Novels about carnies and carnivals

Dean Koontz's Twilight Eyes is set in a carnival for the first half. The same carnie characters are in the second half, though that half isn't in the carnival.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Joyland by Stephen King

The Art of the Deal

World of Wonders by Robertson Davies is fantastic.

I love you r4.

But this thread reminds me of Carnivale.

Does I'm Still Hungry count?

Some woman wrote about gay love in the carnival… I read it in 1983, so it was probably from the Seventies.

Touched by a Carny, r8?

Thought this might have been based on a novel, but it doesn't appear to be.

Thanks everyone! Checking out some of these suggestions.

'Meghan Markle, My Story'

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter is a good one.

Carnival of Souls. Creepy and excellent.

Black Orpheus. Beautiful and haunting.

For some reason my sleep deprived brain thought that this was a thread about movies. Should have read the title more carefully. How embarrassing!

No worries, r16!

R8, are you thinking of this?

OP, this is a HUGE book, but worth reading.

r2 thanks! I just picked up a library copy

I really enjoyed Circus Parade by Jim Tully

It’s not a book but if you haven’t yet watch Carnivale.

There’s plenty of Carny material here

Thanks r22

Want to read my biography???

Was "Freaks" an original screenplay, or was it an adaptation of an existing work?

"Show me that little black bottle!"

Just posted this in the why are carnivals ominous thread. One of my fave books of 21st C. Have read several times. It’s not just a dumb love story either. I am scared that a movie will never do it justice so hope that never happens.

The film and TV rights to The Night Circus were optioned by Summit Entertainment, and a film is being produced by David Heyman and Jeff Clifford under Heyday Films. Moira Buffini was hired in February 2012 to write the screenplay. In February 2019, it was announced that Geremy Jasper would direct the film adaptation for Lionsgate.

The Night Circus has been compared to Harry Potter, as well as to Neil Gaiman, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Ron Charles writing for The Washington Post compares Morgenstern's imagery to Steven Millhauser's, albeit with "more playful and more dramatic surrealism".Olivia Laing writing for The Observer compares the book to an "eminently intriguing cabinet of curiosities" with an intricate but unmoored setting and colorful but clockwork characters. Laura Miller writing for Salon likewise praises the "aesthetic fantasia with all the trimmings" but not the plot itself. Sarah Stegall writing for SFScope praises the vivid imagery, predicting that it should be nominated for literary awards. Richard Peabody writing for The Washington Independent Review of Books describes the narrative as nonlinear, with frequent shifts in points of view, tangential vignettes, and short almost cinematic chapters.

The Night Circus was a candidate for the 2011 Guardian First Book Award. It won an Alex Award from the American Library Association in 2012. The novel spent seven weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, reaching number two on the hardcover fiction list.

I also second Joyland by Stephen King, one of my faves of his shorter novels (it might be a novella, actually.)

This is nice beach book. Horror with a heart and some real literary moments, but it reads almost like a screenplay, every chapter is a cliffhanger. I finished it in a few hours.

r13 thanks! Starting it today

I second Stephen King's "Joyland."

It's not supernatural, and is really more of a crime/noir story than his usual stuff, but it's a great exploration of carny life and terminology.

Loosen up your Carny Roll and buy the audiobook. It's narrated by Michael Kelly, whose sweet soft voice glides perfectly through the story.

Here's a copy of "Spurs," the short story on which Tod Browning's Freaks was based.

Thanks r29!

I'm reading my way through the suggestions

Dorothy B. Hughes "Ride the Pink Horse” (1946). It’s a noir murder story, but the Santa Fe fiesta carnival setting is key. Hughes also wrote “In a Lonely Place” (1947).

I loved the film version of In A Lonely Place r32. Is the novel good?

I might go back and re-read Geek Love

Short story, not novel, but it should fit the bill: Gas Station Carnivals by Thomas Ligotti

Try the Spangle trilogy about a traveling circus post civi War.

A bona fide classic.

Patti LuPone: A Memoir

I'm listening to Joyland this week. Thanks for the recommendation.

R38 What should Patti LuPone's memoir have been called?

R26, that book was TERRIBLE. I am unsurprised that it has proven unproduceable as a film so far.

Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others and Step Right Up! are two nonfiction books about the carnival life. Both by former sideshow performer and author Daniel P Mannix.

There’s a bit about some carny folk in Paul Theroux’s “Picture Palace”. It’s a bit obscure, and kind of weird, but it’s a great novel. I revisit it every so often, but I skip the parts about the carny folk because it hurts my heart.

Water for Elephants, a good read.

I'm listening to the chapter of Joyland about Mike's visit to the amusement park out of season. The crippled boy with MD. I'm balling my eyes out, out of the blue.

Not a book, but what about Fellini's La Strada?

Agree r46 that’s an excellent movie