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The Pilo Family Circus #1
The Pilo Family Circus
"You have two days to pass your audition. You better pass it, feller. You’re joining the circus. Ain’t that the best news you ever got?"
Delivered by a trio of psychotic clowns, this ultimatum plunges Jamie into the horrific alternate universe that is the centuries-old Pilo Family Circus, a borderline world between Hell and Earth from which humankind’s greatest tragedies have been perpetrated. Yet in this place—peopled by the gruesome, grotesque, and monstrous—where violence and savagery are the norm, Jamie finds that his worst enemy is himself.
When he applies the white face paint, he is transformed into JJ, the most vicious clown of all. And JJ wants Jamie dead!
Delivered by a trio of psychotic clowns, this ultimatum plunges Jamie into the horrific alternate universe that is the centuries-old Pilo Family Circus, a borderline world between Hell and Earth from which humankind’s greatest tragedies have been perpetrated. Yet in this place—peopled by the gruesome, grotesque, and monstrous—where violence and savagery are the norm, Jamie finds that his worst enemy is himself.
When he applies the white face paint, he is transformed into JJ, the most vicious clown of all. And JJ wants Jamie dead!
300 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2006
176 people are currently reading
8715 people want to read
About the author
Will Elliott
36 books162 followersWill Elliott (born 1979) is an Australian fiction writer who lives in Brisbane, Queensland.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 510 reviews
May 22, 2015
A book about psychotic clowns? I couldn't resist that one!
Jamie is pretty much an everyday guy. He lives with one stoner and grocery stealing friends in an apartment. Works a normal job. Then he starts seeing some clowns running around and one of them drops a bag of weird powder. Jamie takes that bag.
BIG MISTAKE!!
The clowns get angry that Jamie has their bag and start paying him visits. Then they leave him a note.
You have two days to pass your audition. You better pass it, Feller. You're joining the circus. Ain't that the best news you ever got?
Jamie ends up as part of the Pilo Family circus. Where he finds out that the real world is not the only world that exists. Once he puts on his clown make-up he becomes JJ...The nicest people become the meanest clowns.
There is also a clown named Goshy who has some plant loving going on with a fern. Who becomes his fiance.
JJ alienates most of the other performers because JJ is pretty much an asshole. Then JJ decides he doesn't want Jamie around anymore.
Then in the about the author you find out:
Elliot began working on this book at the age of nineteen, when he dropped out of law school and with diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Okay then.......................
Jamie is pretty much an everyday guy. He lives with one stoner and grocery stealing friends in an apartment. Works a normal job. Then he starts seeing some clowns running around and one of them drops a bag of weird powder. Jamie takes that bag.
BIG MISTAKE!!
The clowns get angry that Jamie has their bag and start paying him visits. Then they leave him a note.
You have two days to pass your audition. You better pass it, Feller. You're joining the circus. Ain't that the best news you ever got?
Jamie ends up as part of the Pilo Family circus. Where he finds out that the real world is not the only world that exists. Once he puts on his clown make-up he becomes JJ...The nicest people become the meanest clowns.
There is also a clown named Goshy who has some plant loving going on with a fern. Who becomes his fiance.
JJ alienates most of the other performers because JJ is pretty much an asshole. Then JJ decides he doesn't want Jamie around anymore.
Then in the about the author you find out:
Elliot began working on this book at the age of nineteen, when he dropped out of law school and with diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Okay then.......................
April 24, 2024
A story of a mystical circus supposed to be a metaphor of breaking social restrictions and revealing one's true nature. But it's just clowns, violent psychotic clowns on drugs...
April 20, 2015
What a wicked, intoxicating combination of weird, creepy, horrific and funny; the last thing I expected when I picked up this book was to laugh my ass off in parts, doing so was such a bonus. So I can't say this book is going to be for everyone, but if you're looking for something truly different, that's well-written and a bit depraved, then this just might be for you.
The setup: Jamie is a bit of a wanker -- a well-meaning guy, but without much ambition or direction in his life. Let's say he's surviving by being spectacularly dull, hoping Fate will leave him the hell alone if he keeps flying under the radar unnoticed, unnoticeable. He then makes a stupendous error in judgment when he spies on some nefarious clown activities late one evening and retrieves a small bag one of them discards and brings it home with him.
This act will get him noticed by forces so much worse than Fate -- this act gets him noticed by the Pilo Family Circus and once in its clutches, at the mercy of some pretty deranged and hostile clowns, Jamie will be lucky to escape with his life, let alone his sanity. Once trapped on the circus grounds, he is forced to become a clown and he soon discovers much to his dismay that his clown alter-ego -- J.J. -- is a total dickwad and dangerous to boot. Suddenly Jamie is at war with himself in a twisted, sometimes hysterical battle of wits a la Dr.Jeckyll and Mr.Hyde.
I don't want to say much more because the delight in this book is not knowing what the hell is going to happen next.
The setup: Jamie is a bit of a wanker -- a well-meaning guy, but without much ambition or direction in his life. Let's say he's surviving by being spectacularly dull, hoping Fate will leave him the hell alone if he keeps flying under the radar unnoticed, unnoticeable. He then makes a stupendous error in judgment when he spies on some nefarious clown activities late one evening and retrieves a small bag one of them discards and brings it home with him.
This act will get him noticed by forces so much worse than Fate -- this act gets him noticed by the Pilo Family Circus and once in its clutches, at the mercy of some pretty deranged and hostile clowns, Jamie will be lucky to escape with his life, let alone his sanity. Once trapped on the circus grounds, he is forced to become a clown and he soon discovers much to his dismay that his clown alter-ego -- J.J. -- is a total dickwad and dangerous to boot. Suddenly Jamie is at war with himself in a twisted, sometimes hysterical battle of wits a la Dr.Jeckyll and Mr.Hyde.
I don't want to say much more because the delight in this book is not knowing what the hell is going to happen next.
August 7, 2014
I almost hate to recommend this book because ... what does that say about me?
The Pilo Family Circus is both completely creepy and absolutely fascinating. If you like clowns, you might change your mind after this. If you already don't like them, you'll probably think I knew it!
Jamie almost runs down an odd-looking clown and quickly finds his life changing forever. He has 48 hours to pass his "audition" and failing is not an option.
With some creativity, he finds himself in a circus that's strange even for circus standards ... and deadly. Monsters lurk in dark corners and out in the open too and you don't even want to mess with the proprietor of the whole thing.
Then there are the factions, some of whom absolutely despise each other, such as the Clowns and the Acrobats and what happens in the circus, even a death or two, is overlooked for the most part.
Couple the imaginative world-building with a knack for storytelling and a dark sense of humor (you know, where you laugh and cringe at the same time) and you've got a book I couldn't put down.
I know I go into sales-pitch mode when I talk about a book I really enjoyed, but this one's highly recommended. The audio on this was astounding too. Mark Stephens does a wonderfully creepy job with his Australian accent. Fishboy alone killed me. This character has a high voice, such as when someone inhales helium, and Stephens stuck it perfectly.
This is an unusual book for me to love, but it's a true love. It's different and gruesome and somehow I couldn't put it down. I stayed longer in the car on my drives, I brought headphones to bed when I usual save bedtime reading for my eyes. This is one of those unique books that really stunned me.
4.5 out of 5 Stars (very highly recommended)
The Pilo Family Circus is both completely creepy and absolutely fascinating. If you like clowns, you might change your mind after this. If you already don't like them, you'll probably think I knew it!
Jamie almost runs down an odd-looking clown and quickly finds his life changing forever. He has 48 hours to pass his "audition" and failing is not an option.
