The Circus of Dr. Lao (Compass Books)

by Charles G Finney

Other authorsBoris Artzybasheff (Illustrator)
Paperback, 1961

Status

Available

Call number

FIC A4 Fin

Publication

Viking Press

Pages

159

Description

Abalone, Arizona, is a sleepy southwestern town whose chief concerns are boredom and surviving the Great Depression--that is, until the circus of Dr. Lao arrives and immensely and irrevocably changes the lives of everyone drawn to its tents. Expecting a sideshow spectacle, the citizens of Abalone instead confront and learn profound lessons from the mythical made real--a chimera, a Medusa, a talking sphinx, a sea serpent, witches, the Hound of the Hedges, a werewolf, a mermaid, an ancient god, and the elusive, ever-changing Dr. Lao himself. The circus unfolds, spinning magical, dark strands that ensnare the town's populace: the sea serpent's tale shatters love's illusions; the fortune-teller's shocking pronouncements toll the tedium and secret dread of every person's life; sensual undercurrents pour forth for men and women alike; and the dead walk again.   Dazzling and macabre, literary and philosophical, The Circus of Dr. Lao has been acclaimed as a masterpiece of speculative fiction and influenced such writers as Ray Bradbury.… (more)

Collection

Barcode

2134

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1935

Physical description

159 p.; 7.25 inches

Similar in this library

User reviews

LibraryThing member k8jonez
This is an odd little book that I wasn't sure I liked just after I read it. Some parts are painfully of its time. (1940's) But the circus imagery and disturbing carnavalesque situations always seem to pop in to my head when I'm writing. A good book is one you think about later. This qualifies.
LibraryThing member Sylak
I can easily see how people would either love or hate this book with equal passion. It is quite unlike anything I have ever read and I personally fell in love with it from the moment I flicked through some of the pages and came across the segment where Etaoin philosophises with the Snake. It was a
Show More
passage written with such style and dark humour that I knew that if the rest of the book was anything like this, I was going to be in for a very special treat.
I bought it, and I was not disappointed.

All I can say is forget everything you know or think you know about conventions in literature and open your mind and your imagination to possibilities and you will treasure this work as I do.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cmdrsuzdal
One of the most interesting things about this book is that with the exception of some of the outdated racial language (not the ones in the dialogue, but some of the narration) the prose and language is shockingly modern. If I had picked the book up blind I could have believed it was from the
Show More
Sixties, or Nineties, or even from a new slipstream/modern fantasy type author.

If you come to this book after watching the movie, be aware it is more cynical, and a bit darked. It is also less plot driven. Not unlike some Bradbury of the same era, also reminiscent of Beagle in spots
Show Less
LibraryThing member coffeezombie
Strange phantasmagoria of mythic references and absurd humor as the titular circus enters a dull Arizona town. The breadth of references and their imaginative pastiche carry an otherwise plotless tale along. The point though isn't the story, but the added incidents and the rush of imagery.
Show More
Fascinating read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
"I am a calm, intelligent girl," Miss Agnes reassured herself. "I am a calm, intelligent girl, and I have not seen Pan on Main Street. Nevertheless, I will go to the circus and make sure."

Published in 1935, “The Circus of Dr. Lao” is a forerunner of all those books where a mysterious circus or
Show More
travelling fair (or even shop) appears in a small town, full of wonders that have a powerful affect on the townsfolk, whether for good or bad.

When a notice in the local newspaper announces the arrival of a travelling circus, the locals flock to see it, but they seem surprisingly hard to impress. When the circus parades through town, with three wagons drawn by a unicorn, a sphinx and a shining golden ass, they are prepared to believe that they are just rare breeds rather than mythological creatures, and are more concerned with arguing whether the creature in one of the cages is a man, a bear or possibly even a Russian.

There’s not much of a plot; the circus is announced, here is a parade, the townsfolk visit the attractions on the midway and watch the main show in the circus tent, but apart from a couple of encounters with the satyr and the sea serpent, most people seem unimpressed. The fortune teller’s fortunes may be truthful but that makes them unpeasant and boring, while two young men seeing a werewolf transforming in to a woman, complain because she is an old woman, rather than being thrilled by seeing the metamorphosis. Even a rebellion by the sea serpent and a dozen people being turned to stone by the medusa's gaze, and don't stop the show.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jlparent
This book inspired Ray Bradbury (and countless others) and so I had to pick it up. It's weird and amazing (especially when you realize this came out in 1935 originally). In a small town, during the Great Depression, a circus of marvels arrives; among them a sea serpent, the hound of the hedges and
Show More
a medusa (just to name a few). There isn't a plot, per se, other than peeking in on the various visits by townsfolk - but the bite of the book is in these visits. With few exceptions, most folks complain about what they see, refusing the magic and beauty and rarity of said marvels - and the very subtle and satiric humor that fills the book is spurred by this. It wasn't what I expected, but it still exceeded my expectations!
Show Less
LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
Much better than I expected but several warnings. First, while it doesn't ever use the N word (at least in my edition), part of the cast of the circus are Africans who put on a peepshow performance that plays on the worst racist stereotypes presumed to be held by it small western Arizona town
Show More
audience. Second, that same audience frequently uses the C word when referring to Dr. Lao, which is not unexpected for the time and place. Dr. Lao himself occasionally suddenly lapses into the most caricatured Chinese-English, but only when he doesn't want to answer some question about the circus. In literally the next breath he returns to his narration of the wonders of the circus in fluent, highly-polished English. Third, sex makes a frequent appearance, clear but not in pornographic detail. Dr. Lao at one point spends some time on the importance of sex and procreation, in order to introduce the sex-less Hedge Hound, a "dog" created by plants in a burst as the ultimate expression of life.

