What a roller coaster of emotions this book put me through. It was sad, beautiful, imaginative, hopeful, poignant and creative. I truly enjoyed reading this and felt connected to the characters. It has been compared to The Night Circus and I can see the similarities however I did enjoy this one more. Thank you to the Canadian book group for putting me onto this title. A very rewarding read. ( )

This is the story of two abandoned orphans, raised in the same orphanage in 1920s Montreal. Rose and Pierrot have a strong bond with each other but life separates them for several years. Well, life and Sister Eloise who lusts after Pierrot and hates Rose. When the find each other again as young adults, they've already been through a lot. Pierrot has been a heroin addict and thief. Rose escaped life as a rich man's mistress to find a job making pornography. But none of that matters to them as they find each other, and a way to fulfill their childhood dream of putting on a circus extravaganza.

So, the book is populated with strange characters -- clowns, chorus girls, prostitutes, mobsters. That, and the writing, make the story seem magical at times. But the underside of life is where these people live and work, so there is also a lot of darkness and sadness.

I love Heather O'Neill and this book didn't disappoint in terms of her amazing imagination and wonderful characters. The ending is a happy one, but there was so much sadness required to get there..... ( )

I'm in my feelings right now so I'll write a review later. ( )

DNF. I'm four hours of twelve into this and I'm just really weirded out by what's going on and all the sex. It's a documented fact that I don't find reading sex scenes adds any value to books, but aspects of this are just going too far for me.

*4.75*

There is no love without fury. There is no beauty without ugliness.

This book was a rollercoaster. I loved it. I hated it. I wanted to name my first-born Pierrot and then I wanted to burn the entire first-manuscript for the pain it put me through. It was like being love—full of fury and ugliness.

I want to first say that the prose of this novel was absolutely gorgeous. It was descriptive while still heady, and it made the characters–and especially the setting–come so, so alive.

The dual narrative of the novel between Rose and Pierrot throughout was genius. I haven't seen something like that done so seamlessly and though totally conspicuous to illustrate how they are always together in thought, I found myself not really caring. I'm not always a fan of experimental form, but this was just different enough for me to not only appreciate it, but also absolutely love it. Take this paragraph:

Pierrot lit a cigarette. Rose inhaled from her cigarette. Pierrot exhaled smoke rings. Rose let white swirls escape from her nose. Pierrot tossed the cigarette onto the ground. Rose ground the cigarette with the sole of her shoe.

The character of Pierrot was one of my most favorite characters I've read in a long time. I loved having such an emotional, good-hearted, male figure to follow and get to know, and he ultimately felt so real. From his heart-breaking beginnings with the nun (argh!!) to the later abuse problems, I thought both were handled so well and poignantly, especially the former. I do think though in the end, I almost wish there was more of a discussion on it, and the long-term effects it would have had on him. Just because he tells Rose, doesn't mean it's out of his system for good. Being able to see the character in situations of wealth to nothing was also fascinating, and made me think about all the lovely characters I've come admire though they be bathed in wealth. Who would they be without it?
I liked being able to see Pierrot for the good in both and made me seem that much better through it. Through his battles and vices though, I thought it was smart in the end to have Rose eventually come to be a foil/contrast for the avarice and need for control was really smart. He's a good man, just in a bad situation.

He was walking around, but he knew that his story was over. His life story was written, and he was living in the extra blank pages at the back of a book. There was a beginning, middle, end to his life.

The ending was heartbreaking. I don't even know if I can probably put what I felt into words. It left me seeing hollow, and I honestly hadn't expected Pierrot's death. I did like the icing of the bitch nun at the end, and Rose looking after his son though, and that's probably the best I could ask for after losing a character I loved so much. I'm a bit iffy on the book's message his life was destined to be over though–I'm not of a nature to believe people have a purpose and then die, or that death is some way valiant or affirming. I know I'm still sensitive to it, but I just needed to put it out there I didn't agree with the author there.

But most of all, he wanted to do something he had never done before. He wanted to have sex with someone he was in love with.

One major issue I had with the book was the gratuitousness of the sex present. I feel like I need to start off saying that I'm not a prude, nor am I weird about this stuff, and you'll just have to believe me when I say I deal with written sex more than I care to admit. I rationalized the choice to show such scenes in the beginning believing it would come back later to highlight all the (frankly) terrible sexual experiences the two had had earlier, to contrast it to love and what not, but by the end I wasn't convinced that was so much so. The same needlessly explicit language was used when (TW: rape)Pierrot was raped as a child to Rose's time as a trapped mistress, and while the scenes of the two together were sweet,
it was still a bit too much than warranted, and shows to me no development. In the end, I don't like large enough elements (here, the motif of explicit sex) that add nothing to the theme, and I ultimately felt that the raunchiness of the sex was pointless and told me nothing of the characters or their development. It felt pornographic at times, and it confused me trying to read into it, ultimately fruitlessly. Oh Eavan, how fucking naïve.

I'm not here to harang it anymore though, and I could probably spend a good few hours remembering and putting into words thoughts and feelings on this book, but I'd be here all day. Read this book. Enjoy it. Throw it against a wall and cry. Do everything with it–it won't disappoint. ( )