With some creativity, he finds himself in a circus that's strange even for circus standards ... and deadly. Monsters lurk in dark corners and out in the open too and you don't even want to mess with the proprietor of the whole thing.
Then there are the factions, some of whom absolutely despise each other, such as the Clowns and the Acrobats and what happens in the circus, even a death or two, is overlooked for the most part.
Couple the imaginative world-building with a knack for storytelling and a dark sense of humor (you know, where you laugh and cringe at the same time) and you've got a book I couldn't put down.
I know I go into sales-pitch mode when I talk about a book I really enjoyed, but this one's highly recommended. The audio on this was astounding too. Mark Stephens does a wonderfully creepy job with his Australian accent. Fishboy alone killed me. This character has a high voice, such as when someone inhales helium, and Stephens stuck it perfectly.
This is an unusual book for me to love, but it's a true love. It's different and gruesome and somehow I couldn't put it down. I stayed longer in the car on my drives, I brought headphones to bed when I usual save bedtime reading for my eyes. This is one of those unique books that really stunned me.
4.5 out of 5 Stars (very highly recommended)
September 19, 2020
Un libro realmente extraño, el comienzo es muy bueno e inquietante. Esos payasos que se encuentra Jamie en mitad de la noche cuando va conduciendo, y la proposición que le hacen para no morir en sus manos, de pasar una audición en su circo y formar parte de ellos hace que no puedas parar de leer para saber cómo se soluciona todo y como va a salir Jamie y su amigo Steve de ese "submundo". Esa dualidad del protagonista cuando se pone el maquillaje y se convierte en J.J es un claro reflejo de la esquizofrenia del autor: "cuanto más amable es la persona más malo es el payaso" me gustó mucho esa frase :) Cuando llegas al final te quedas con muchas cuestiones por resolver, como por ejemplo; ¿qué tenía el maquillaje que hacía que Jamie se transformara en el malvado J.J?
En fin, una novela muy bizarra y gamberra que hará las delicias de los amantes de éste género, que aunque no llegó a causarme terror a pesar de que tenía escenas muy sangrientas, sí que me pareció muy entretenida. No le he puesto más estrellas por lo que comento del final que me dejó con muchas dudas.
En fin, una novela muy bizarra y gamberra que hará las delicias de los amantes de éste género, que aunque no llegó a causarme terror a pesar de que tenía escenas muy sangrientas, sí que me pareció muy entretenida. No le he puesto más estrellas por lo que comento del final que me dejó con muchas dudas.
February 22, 2013
Read it! That is all.
February 11, 2010
I don't know if I've ever read such an original story chock-full of so much weirdness, violence, and humor. Yes, humor. The Pilo Family Circus was written by a 19-year-old law school dropout from Australia who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Will Elliott wrote the rough draft in three months, sometimes in sporadic bursts and sometimes in a single sitting resulting in ten thousand words. Pilo was written in times of sleep deprivation, using cabin fever as inspiration, and while he was coming down off anti-psychotic medication. This book is amazing.
One late night an Ordinary Joe named Jamie spies three menacing clowns on the street. One throws a bag of something behind a bush, and when Jamie gets it home he discovers some weird beads in the velvet bag. His ingestion of some of the beads gets him visited by three ruthless clowns who vandalize his apartment and leave him a message informing him he has 30 hours to pass his audition or he forfeits his life.
Jamie passes his audition when me makes the head clown laugh and is whisked away to the Pilo Family Circus. He is now part of a family of clowns led by the brutal and short-tempered Gonko. Once Jamie puts on the clown paint, his alter ego emerges. J.J. the clown is not an Ordinary Joe, but a psycho who enjoys roughing up carny barkers, menacing the dwarves, and getting a thrill out of murdering the gypsies who travel with the circus. Thus begins the battle between Jamie and J.J. over control of their body, not to mention keeping secrets from each other about a revolution at hand by a small group of carnival workers who yearn to break free from the Pilo Family Circus.
The circus is run by Kurt Pilo and his dwarf brother, George. The circus performers include macho but graceful acrobats, evil clowns, and a bitter magician allowed to perform only silly acts like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, which sends him into fits of rage. The freak show is run by Fishboy, and includes Tallow, a thing whose skin melts into rivulets at his feet; a Yeti that is forced to eat glass at every show; and a severed head kept in a glass cage. All freaks were once human, but as punishment by the Pilos were turned into grotesque things by the Master Manipulator.
The circus has been around for centuries, putting on shows for tricks—humans attending a normal circus but who stumbled up to the wrong ticket booth. Sometimes the tricks lose their lives due to unforeseen circumstances, but they are the lucky ones. The others who stumble back into the real world had their souls sucked out of them as wages for the performers.
The most amazing part of this book is finding out how the circus came into existence, and just who is running the show. Oh, and the clowns have been recruited throughout history to return to the normal world and steer the course of human events in violent ways—e.g. influencing a failed Austrian artist with the initials A.H.
One late night an Ordinary Joe named Jamie spies three menacing clowns on the street. One throws a bag of something behind a bush, and when Jamie gets it home he discovers some weird beads in the velvet bag. His ingestion of some of the beads gets him visited by three ruthless clowns who vandalize his apartment and leave him a message informing him he has 30 hours to pass his audition or he forfeits his life.
Jamie passes his audition when me makes the head clown laugh and is whisked away to the Pilo Family Circus. He is now part of a family of clowns led by the brutal and short-tempered Gonko. Once Jamie puts on the clown paint, his alter ego emerges. J.J. the clown is not an Ordinary Joe, but a psycho who enjoys roughing up carny barkers, menacing the dwarves, and getting a thrill out of murdering the gypsies who travel with the circus. Thus begins the battle between Jamie and J.J. over control of their body, not to mention keeping secrets from each other about a revolution at hand by a small group of carnival workers who yearn to break free from the Pilo Family Circus.
The circus is run by Kurt Pilo and his dwarf brother, George. The circus performers include macho but graceful acrobats, evil clowns, and a bitter magician allowed to perform only silly acts like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, which sends him into fits of rage. The freak show is run by Fishboy, and includes Tallow, a thing whose skin melts into rivulets at his feet; a Yeti that is forced to eat glass at every show; and a severed head kept in a glass cage. All freaks were once human, but as punishment by the Pilos were turned into grotesque things by the Master Manipulator.
The circus has been around for centuries, putting on shows for tricks—humans attending a normal circus but who stumbled up to the wrong ticket booth. Sometimes the tricks lose their lives due to unforeseen circumstances, but they are the lucky ones. The others who stumble back into the real world had their souls sucked out of them as wages for the performers.
The most amazing part of this book is finding out how the circus came into existence, and just who is running the show. Oh, and the clowns have been recruited throughout history to return to the normal world and steer the course of human events in violent ways—e.g. influencing a failed Austrian artist with the initials A.H.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2017
Nota real: 3.5 estrellas.
Si tuviera que escoger una palabra para describir este libro sería sobrevalorado. Ojo, esto no quiere decir que no me haya gustado pero la verdad, después de que me dijeran que era una pieza maestra del horror y que me iba a causar pesadillas, tenía altas expectativas que ni de lejos llegaron a cumplirse.
El libro tiene un inicio muy intenso. ¿Quién no moriría de miedo al ver a un puñado de payasos lunáticos en la noche, en la mitad de una carretera? Poco después de eso, suceden otros eventos que me hicieron pensar que en verdad, me había topado con un libro grotesco y perturbador. Sin embargo, después de las primeras páginas, cuando el narrador nos lleva al circo como tal, se cae todo.