So what makes this short novel of worth, given these potential issues? An incredible imaginative drive that begins with a newspaper ad promising one wonder after another to be seen, climaxing in one that surely must be false, and yet.... The drive falters a bit when the circus parade passes through town, because this is when most of the townspeople are introduced, and there are quite a few. But once we enter the circus, the unexpected never stops. It begins with Agnus Birdsong, high-school English teacher (as she is repeatedly described) visiting the aged dirty satyr in his tent -- wine lees in his beard, manure on his hooves -- and there is no false "oh my goodness" on her part. Dr. Lao's narration not only tells the history of the circus crew - mostly Greek myths who eventually had to leave civilized Europe for the Far East -- but eventually reveals some of Dr. Lao's motivations and dreams. How much control he has over the circus is often in doubt.

And when the story ends, the book does not. There is another 20 pages, call "The Catalogue", listing every character, animal, and god that appeared, however briefly, some with just a pjhrase, e.g., "a good party man", and some with a paragraph or two, a mix of hilarious and poignant.

If the issues listed at the front are now a show-stopper, then I highly recommend this, especially for fans of modern fantasists such as Kelly Link. This is one of the few books I've read where some idea or turn of phrase surprised every few pages from beginning to end.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rpuchalsky
An odd "cult classic" early fantasy, about a circus with a magician who can do real magic and a number of mythological beasts, written from the point of view of numerous characters who visit the circus. I'm guessing that it was a cult classic largely because of its inexplicit but BDSM-flavored sex
Show More
scenes and general counterculturality; it's not very well written. An interesting sort of historical curiosity.
Show Less
LibraryThing member RobinGregoryAuthor
Quirky, nightmarish, erotic. There's a satyr and a mermaid, a unicorn and a chimera; there are erotic dancers; there's the opium-smoking Dr. Lao. There's an artful cover and wonderful illustrations throughoutÛӉÛÓbut. We have no main character and the omniscient storyteller doesn't
Show More
seem to have a mind.

One third of the way through, I had to skip forward to find out if there would be an actual story. Other than the parading of fantastical imagery and the reactions of common folk, there is no narrative development. Yes, the language is quite modern and a speculative novel was pretty adventuresome for the author's time. And yet, for me, there's not enough story, no arcs, no driving desires, no firmly rooted characters, no real conflict to be worked through‰ÛӉÛÓjust a whimsical array of literary and imaginative playthings appearing in dreamlike sequences, as if it's a psychedelic trip.

I think this would have been more successful had the circus impacted the characters lives, had it caused upheaval of the status quo, not just piquing curiosity, but causing some tangible change, for better or worse.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
A bizarre circus that travels around showing people little pieces of themselves. This is one of those books that will haunt you after you have read it.
LibraryThing member SharonMariaBidwell
The film, 7 Faces of Dr Lao fired up an already overactive imagination in my childhood so when I came across the ‘obscure classic’ (as John Marco who pens the foreword for this book describes this novel) I had to read it. The introduction and foreword explain much of the book which can be
Show More
classed more as a longer short story rather than a novel. There’s no real plot, no real pattern to the narrative, and no satisfactory conclusion, plus a lot of remarks that definitely wouldn’t pass any level of ‘correctness’ in a fair, just, modern day society and rightly so. But every book like all works of creativity are of their generation. It’s a difficult story to categorise, recommend, or denounce. People visit the travelling show. Some of them leave and some of them don’t.

It’s easier to ask why the story of Dr Lao’s circus retains a degree of fondness if not outright love in so many hearts. Possibly, it’s the circus itself, a carnival not of acrobats, trained animals, and clowns, but of creatures and entities far more magical, of mythology and legend, and conceivably far more dangerous. Where my young self felt unsettled by performing animals long before such acts were widely frowned upon, I might have been more excited to view a mermaid, a sea serpent, and to peek at the Medusa through the safety of a mirror. When Dr Lao yells for everyone to see the show, the circus calls.
Show Less
LibraryThing member selfnoise
Small, mysterious novel, somewhat reminiscent of Bradbury. Highly recommended by some: I was impressed, though it isn't my favorite novel. Very good for a change of pace.
LibraryThing member amandrake
A slender book with somewhat dated language but an oddly modern feel, with undercurrents of subversive societal commentary. Very recommended.
LibraryThing member antao
(Original Review, 1980-11-14)

