Step Right Up: Stories of Carnivals, Sideshows, and the Circus

by Nathaniel Knaebel (Editor)

Everyone loves a carnival, whether it's the Big Top or a traveling midway kicking up dust. These roving extravaganzas are as amusing as they are mysterious and as innocent as they are sordid. Step Right Up is a one-of-a-kind anthology that collects the finest literature and the most absorbing first-person accounts about carnivals, sideshows, and the circus, capturing all of the spectacle and sensation of this unusual and treasured tradition. A colorful assortment of characters populate the fairgrounds and circus tents of this unique collection from circus legends like P. T. Barnum and Otis Jordan the Frog Prince to a motley crew of ride monkeys and rubes. Step Right Up takes the reader everywhere from a small village in Romania to the streets of Coney Island and offers everything from Fred Rosen's account of the scandalous demise of Grady "Lobster Boy" Stiles Jr. to imaginative fiction like Michael Chabon's macabre take on the origin of clowns. The bizarre romance and mystery of the world's oldest and oddest traveling institution come to life in selections from Katherine Dunn, Kevin Baker, Jim Tully, Flannery O'Connor, Lee Durkee, Robert Hough, Michael Chabon, Fred Rosen, Susan Dickinson, Joseph Michell, Edora Welty, and Ellen Hunnicut.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2004

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking to do some research into carnivals for an upcoming project when i stumbled upon this unusual completation of writings. it's truly unique containing fiction, non-fiction, crime writing, poetry, even PT Barnum's obit from tne New York Times circa 1891. the fiction writers run the gamit from Mark Twain to Flannery O'Conner to Franz Kafka and back. Non-fiction contributors are as ecclectic ranging from Joseph Mitchell to Fred Rosen. Since it was such a broad mix I naturally liked some features better than others and though at first I didn't think this anthology would be any help to me, it was ironcially exactly what I was looking for because it describes to accurately the characters (good, bad and really ugly) who inhabit this world and more importantly, what draws us as spectators to it.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories, both nonfiction and fiction, of life among the carnies and circus folk, sideshows and trailers. I somewhat wished the stories, some written by well-known authors, landed more on the side of nonfiction. many of the characters, real or made up, were fascinating. I grew up not too far from Gibsonton, the winter residence of many carnival folk, and one of the owners of a carnival lived not far from me. My Dad often had to patrol there and often told tales of people he met, having to answer calls of domestic situation with unusual participants. I would have liked to learn more about famous performers ("freaks"). I was also interested in the coded language and the attitudes of the carnies. Still, I didn't love what was presented as much as I had hoped I would.

[Stephbencin]

This really cool guy I know edited it...

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very diverse selection of excerpts, short stories, and articles some non-fiction some fiction. I didn't enjoy most of them, but it did find a few books I would like to check into more. Some of the stories were from books I had read before and it was a delight to revisit parts of those stories!

[Steven W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of these were excerpts from fictional circus stories and I expected more non-fiction.

[kathy leland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has joined my growing list of titles about carnivals and sideshows, a minor obession that started when I got completely hooked on HBO's amazing 2 season series "Carnivale." I think many of us are fascinated by the alternate world of the carnival and the weirdly counter-intuitive kinds of "families" that formed among these travelers. Although there aren't really any genuine carnivals left anymore, those that operated in the 1930's were inhabited by America's very own kind of gothic gypsies and wanderers. I love the iconic nature of this subject and its accompanying themes: magicians, jugglers, the epic Fool of the Tarot deck, the Janus-faced god, the spectacles and performances that long ago served as pageants of religion and belief for the pre-Christian ages.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of short stories, essays, and other about circuses and carnivals. There was a bit more of a focus on carnivals, especially freak shows, than on the circus proper. I enjoyed the nonfiction pieces best, even though they did focus on the freaks rather than the performers. One memorable piece was about Lobster Boy, a man with hands genetically fused into "claws" and how he got away with murder. I enjoyed that most of the pieces were of a darker nature (especially the last one!). The obituary of P.T. Barnum was an interesting addition, mostly because it focused on his upbringing and business sense rather than the circuses he created.

Worth it if you're a circophile.

[Tanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't actually finish reading this book, but I'm saving it for later, because it turned out to be more in the fiction department, which doesn't fit my thesis. What I read, I liked; the excerpts from different books about circus seemed interesting. It's a shame I don't have time to read it all the way through at the moment. Maybe some day.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun book to read, especially for people who like reading books about the circus. An anthology of stories "behind the scenes" at carnivals and circuses, collected from various sources. Includes a short bio of the late, great P.T. Barnum and his rise to fame. A pleasant diversion!

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up as research for a carnival themed board game I'm designing. Many of the stories and essays were quite useful, but I wound up skipping a great deal of the back half of the book as the entries were only tangentially about carnivals.

[Rozanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty uneven compilation of essays and short stories. A disappointment, really. Some of the pieces were poorly written or just not very interesting. I don't recommend it.

[Betsy Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro muito bem conseguido, com uma excelente combinação de histórias verídicas e fictícias acerca das mais fantásticas personagens.