Para ser honesta, más que un libro de horror, diría que El Circo de la Familia Pilo es un libro de fantasía oscura. Sí, ocurren algunos asesinatos, también van a aparecer algunas criaturas cuyas descripciones pueden ser tétricas pero todo se queda en un limbo que no acaba de cuajar (en cuanto a terror).
No es un mal libro para nada. Sencillamente les recomiendo que no vayan con la expectativa de encontrar un libro terrorífico porque probablemente los decepcione. Lo que sí van a encontrar es a un narrador bastante original que disfruta de desconcertar al lector.
Un último comentario. Muchas personas me dicen que les impresionó más el libro debido a que el autor padece esquizofrenia. No voy a hablar sobre una enfermedad mental aquí, por la simple razón de que no soy psiquiatra y no conozco el padecimiento a fondo. Lo poco que puedo decir es que sí, me parece perturbador que Will Elliot haya intentado plasmar en este libro (mediante la dualidad entre Jamie y el terrible payaso J.J.), lo que él experimenta día con día.
Habrá que leer la segunda parte para ver si esta historia logra provocarme los escalofríos que me prometieron porque, la verdad, con esta entrega sólo las primeras páginas lograron provocarme un leve temblor.
Si tuviera que escoger una palabra para describir este libro sería sobrevalorado. Ojo, esto no quiere decir que no me haya gustado pero la verdad, después de que me dijeran que era una pieza maestra del horror y que me iba a causar pesadillas, tenía altas expectativas que ni de lejos llegaron a cumplirse.
El libro tiene un inicio muy intenso. ¿Quién no moriría de miedo al ver a un puñado de payasos lunáticos en la noche, en la mitad de una carretera? Poco después de eso, suceden otros eventos que me hicieron pensar que en verdad, me había topado con un libro grotesco y perturbador. Sin embargo, después de las primeras páginas, cuando el narrador nos lleva al circo como tal, se cae todo.
Para ser honesta, más que un libro de horror, diría que El Circo de la Familia Pilo es un libro de fantasía oscura. Sí, ocurren algunos asesinatos, también van a aparecer algunas criaturas cuyas descripciones pueden ser tétricas pero todo se queda en un limbo que no acaba de cuajar (en cuanto a terror).
No es un mal libro para nada. Sencillamente les recomiendo que no vayan con la expectativa de encontrar un libro terrorífico porque probablemente los decepcione. Lo que sí van a encontrar es a un narrador bastante original que disfruta de desconcertar al lector.
Un último comentario. Muchas personas me dicen que les impresionó más el libro debido a que el autor padece esquizofrenia. No voy a hablar sobre una enfermedad mental aquí, por la simple razón de que no soy psiquiatra y no conozco el padecimiento a fondo. Lo poco que puedo decir es que sí, me parece perturbador que Will Elliot haya intentado plasmar en este libro (mediante la dualidad entre Jamie y el terrible payaso J.J.), lo que él experimenta día con día.
Habrá que leer la segunda parte para ver si esta historia logra provocarme los escalofríos que me prometieron porque, la verdad, con esta entrega sólo las primeras páginas lograron provocarme un leve temblor.
October 16, 2024
Pues ha sido una lectura irregular un tanto extraña pero no estuvo mal , lo mejor el final apoteósico.
Hubo momentos algo planos, ya que nos cuenta el día a día en este circo peculiar y como nuestro protagonista al ponerse este peculiar maquillaje para hacer su papel de payaso, se convierte en una persona totalmente diferente, mucho mas cruel y paranoico.
La parte mas interesante fue explicar como funciona el circo y su función.
Valoración: 6.5/10
Sinopsis: «Tienes dos días para pasar la audición. Será mejor que la pases, colega. Vas a unirte al circo. ¿A que es la mejor noticia que te han dado nunca?» Este ultimátum, en boca de un trío de payasos psicóticos, arroja a Jamie al terrorífico universo alternativo del circo de la familia Pilo, un mundo limítrofe entre el infierno y la tierra desde el que se han perpetuado las mayores tragedias de la humanidad. Sin embargo, en este lugar poblado por seres espantosos, grotescos y monstruosos en el que la violencia y el salvajismo son la norma, Jamie descubre que su peor enemigo es él mismo. Cuando se aplica el maquillaje blanco en la cara se transforma en J. J., el payaso más despiadado de todos. Y J. J. quiere a Jamie muerto...
Will Elliott comenzó a trabajar en esta novela después de haberle sido diagnosticada esquizofrenia a los diecinueve años. El circo de la familia Pilo es su primera obra y ha sido todo un éxito, consiguiendo cinco de los premios más importantes del sector.
Hubo momentos algo planos, ya que nos cuenta el día a día en este circo peculiar y como nuestro protagonista al ponerse este peculiar maquillaje para hacer su papel de payaso, se convierte en una persona totalmente diferente, mucho mas cruel y paranoico.
La parte mas interesante fue explicar como funciona el circo y su función.
Valoración: 6.5/10
Sinopsis: «Tienes dos días para pasar la audición. Será mejor que la pases, colega. Vas a unirte al circo. ¿A que es la mejor noticia que te han dado nunca?» Este ultimátum, en boca de un trío de payasos psicóticos, arroja a Jamie al terrorífico universo alternativo del circo de la familia Pilo, un mundo limítrofe entre el infierno y la tierra desde el que se han perpetuado las mayores tragedias de la humanidad. Sin embargo, en este lugar poblado por seres espantosos, grotescos y monstruosos en el que la violencia y el salvajismo son la norma, Jamie descubre que su peor enemigo es él mismo. Cuando se aplica el maquillaje blanco en la cara se transforma en J. J., el payaso más despiadado de todos. Y J. J. quiere a Jamie muerto...
Will Elliott comenzó a trabajar en esta novela después de haberle sido diagnosticada esquizofrenia a los diecinueve años. El circo de la familia Pilo es su primera obra y ha sido todo un éxito, consiguiendo cinco de los premios más importantes del sector.
May 6, 2022
Brutal, Sadistic, Terrifying, Disturbing, Bizarre. Should you read this if you like Horror? YES!!
April 6, 2009
If I learned anything from "The Pilo Family Circus" by Will Elliott, it is that you cannot trust the Internet to tell you if a book is good. According to my research, this will be the first negative review of a book that won all sorts of weird Australian awards for fiction, and earned a blurb, through no fault of the author -- I understand -- likening this novel to the works of David Lynch and Chuck Palahniuk.
I'm here to tell blurbologists that just because a writer smears feces on a wall doesn't make him anything like Chuck Palahniuk.
In fact, this is exactly the sort of book that shouldn't be reviewed by anyone. It's not worth it. It is the equivalent of a stack of trade paper copies with the title scrawled in lipstick, featuring a high heeled shoe as the main art on the cover. There is nothing satisfying about this story: it is disjointed, poorly written, the plot fails and the writer relies on some elementary school style transitions ("Unbeknownst to him, these were the last eight hours of peace he would have for quite some time"). Not to mention the inexplicable perspective changes, and lack of distinguishable voice.
In fact, the only reason I didn't stop reading after 40 pages was because I was eager to find out exactly how bad this book could be. Answer: Pretty awful. Every time I set it down, I forgot what was going on when I picked it up.
It's about Jamie, a dude who is basically living in frat boy-style squalor, sharing a crumbling home with some nonfriends. In the middle of the night, he has an interaction with some clowns, which eventually leads to him a role in this otherworldly circus filled with freaks and carnies and a man with a fish face. He is stuck there, after he is shown that the alternative -- his old life -- will never amount to anything. Meanwhile, his body is splitting time: sometimes he is Jamie, sometimes he is JJ, a clown prone to havoc. Blah blah chaos.