Circa 1935(4?) this fantasy involves a circus which visits a hick town in Arizona. The circus is run by a weird little Chinaman and is comprised primarily of mythical beings (Unicorns, Chimeras, Mermaids, etc.). It just has to be a metaphor for SOMETHING -- I wish I
Show More
could figure out what it is meant to represent [indirect question]. Among one of the more interesting features of Dr. Lao (scratch the "among") is that when he is telling someone off he uses broken English with a Chinese lilt -- however, when he is speaking of his animals or telling an anecdote he uses very clear English. The book also has a rather long complete cast of characters at the end some of which are extremely peripheral to the story and the biographics [2018 edit: sic] accompanying each is very strange -- also very peripheral. I hear that there is a film of the same name (probably of the same topic). The copy that I have has some drawings whose flavour matches the text (like the author/artist has been smoking funny little cigarettes). I would indicate the artist and book publisher but I don't have the copy here.

[2018 EDIT: This review was written at the time as I was running my own personal BBS server. Much of the language of this and other reviews written in 1980 reflect a very particular kind of language: what I call now in retrospect a “BBS language”.]
Show Less
LibraryThing member john.cooper
In 1981 I saw an unusual 1964 film, and in 2019, I sought out the 1935 novella from which it was adapted. It won, says Wikipedia, the 1935 National Book Award for Most Original Book, which seems appropriate, and Ray Bradbury acknowledged it as an inspiration to his own work.

The story concerns the
Show More
mysterious arrival of a circus in an Arizona town--mysterious because no one sees it arrive either by wagon or by train. Instead of the usual panoply of animals and performers, it consists of only a dozen or so attractions, not excluding the enigmatic proprietor, Dr. Lao, who switches seemingly at random between the most eloquent ornamental English and the most cringeworthy broken English of stereotype. Other attractions include a sea serpent--caged, articulate of speech, and eighty feet long; a medusa; a sphinx; a chimera; the soothsayer Apollonius of Tyana; a creature that some unhesitatingly identify as a Russian man and others, just as unhesitatingly, identify as a bear; and a faun, complete with hooves and lyre.

The beginning of the book describes various denizens of the town reacting to the arrival of the circus. With the exception of one, Mr. Etaoin, a proofreader at the local newspaper, they are portrayed as various types of bumpkins and rubes, not excluding a couple of overeducated college boys passing through town on the way back from a drunken trip to Mexico. The misanthropy of this part of the book is wearying.

In the rest of the book, the townspeople encounter the members of the circus, sometimes with life-changing results, sometimes with no results at all. One insists on looking directly at the medusa, with predictable consequences. Another has her fortune told, brutally and dispassionately, and refuses to engage with it even enough to be offended by it. Mr. Etaoin has a private interview with the serpent, which is both personal and philosophical--although here, as with Dr. Lao, the monster switches, in telling a story, from a cultivated English to an almost comically exaggerated country dialect, and then back again. Occasionally scenes occur which don't really have to do with the townspeople at all, such as when a dead man from another town is resurrected (he immediately runs off, saying he has business to take care of), and when Dr. Lao gives an extended lecture on the medusa, starting with the species and diets of the various snakes on her head, and moving on to a meditation on the place of wonders, exempt from evolution and natural history, in the biological world. Parts of this book seem to have been written purely for the author's pleasure, which is part of its charm.

At the end of the book the circus packs up and leaves. That's it. There is an appendix that lists the persons mentioned in the book and tells a little bit more about them, but it shouldn't be mistaken for an epilogue, much less any kind of arch, revealing commentary.

When Mark Twain wrote that persons attempting to find a plot in "Huckleberry Finn" would be shot, he wasn't denying the existence of a plot; he was making the point that he preferred his book to be enjoyed instead of analyzed. Persons attempting to find a plot in "The Circus of Dr. Lao" will only be baffled. The unanswered mysteries only begin with the changes of dialect. On the other hand, the mysteries, together with its exuberance as a work of imagination, are doubtless what Ray Bradbury admired about the work. Although the story of the timeless Dr. Lao is firmly rooted in its own time and place, much of it is shockingly (and intriguingly) modern in attitude. Eighty years after the book's release, sixty years after Bradbury extolled it, it still holds up.
Show Less
LibraryThing member grandpahobo
Interesting story. Lots of racist language, which wasn't surprising for its time. I think this was probably pretty outlandish for the time.
LibraryThing member MusicalGlass
A small town in 1930s Arizona hosts a circus of mythological beasts which serves as a kind of funhouse mirror reflecting wonder, ennui, lust, hollow piety, and the misdirected self-regard of the parochial. Good dark fun if you let it.

Dark Horse Kamikaze Kaleidoscope Wit Ale
Evil Genius Chickity
Show More
China IPA
Show Less

Rating

½ (133 ratings; 3.8)

Call number

FIC A4 Fin
Page: 1.0494 seconds