3 out of 4 stars
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The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid by Gary Robinson is a three part book that acts almost as a fictional memoir. In the preface, Robinson confirms that these stories are fictional, but they are told to honor his friendship with a circus sideshow sword swallower that he knew. There is such passion and a note of personal experience that comes through in the telling of these stories that it becomes difficult sometimes to remember that they are a work of fiction.
As I mentioned before, the book is divided into three parts. Part one tells the story of Duke Reynolds, a circus sideshow performer. When he was just fifteen years old, he ran away from home and joined a traveling circus. He was quickly adopted into the circus family, and eventually he learned several of the sideshow marvel acts from another performer. Duke's specialty became sword swallowing. Through part one, readers get to know Duke and understand what drives him. I actually found myself feeling a little like I had met and become friends with him by the end of the first part.
Part two and three work together very closely. In part two, we meet Gary. Gary has issues with alcohol and drugs from a young age, and those issues predictably impact his life. Eventually, he settles into the town of Chico, California, where he finally meets Duke one evening. Part three tells of the brief time Duke and Gary spend together and how Duke acts as an important influence in Gary's life.
The characters in the book had excellent depth and faced some serious issues in their lives. Duke's character was easy to like. His self-confidence and personal drive came through the story, and he never tried to blame someone else for his problems. I found that I had more trouble liking Gary, and perhaps that is because he represents the general malaise of a post-modern generation. Both characters grow and change through the book, and despite what you might feel for either character, there are some excellent themes to consider and ponder.
Readers should know that throughout the book, there is a significant amount of strong language. Drug and alcohol use and abuse are frequent thematic elements. Robinson always tries to pair deep thoughts and dark elements with a touch of humor to lighten the mood, but readers that have issues with these elements should probably avoid this book. Robinson also dabbles a bit in some spiritual matters, though this is not heavily emphasized or explored in any depth.
For me, this book falls somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, so I will round up and give it 3 out of 4 stars. I’m choosing to give it three stars because of how it provoked me to think about how our choices impact our lives and about how I could possibly pour my own life experiences into someone else. It looses points because I did not really enjoy the heavy focus on drugs and alcohol, and the strong language was a bit much, in my opinion. The book also loses a bit in my estimation because there were still editing marks scattered throughout the book. This tells me that it did not receive a final polish before publishing. Overall, I would recommend this book, with some reservations, to someone looking for an interesting story that will encourage a questioning attitude about traditionally held beliefs such as the meaning of family, friends and life.
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The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid
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