I have to admit that I feel a little bad dissing on this book so seriously. Obviously these are words made by someone who had the fortitude to get them into print with a pretty awesome cover and a foreward written by Katherine Dunn, a natural pick considering the circus premise. For that, Elliott gets a kudos. You did it, man. Unfortunately, I neither laughed, nor was I frightened throughout the course of the book. I couldn't distinguish characters from each other and a lot of the time I barely understood what was happening.
I'm here to tell blurbologists that just because a writer smears feces on a wall doesn't make him anything like Chuck Palahniuk.
In fact, this is exactly the sort of book that shouldn't be reviewed by anyone. It's not worth it. It is the equivalent of a stack of trade paper copies with the title scrawled in lipstick, featuring a high heeled shoe as the main art on the cover. There is nothing satisfying about this story: it is disjointed, poorly written, the plot fails and the writer relies on some elementary school style transitions ("Unbeknownst to him, these were the last eight hours of peace he would have for quite some time"). Not to mention the inexplicable perspective changes, and lack of distinguishable voice.
In fact, the only reason I didn't stop reading after 40 pages was because I was eager to find out exactly how bad this book could be. Answer: Pretty awful. Every time I set it down, I forgot what was going on when I picked it up.
It's about Jamie, a dude who is basically living in frat boy-style squalor, sharing a crumbling home with some nonfriends. In the middle of the night, he has an interaction with some clowns, which eventually leads to him a role in this otherworldly circus filled with freaks and carnies and a man with a fish face. He is stuck there, after he is shown that the alternative -- his old life -- will never amount to anything. Meanwhile, his body is splitting time: sometimes he is Jamie, sometimes he is JJ, a clown prone to havoc. Blah blah chaos.
I have to admit that I feel a little bad dissing on this book so seriously. Obviously these are words made by someone who had the fortitude to get them into print with a pretty awesome cover and a foreward written by Katherine Dunn, a natural pick considering the circus premise. For that, Elliott gets a kudos. You did it, man. Unfortunately, I neither laughed, nor was I frightened throughout the course of the book. I couldn't distinguish characters from each other and a lot of the time I barely understood what was happening.
November 1, 2019
Jamie is minding his own business when he spots some creepy clowns about town acting more than a wee bit strange. One drops a small bag containing some suspicious powder. When the coast is clear, Jamie picks it up and brings it home.
Well, wouldn’t you?!
This little incident of finders keepers brings the clown smack down upon Jamie and his roomie after the two accidentally ingest some of the clown powder. And there’s nothing funny about it. These clowns aren’t the happy go lucky, nose-honking types and they do some unimaginable gross-nasty things to Jamie’s abode. It’s pretty scary what they accomplish in a short span of time and from there on out Jamie’s life gets seriously messed up. Jamie finds this note tucked into the mouth of a dead bat:
Creepy, no?
Jamie, likely out of fear, does something so oddly funny that the demented clown leader actually laughs. He has passed the “audition” and is now a reluctant apprentice in The Pilo Family Circus. Jamie has no say so in the matter. The clowns are intimidating, persuasive and violently unpredictable. Jamie plays along, foolishly thinking he will make a quick exit from this nightmare as soon as he can. That doesn’t happen. Once the clown paint is slathered upon his face he becomes a new person and JJ the Clown takes over his body. JJ is unpredictable, mean just for kicks and refuses to follow the rules. He’s also a big cry baby which I have to say began to grate on my last nerve after a while. He also wants complete control of “the body” which was once owned by Jamie.
This is a weird ass book about a very twisted circus. The backdrop and the acts that inhabit this bizarre circus are painted with some vivid detail bringing the strange and tormented characters to life in my head. I could easily picture each one and felt especially bad for the once normal people touched by the “matter manipulator” who turned them into freaks for the sake of the show and were forced to do terrible, painful things to their bodies to entertain the masses. That bit disturbed the most. There are the typical petty jealousies you usually find in a book of this kind, with bad tempered carnies and lots of backstabbing but everything is amplified in this story. I don’t think I liked any of the characters, except for maybe Jamie, but I didn’t get to know him well enough to comment either way. And as much as I would’ve liked to have known more about the clowns, especially Doopy and his bizarre brother Goshy, this book wasn’t about getting all cozy with the characters. It was about the circus and the mayhem The Pilo’s unleashed upon the world. It was an imaginative book with some big ideas that wasn’t nearly as horrific in an in-yer-face sort of way as I’d anticipated. It took some big twists that surprised me but mostly I enjoyed the skewed writing.
Here’s a little taste of some of the offbeat descriptive moments and dialogue that litter the story:
And my personal favorite moment of dialogue:
This isn’t a book for everyone but if you’re in the mood for a uniquely strange read this will do the trick.
Well, wouldn’t you?!
This little incident of finders keepers brings the clown smack down upon Jamie and his roomie after the two accidentally ingest some of the clown powder. And there’s nothing funny about it. These clowns aren’t the happy go lucky, nose-honking types and they do some unimaginable gross-nasty things to Jamie’s abode. It’s pretty scary what they accomplish in a short span of time and from there on out Jamie’s life gets seriously messed up. Jamie finds this note tucked into the mouth of a dead bat:
“Sleep tight? Thirty hours to pass your audition. Make us laugh, feller. That’s the assignment. We don’t care how. We don’t care who gets hurt or killed. Make with the chuckles, you pass . . .
Gonko, on behalf of the Pilo Family Circus”
Creepy, no?
Jamie, likely out of fear, does something so oddly funny that the demented clown leader actually laughs. He has passed the “audition” and is now a reluctant apprentice in The Pilo Family Circus. Jamie has no say so in the matter. The clowns are intimidating, persuasive and violently unpredictable. Jamie plays along, foolishly thinking he will make a quick exit from this nightmare as soon as he can. That doesn’t happen. Once the clown paint is slathered upon his face he becomes a new person and JJ the Clown takes over his body. JJ is unpredictable, mean just for kicks and refuses to follow the rules. He’s also a big cry baby which I have to say began to grate on my last nerve after a while. He also wants complete control of “the body” which was once owned by Jamie.
This is a weird ass book about a very twisted circus. The backdrop and the acts that inhabit this bizarre circus are painted with some vivid detail bringing the strange and tormented characters to life in my head. I could easily picture each one and felt especially bad for the once normal people touched by the “matter manipulator” who turned them into freaks for the sake of the show and were forced to do terrible, painful things to their bodies to entertain the masses. That bit disturbed the most. There are the typical petty jealousies you usually find in a book of this kind, with bad tempered carnies and lots of backstabbing but everything is amplified in this story. I don’t think I liked any of the characters, except for maybe Jamie, but I didn’t get to know him well enough to comment either way. And as much as I would’ve liked to have known more about the clowns, especially Doopy and his bizarre brother Goshy, this book wasn’t about getting all cozy with the characters. It was about the circus and the mayhem The Pilo’s unleashed upon the world. It was an imaginative book with some big ideas that wasn’t nearly as horrific in an in-yer-face sort of way as I’d anticipated. It took some big twists that surprised me but mostly I enjoyed the skewed writing.
Here’s a little taste of some of the offbeat descriptive moments and dialogue that litter the story:
“George Pilo marched in with someone at his heels, a fat man with eyes so close together it looked like they were sharing a socket.”
And my personal favorite moment of dialogue:
“Listen up. Shut your fuck flaps!”
