When you open the cabinet of wonders, every individual you meet is an original, their uniqueness indelibly marked on their flesh. Molly and Faye are spirited teenagers—and conjoined twins. Saffron is the Wolf Girl, her female form covered head to toe in fur. Alex/Alexandra is a seductive hermaphrodite, irresistible to many.
To the rubes that pay good coin to see them, they are Freaks. To the other carnies—those who run the Ferris Wheel, the Girl Show, and more—they are the Starlight Carnival Royale’s most lucrative source of income, and sometimes, friends. To Shadrach the tattooed man of God who travels with them, they are evidence of the divine. For Dugan—scholar, showman, romantic, and dwarf—the cabinet of wonders is more than just a business, it’s his family and the center of his universe, and he’ll do everything he can to keep it together...despite the rifts that are appearing after three years on the road.
Set in 1927, this marvelous debut novel confronts the spectacle of the Freak Show, then steps through the curtains and out the other side, taking the reader to a candid, complex and human space where they can know outsiders as intimates.
All content copyright 2006, 2007, Renee Dodd
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