdrop, white wings effete,
Miller moths flutter, flying in pairs
delighting in love while time is still theirs.

How futile the dancing, and hopeless the scheme
of miller moths fluttering in a dream.
Still they go dancing, flying in pairs
delighting in love while time is still theirs.


(NOTE:

[Charles Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this at all when I read it before; perhaps that's because I'd ordered it on eBay based on the author's name and was disappointed that it wasn't a novel. The second time around I appreciate it properly; although a poem it reads very much like one of his stories, or perhaps a précis of one: themes and motifs drifting together and apart again, in a dreamlike manner. The illustrations by Joe Servello fit beautifully with the text.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Though they have perished now,
while these same constellations turn,
they are the stars, without a flicker of doubt—
they return
they won’t go out until the stars go out,
and even then, they will roam.”

[Doc Bullfrog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lyrical journey accompanied by wondrous illustrations.