This isn’t a book for everyone but if you’re in the mood for a uniquely strange read this will do the trick.
August 22, 2017
Interesting take on the psycho clown genre. I would like to have seen some more background to a few of the characters. I was disappointed that the story ended, leaving me with some unanswered questions.
December 27, 2014
Now the Pilo Family Circus isn’t your usual slapstick circus affair and you don't find it intentionally, whether you're looking or not. And trust me when I say you really don't want to visit this place, every act has a purpose and it definitely isn't to entertain the Fuck out of you.
Jamie, driving home from work late one night, almost runs down a pedestrian. No ordinary bystander this guy's dressed in clown getup right down to the white face and fake red nose. What he remembers most was the absolute look of total bewilderment on the clowns face.
From this moment on, Jamie's life changes to the surreal, clowns plague his nightmares, someone's fucking with him and pretty soon he's got an audition, he's been chosen for a role not of or even in this world.
A life or death audition to be a clown of the Pilo Family Circus.
Here we meet Gonko, the clown’s boss and quite possibly one of my favourite supporting characters ever to grace the pages of a horror novel. Prone to the odd violent outburst, irrational humour and completely mesmerizing page time.
A few of my favourite quotes involving the psychotic clown.
'Gonko prowls around the car park, somehow able to walk with an assassin’s stealth despite his ridiculous large red shoes. His face seems split into vicious creases and hard as stone; it is a face that looks to have been used as sandpaper and soaked in whisky.'
And he owns a pair of clown pants that deliver objects of desire to his pockets, usually a weapon such as a knife, axe or even bigger knife.
'Gonko strolled over with a smile that seemed at odds with his face, as though nature had never intended the muscles to pull that way.'
The saying 'right next door to hell' wouldn't be too far amiss in describing the whereabouts of the Pilo Family Circus and good intentions is the last thing in the minds of the various lures that occupy this place of tricks.
A thoroughly entertaining, violent tale that shows a wonderfully warped imagination that you can't help being dragged in by and I did just like it.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
Jamie, driving home from work late one night, almost runs down a pedestrian. No ordinary bystander this guy's dressed in clown getup right down to the white face and fake red nose. What he remembers most was the absolute look of total bewilderment on the clowns face.
From this moment on, Jamie's life changes to the surreal, clowns plague his nightmares, someone's fucking with him and pretty soon he's got an audition, he's been chosen for a role not of or even in this world.
A life or death audition to be a clown of the Pilo Family Circus.
Here we meet Gonko, the clown’s boss and quite possibly one of my favourite supporting characters ever to grace the pages of a horror novel. Prone to the odd violent outburst, irrational humour and completely mesmerizing page time.
A few of my favourite quotes involving the psychotic clown.
'Gonko prowls around the car park, somehow able to walk with an assassin’s stealth despite his ridiculous large red shoes. His face seems split into vicious creases and hard as stone; it is a face that looks to have been used as sandpaper and soaked in whisky.'
And he owns a pair of clown pants that deliver objects of desire to his pockets, usually a weapon such as a knife, axe or even bigger knife.
'Gonko strolled over with a smile that seemed at odds with his face, as though nature had never intended the muscles to pull that way.'
The saying 'right next door to hell' wouldn't be too far amiss in describing the whereabouts of the Pilo Family Circus and good intentions is the last thing in the minds of the various lures that occupy this place of tricks.
A thoroughly entertaining, violent tale that shows a wonderfully warped imagination that you can't help being dragged in by and I did just like it.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
February 20, 2022
Jamie, un ragazzo come tanti, immerso in un lavoro alienante e con l'apatia comune a tutte le persone dell'inizio del Ventunesimo secolo, tira avanti vivendo in una bettola insieme ad altri suoi amici "scoppiati". Poi un bel giorno Jamie vede dei clowns talmente strani, sembrano usciti da quel film horror anni '80: "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" e da quel momento la sua vita cambierà radicalmente, ne succederanno di strane disavventure al nostro povero protagonista, ma...
Un'ottima scoperta, me l'ero segnato dall'anno della sua uscita in Italia, era il 2009, poi è rimasto sotterrato da altre letture, chissà poi perchè io abbia aspettato così tanto per leggerlo, ma... "così va la vita!"
All'inizio il racconto mi era parso un po' posticcio, gli eventi si assommavano così un po' lentamente e troppo infarciti di parolacce, perlopiù gratuite, ma pian piano ha preso sempre più carattere ed originalità. E' vero che deve molto ai grandi autori horror degli anni passati, vedi King e Lovecraft, passando da Barker e finendo con Palahniuk. Ma quello che più mi preme dire, è che il risultato finale, non è stato un minestrone rancido ed insipido preso qua e là dalle opere dei suddetti mostri sacri, ma un'opera che sta in piedi da sola e sprizza originalità da tutti i pori, soprattutto nella seconda metà del libro.
I clowns: personaggi immaginari, inventati dall'uomo per rallegrare lo spettatore nei circhi di tutto il mondo, dalla fine del secolo scorso hanno preso una piega terrificante, ambigua ed inquietante, molto ha fatto "It" di Stephen King e di conseguenza poi da tutti i film che ne trattano le gesta in salsa gore/splatter. Chissà poi perchè?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVX0...
Un'ottima scoperta, me l'ero segnato dall'anno della sua uscita in Italia, era il 2009, poi è rimasto sotterrato da altre letture, chissà poi perchè io abbia aspettato così tanto per leggerlo, ma... "così va la vita!"
All'inizio il racconto mi era parso un po' posticcio, gli eventi si assommavano così un po' lentamente e troppo infarciti di parolacce, perlopiù gratuite, ma pian piano ha preso sempre più carattere ed originalità. E' vero che deve molto ai grandi autori horror degli anni passati, vedi King e Lovecraft, passando da Barker e finendo con Palahniuk. Ma quello che più mi preme dire, è che il risultato finale, non è stato un minestrone rancido ed insipido preso qua e là dalle opere dei suddetti mostri sacri, ma un'opera che sta in piedi da sola e sprizza originalità da tutti i pori, soprattutto nella seconda metà del libro.
I clowns: personaggi immaginari, inventati dall'uomo per rallegrare lo spettatore nei circhi di tutto il mondo, dalla fine del secolo scorso hanno preso una piega terrificante, ambigua ed inquietante, molto ha fatto "It" di Stephen King e di conseguenza poi da tutti i film che ne trattano le gesta in salsa gore/splatter. Chissà poi perchè?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVX0...
May 10, 2015
Re-read (May, 2015)
This book is every bit as exciting as I remembered it being! The author's personal experiences were a strong influence in his writing of the personality changes between Jaimie, and JJ--his clown, alter-ego.
Not much more to say on this one other than I will definitely be reading it again in the future!
Highest recommendation!
This book is every bit as exciting as I remembered it being! The author's personal experiences were a strong influence in his writing of the personality changes between Jaimie, and JJ--his clown, alter-ego.
Not much more to say on this one other than I will definitely be reading it again in the future!
Highest recommendation!
March 13, 2023
Elliott serves up something between literary horror and bizarro here that won a spate of awards in Australia when it came out. Our main protagonist Jamie is a 20 something living in Brisbane, working as a doorman to some ritzy club. One day when he is going home after closing he comes across some strange people dressed as clowns acting more than a little odd. The 'boss' clown gathers them up, but not before one of them tosses a small bag under a hedge. Jamie finds the bag; it is filled with a strange dust that makes sounds like metal windchimes when shaken.
Jamie lives in a house shared by several other 20 somethings, from druggies to losers (or both) and after finding all his groceries gone (again!) when he finally gets home, he puts a little of the dust in what remains of his milk- let one of his stoner housemates find out what it does! The next day he comes home to find his house in ruins, obviously smashed up by the clowns and the housemate that drank the milk in a state of terror, for it seems the clowns are shortly going to offer him an audition and he better pass or else! Worse, Jamie also put some of the milk in his coffee and it seems the clowns are going to audition him also!
I do not want to go further in to the plot here, but I will say that the clowns somehow bring Jamie and his housemate back to the Pilo Family Circus, which seems to exist in some netherworld; the only access to the 'real world' is via the ticket booths for the visitors and some strange elevators coexisting as portapotties in construction sites for 'outside' excursions by the carnies. Jamie becomes a clown (not much choice), but finds out that the white face paint brings out his nasty alter ego to say the least. Get ready for some serious trials and tribulations!
I am still scratching my head a little after finishing this and really have no idea what Elliott was going for here. We have a somewhat demonic circus with carnies hundreds of years old that kinda travels through time in the netherworld, popping up in the real world occasionally . We have Jamie's struggles with his alter clown ego J.J.; does this character serve as some metaphor of human existence? We also have the bizarre other carnies, including various freaks, sideshow attractions, rides, etc. that exist as some sort of demonic parody of a real circus (or is it?). I guess I am trying to say there are several levels to this tale, with some aiming for 'deep' while many others are simply splatstick. Overall, an engaging read, and an unique one for sure. 3.5 carny stars!!
Jamie lives in a house shared by several other 20 somethings, from druggies to losers (or both) and after finding all his groceries gone (again!) when he finally gets home, he puts a little of the dust in what remains of his milk- let one of his stoner housemates find out what it does! The next day he comes home to find his house in ruins, obviously smashed up by the clowns and the housemate that drank the milk in a state of terror, for it seems the clowns are shortly going to offer him an audition and he better pass or else! Worse, Jamie also put some of the milk in his coffee and it seems the clowns are going to audition him also!
I do not want to go further in to the plot here, but I will say that the clowns somehow bring Jamie and his housemate back to the Pilo Family Circus, which seems to exist in some netherworld; the only access to the 'real world' is via the ticket booths for the visitors and some strange elevators coexisting as portapotties in construction sites for 'outside' excursions by the carnies. Jamie becomes a clown (not much choice), but finds out that the white face paint brings out his nasty alter ego to say the least. Get ready for some serious trials and tribulations!
I am still scratching my head a little after finishing this and really have no idea what Elliott was going for here. We have a somewhat demonic circus with carnies hundreds of years old that kinda travels through time in the netherworld, popping up in the real world occasionally . We have Jamie's struggles with his alter clown ego J.J.; does this character serve as some metaphor of human existence? We also have the bizarre other carnies, including various freaks, sideshow attractions, rides, etc. that exist as some sort of demonic parody of a real circus (or is it?). I guess I am trying to say there are several levels to this tale, with some aiming for 'deep' while many others are simply splatstick. Overall, an engaging read, and an unique one for sure. 3.5 carny stars!!
September 4, 2011
This book was so insanely hyped up by my fellow horror aficionados, that it was almost impossible for it to have lived up to all that praise. It did. And then some.
Pilo Family Circus is just so wild, crazy, imaginative, violent, darkly funny, disturbing, infinitely entertaining and more, it reads like an incredibly vivid bizarre dream/nightmare yet it's nearly impossible to put down.
Great cover art too, the malevolent clown on the cover really sets you up for what's to come. Send in the clowns. This is an absolute must read/own book.
Pilo Family Circus is just so wild, crazy, imaginative, violent, darkly funny, disturbing, infinitely entertaining and more, it reads like an incredibly vivid bizarre dream/nightmare yet it's nearly impossible to put down.
Great cover art too, the malevolent clown on the cover really sets you up for what's to come. Send in the clowns. This is an absolute must read/own book.
April 9, 2010
This is an easy review - this book kicks ass. What a great world Elliott built, full of original characters, and brought to a satisfying, bloody head. Great setup, good execution, fun storytelling. Not the greatest writing in the world, but I'm not deducting much for that because I was too busy digging the story. Read it.
dnf
October 27, 2022Dnf @22%
May 5, 2015
I missed my calling. Shoulda been a clown.
Read March 2013 and May 2015.
Read March 2013 and May 2015.
June 18, 2013
It's hard to rate this book. On the one hand, Elliot's technique isn't flawless. He makes mistakes that know-it-all literary types would scoff at, that the average reader could give two shits about. But at the same time, Elliot crafts a tale that is wildly imaginative and utterly enjoyable.
So, I give him 4.5 stars, rounded up for the fact that the book is the author's debut novel. Any errors in his craft are minor and probably only caught my eye because I can't help but look for them. They certainly do not detract from an awesome story.
The Pilo Family Circus starts with a creepy-menacing atmosphere. Normal guy Jamie encounters two darkly goofy clowns and their much more sinister leader. Through horrifying tactics, the clowns enlist Jamie into their hellish circus.
A touch of Killer Clowns from Outer Space and a hint of Night Breed might give you a vague idea what this novel reads like. Elliot presents six clowns, each with various degrees of psychosis and diverse personalities. Gonko, their leader, is sort of like the Joker (Jack Nicholson more so than Heath Ledger), particularly when he's pulling large weapons endlessly out of his pocket (reminds me of when Nicholson's Joker shot down the bat plane). And the clowns talk and act like clowns, even when they are doing the most mundane or murderous things. We never learn Gonko and the other clowns' back stories, which makes you wonder who to sympathize with and who to revile.
The clowns are set against an entire circus of original characters filling the roles of traditional circus performers (freaks, acrobats, lion tamer, fortune teller, etc.) Two characters I didn't fully understand were Mugabo the magician and the apprentice, whose name we never learn. I searched for symbolism with these two characters, but if it was there, I missed it. Perhaps they were more plot devices than characters.
Anyway, the plot moved, and it kept me reading and entertained. The atmosphere of the book, for me, evolved from chaotic and threatening to eerily sad and hopeless, a transition that was unexpected. I enjoyed Pilo from beginning to end and would recommend it to all fans of modern horror.
So, I give him 4.5 stars, rounded up for the fact that the book is the author's debut novel. Any errors in his craft are minor and probably only caught my eye because I can't help but look for them. They certainly do not detract from an awesome story.
The Pilo Family Circus starts with a creepy-menacing atmosphere. Normal guy Jamie encounters two darkly goofy clowns and their much more sinister leader. Through horrifying tactics, the clowns enlist Jamie into their hellish circus.
A touch of Killer Clowns from Outer Space and a hint of Night Breed might give you a vague idea what this novel reads like. Elliot presents six clowns, each with various degrees of psychosis and diverse personalities. Gonko, their leader, is sort of like the Joker (Jack Nicholson more so than Heath Ledger), particularly when he's pulling large weapons endlessly out of his pocket (reminds me of when Nicholson's Joker shot down the bat plane). And the clowns talk and act like clowns, even when they are doing the most mundane or murderous things. We never learn Gonko and the other clowns' back stories, which makes you wonder who to sympathize with and who to revile.
The clowns are set against an entire circus of original characters filling the roles of traditional circus performers (freaks, acrobats, lion tamer, fortune teller, etc.) Two characters I didn't fully understand were Mugabo the magician and the apprentice, whose name we never learn. I searched for symbolism with these two characters, but if it was there, I missed it. Perhaps they were more plot devices than characters.
Anyway, the plot moved, and it kept me reading and entertained. The atmosphere of the book, for me, evolved from chaotic and threatening to eerily sad and hopeless, a transition that was unexpected. I enjoyed Pilo from beginning to end and would recommend it to all fans of modern horror.
September 20, 2016
Reading the Pilo Family Circus is like being invited to a family reunion with VERY distant relatives. You know the kind. So distant you don't want anyone knowing you ARE family. All you know going in is that some craziness is about to go down. And as much as you expect it, as much as you know it's coming, the insanity that ensues is far more alarming, (and entertaining), than anything you might have imagined.
The novel has almost a stream-of-conscience approach to it, with characters moving throughout without what might seem like a through-line or clearcut plot. It makes for a fascinating, if somewhat frustrating, read. With the mythology behind the Pilo Family Circus sprinkled sparsely throughout, it's worth continuing on, if only to see how crazy things can get.
While the plot itself may not be the strongest aspect of this novel, the characters certainly shine. From Kurt and George Pilo and their attempts to kill each other, to the clowns and the individuality with which they're imbued, to some of the minor characters, who are equally memorable. In fact, probably the weakest character for me was the one whose story we were following. Jamie / J.J. was difficult to identify with, while the world in which he had been deposited was as fascinating as any world I've encountered.
Unlike many books, the flaws in this novel are part of what make it shine. I'm reminded of Marcus Arelias' classic line in Gladiator -- "Are you not entertained?" There's no question with this book, you will be.
The novel has almost a stream-of-conscience approach to it, with characters moving throughout without what might seem like a through-line or clearcut plot. It makes for a fascinating, if somewhat frustrating, read. With the mythology behind the Pilo Family Circus sprinkled sparsely throughout, it's worth continuing on, if only to see how crazy things can get.
While the plot itself may not be the strongest aspect of this novel, the characters certainly shine. From Kurt and George Pilo and their attempts to kill each other, to the clowns and the individuality with which they're imbued, to some of the minor characters, who are equally memorable. In fact, probably the weakest character for me was the one whose story we were following. Jamie / J.J. was difficult to identify with, while the world in which he had been deposited was as fascinating as any world I've encountered.
Unlike many books, the flaws in this novel are part of what make it shine. I'm reminded of Marcus Arelias' classic line in Gladiator -- "Are you not entertained?" There's no question with this book, you will be.
October 19, 2017
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
My full review & more on my blog!
TW: Homophobia, Fire, Death, Animal Abuse (and death), Murder, Language, Self-Harm, R-word, Drugs
I'm not really sure what to say about this book, other than I loved it! It's horrorific at times, funny at others and tugged at my heart at other times still. It's fast-paced, or maybe that's me as I read it in 3 days because Spookathon. Still I was entertained and wanting to know what was going to happen through-out the entire book. It occasionally made me think. The writing was easy to read.
I fell in love with Jamie. The characters felt well done to me for their purposes. The plot and world-building really shined to me. I fell in love with the carnival! In a weird way sure, but still. Writing a review is difficult for this book but not for lack of love for it! If this sounds at all up your alley give it a shot! I can't wait to get the sequel!
My Booktube Channel
My full review & more on my blog!
TW: Homophobia, Fire, Death, Animal Abuse (and death), Murder, Language, Self-Harm, R-word, Drugs
I'm not really sure what to say about this book, other than I loved it! It's horrorific at times, funny at others and tugged at my heart at other times still. It's fast-paced, or maybe that's me as I read it in 3 days because Spookathon. Still I was entertained and wanting to know what was going to happen through-out the entire book. It occasionally made me think. The writing was easy to read.
I fell in love with Jamie. The characters felt well done to me for their purposes. The plot and world-building really shined to me. I fell in love with the carnival! In a weird way sure, but still. Writing a review is difficult for this book but not for lack of love for it! If this sounds at all up your alley give it a shot! I can't wait to get the sequel!
My Booktube Channel
July 5, 2015
A good horror novel with an interesting plot and plenty of macabre humour, The Pilo Family Circus mixes violence, slapstick, and a smidgen of H.P. Lovecraft together to good effect. In the story, Jaime is a perfectly normal, fairly meek twentysomething working as a concierge and spending his time daydreaming about hooking up with his beautiful co-worker. Then he meets "the clowns" and it all changes. Like a psychotic version of the Three Stooges in face paint, the clowns begin by terrorizing Jaime and soon decide to recruit him as a fellow clown in the greatest show this side of Hell: The Pilo Family Circus. Finding himself trapped in the circus and desparate to get away, Jaime soon learns that his biggest obstacle to escape is JJ, the person he becomes once the face paint is put on. According to the book's adage "the nicer the person, the meaner the clown", JJ is a sadist who likes his new career and dislikes sharing his body with a wus like Jaime.
If you're looking for spine tingling scares, then keep on looking. There isn't much in the book that's particularly scary. It's mostly creepy with an ample amount of dark humour (and slapstick violence) scattered throughout it. The circus setting and it's performers are well described and Elliott keeps the origins and the true purpose of the circus a mystery for long enough to build some suspense.
I particularly liked the struggle between Jaime and his dark half, JJ. Elliott does a good job of creating a despicable character in JJ and building on the tension of giving Jaime an opponent that knows all of his thoguhts and plans. Interesting enough, Elliott wrote this book during a time when he was diagnosed and struggled with schizophrenia. Though Elliott denies any part of the book is autobiographical, I'm sure some of his own struggle to maintain his identity and self crept into the tug of war between Jaime and JJ.
Elliott's prose style is adequate for the material. There is nothing particularly elegant about his writing, but it's clear and concise. All in all, it's a fast and fun read.
If you're looking for spine tingling scares, then keep on looking. There isn't much in the book that's particularly scary. It's mostly creepy with an ample amount of dark humour (and slapstick violence) scattered throughout it. The circus setting and it's performers are well described and Elliott keeps the origins and the true purpose of the circus a mystery for long enough to build some suspense.
I particularly liked the struggle between Jaime and his dark half, JJ. Elliott does a good job of creating a despicable character in JJ and building on the tension of giving Jaime an opponent that knows all of his thoguhts and plans. Interesting enough, Elliott wrote this book during a time when he was diagnosed and struggled with schizophrenia. Though Elliott denies any part of the book is autobiographical, I'm sure some of his own struggle to maintain his identity and self crept into the tug of war between Jaime and JJ.
Elliott's prose style is adequate for the material. There is nothing particularly elegant about his writing, but it's clear and concise. All in all, it's a fast and fun read.
October 22, 2012
This was quite good.
Anytime I place a book on my to-read list, I make a concentrated effort to avoid knowing any details about the plot. With this one, I was expecting a grim, horrific ride into hell. Well, it wasn't quite that, but surprisingly there were a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
This was mostly around the beginning of the story, and even though I had gone into this in the hopes of some October scares, it turned out I wanted more laughs as the story went on. Elliott has a great sense of humour.
I don't want to divulge any plot developments, because you're best going into this one blind. Elliott did a great job of describing the Pilo Family Circus, and I could perfectly visualize it. A lot of writers can bog you down with descriptions to the point where it's near impossible to step back and see the whole picture, but here he uses a perfect balance of descriptive prose, dialogue, and plot movement.
If I had any beef about this novel, it would be that I would have liked to explore the histories of Gonko, Goshy, Doopy, Winston, heck, everybody in the circus!
A solid 4 stars and recommended.
Anytime I place a book on my to-read list, I make a concentrated effort to avoid knowing any details about the plot. With this one, I was expecting a grim, horrific ride into hell. Well, it wasn't quite that, but surprisingly there were a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
This was mostly around the beginning of the story, and even though I had gone into this in the hopes of some October scares, it turned out I wanted more laughs as the story went on. Elliott has a great sense of humour.
I don't want to divulge any plot developments, because you're best going into this one blind. Elliott did a great job of describing the Pilo Family Circus, and I could perfectly visualize it. A lot of writers can bog you down with descriptions to the point where it's near impossible to step back and see the whole picture, but here he uses a perfect balance of descriptive prose, dialogue, and plot movement.
If I had any beef about this novel, it would be that I would have liked to explore the histories of Gonko, Goshy, Doopy, Winston, heck, everybody in the circus!
A solid 4 stars and recommended.
July 12, 2020
Leggere a intervalli ”La città dei clown” equivale a immergere in continuazione la testa in una vasca d'acqua per poi risollevarla e girarla per la stanza in un senso di stordimento, vertigine, allucinazione.
Un tuffo nella pazzia.
La copertina cita, molto strategicamente, Stephen King e Lovecraft...in realtà la storia raccontata da Will Elliott si avvicina di più a qualcosa di simile ad Arancia Meccanica, un incrocio di azione e violenza condito con una bella dose di grottesco e irrazionalità.
Siamo a Brisbane, in Australia, e Jamie è un giovane ragazzo squattrinato che condivide la casa con un gruppo di coetanei cocainomani e disordinati. Fin qui, nulla di strano. Poi, in un brutto giorno per lui, Jamie s'imbatte in un gruppo di clown che lo prendono di mira, perseguitandolo e devastandogli la casa, fino a quando decidono di portarlo nel loro circo...una sorta di inferno senza tempo e senza spazio dove convivono nani malefici, freak spaventosi e misteriose maghe. E qui Jamie è costretto a diventare uno di loro: ogni mattina si tinge la faccia con una pittura bianca e diventa JJ, il suo altero ego pagliaccesco, sadico e cattivo come i suoi compagni, pronto ad assistere e a perpetrare violenze e vandalismi d'ogni tipo. Il circo è un posto pericoloso, dove morte e malvagità sono dietro l'angolo, e il lettore più volte sgrana gli occhi chiedendosi cosa effettivamente sta leggendo....con pochi brividi effettivi sulle spalle forse, ma con grande curiosità di vedere come la storia prosegue.
Seppur giocando con la figura vista e rivista del clown e nonostante l'effettiva assenza di horror puro, il romanzo di Elliott riesce comunque a essere, per trama e ambientazione, curioso e originale, fino alla fine. Anche perchè a tutti farebbe comodo credere che Jamie si risvegli una bella mattina nel letto di casa sua dopo aver fatto un brutto sogno...ma ahimè, non sarà così!
Un tuffo nella pazzia.
La copertina cita, molto strategicamente, Stephen King e Lovecraft...in realtà la storia raccontata da Will Elliott si avvicina di più a qualcosa di simile ad Arancia Meccanica, un incrocio di azione e violenza condito con una bella dose di grottesco e irrazionalità.
Siamo a Brisbane, in Australia, e Jamie è un giovane ragazzo squattrinato che condivide la casa con un gruppo di coetanei cocainomani e disordinati. Fin qui, nulla di strano. Poi, in un brutto giorno per lui, Jamie s'imbatte in un gruppo di clown che lo prendono di mira, perseguitandolo e devastandogli la casa, fino a quando decidono di portarlo nel loro circo...una sorta di inferno senza tempo e senza spazio dove convivono nani malefici, freak spaventosi e misteriose maghe. E qui Jamie è costretto a diventare uno di loro: ogni mattina si tinge la faccia con una pittura bianca e diventa JJ, il suo altero ego pagliaccesco, sadico e cattivo come i suoi compagni, pronto ad assistere e a perpetrare violenze e vandalismi d'ogni tipo. Il circo è un posto pericoloso, dove morte e malvagità sono dietro l'angolo, e il lettore più volte sgrana gli occhi chiedendosi cosa effettivamente sta leggendo....con pochi brividi effettivi sulle spalle forse, ma con grande curiosità di vedere come la storia prosegue.
Seppur giocando con la figura vista e rivista del clown e nonostante l'effettiva assenza di horror puro, il romanzo di Elliott riesce comunque a essere, per trama e ambientazione, curioso e originale, fino alla fine. Anche perchè a tutti farebbe comodo credere che Jamie si risvegli una bella mattina nel letto di casa sua dopo aver fatto un brutto sogno...ma ahimè, non sarà così!
September 5, 2012
I am not entirely sure how to review this one. The story idea was very unique and I thought many of the characterizations were quite excellent. It seemed to be flirting with brilliance, but...
*mild spoilers*
The first few chapters of this started off great and I thought I was in for a brutal and violent clown horror-fest. Then I got to know the clowns a little bit more and they somehow left me wanting a bit. There were definitely a few parts that were laugh out loud funny, but I just couldn’t tell if the clowns were suppose to be dangerous or doofus.
Gonko was by far my favorite clown and the rudest and crudest of the lot. He had some truly great dialog. Unfortunately, the main character(s) Jamie/JJ fell short for me. JJ for supposedly being such a “bad-ass” clown was really just a sniveling beatch throughout his time at the circus.
Overall, I am glad that I read it. 3+ Stars and a recommended read for originality and premise alone.
Note: The author bio and the story of how Pilo came to be written is a very amazing story in itself.
*mild spoilers*
The first few chapters of this started off great and I thought I was in for a brutal and violent clown horror-fest. Then I got to know the clowns a little bit more and they somehow left me wanting a bit. There were definitely a few parts that were laugh out loud funny, but I just couldn’t tell if the clowns were suppose to be dangerous or doofus.
Gonko was by far my favorite clown and the rudest and crudest of the lot. He had some truly great dialog. Unfortunately, the main character(s) Jamie/JJ fell short for me. JJ for supposedly being such a “bad-ass” clown was really just a sniveling beatch throughout his time at the circus.
Overall, I am glad that I read it. 3+ Stars and a recommended read for originality and premise alone.
Note: The author bio and the story of how Pilo came to be written is a very amazing story in itself.
June 9, 2013
These crazy clowns cause such a ruckus.
It's not your average circus.
They present false smiles,
in painted faces.
Trip you up
with knotted laces.
They make strange noises,
peeps and whines.
This job ain't no joke.
It's a real crime.
Do what you're told,
Don't make the Pilo's blue.
Step on their toes,
and it's the funhouse for you.
by Nikki
It wasn't my mug of coffee. I didn't get the horror of it all. Yes, it had its psycho moments, but there was a lot of repetition. Boring day in and day out stuff. They put on maybe two clown shows that were described? Maybe if I experienced it from a human attending the circus I would have gotten more out of it. The idea was great. The execution was not.
It's not your average circus.
They present false smiles,
in painted faces.
Trip you up
with knotted laces.
They make strange noises,
peeps and whines.
This job ain't no joke.
It's a real crime.
Do what you're told,
Don't make the Pilo's blue.
Step on their toes,
and it's the funhouse for you.
by Nikki
It wasn't my mug of coffee. I didn't get the horror of it all. Yes, it had its psycho moments, but there was a lot of repetition. Boring day in and day out stuff. They put on maybe two clown shows that were described? Maybe if I experienced it from a human attending the circus I would have gotten more out of it. The idea was great. The execution was not.
Read
October 28, 2022Still not exactly sure what I read, and not sure what I think entirely, but this was VERY weird, and very messed up!!
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