3 out of 4 stars
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When I picked up this book, there was no mystery in the story that it was about to tell, as it is essentially two stories of these two individuals, and how their paths came to cross.
The first character is known as Duke Reynolds, a teenage runaway who sought refuge with a traveling circus. Finding an interest in sword swallowing, he picks it up and eventually makes a name for himself. While seemingly successful, being part of a traveling circus meant they had to move around a lot, and the performers would need to spend hours setting up, performing for the local audience, pack up once the last customer leaves, and be on the road for their next destination. This led to Duke developing a drug addiction, as it kept him awake through the long nights. One day a performer was involved in an accident, and while they had to move on and continue with their shows, it caught up to the circus company - the staff had to be let go, leaving Duke with a bit of money his colleagues had put aside for him, and he was on his own.
Fast forward a few years and Duke has moved on to performing daredevil stunts, the most recent involving one with a helicopter and some locks. A freak accident left him frustrated, and he soon moves on to another town, meeting a safecracker who he would then be involved in a crime, and subsequently put to jail with. There, he begins to pick up reading and music, and is eventually released, where he discovers that a lot has changed to his circus world while he was incarcerated.
The second character of this book, Gary Robinson, is just about to graduate from high school. Aimless and developing an alcohol addiction, he leaves home over a row with his alcoholic mother, and in the midst of alcohol-fueled fraternity parties and going through college, he still does not find any meaning to his life. Moving on after college, Gary and his friends visit a town called Chico, where he decides to stay on. Job after job, he messes them up, ends up in jail, and gets fired. One day, having had enough after getting fired once again, he goes to a local tavern, where he encounters a sword swallower by the name of Duke Reynolds. A chance encounter it was, as the two struck up a conversation, and the story that follows is solely for the reader themselves to enjoy.
At the beginning it was rather unclear as to what the book was building towards. However, as the reader delves deeper, the dots start to connect and the connection between the two characters that is subsequently built benefits from the scene that was set by the illustration in the early chapters. The book manages to pull together both the characters and the storyline very well towards the end, and approaching the end, while the ending was to be expected, it left behind a message that I believe would be very clear to the reader.
The way The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid touches on many social topics is respectable, as it paints an accurate picture of the stigmas associated with what most would consider taboo, such as tattoos and drugs. Far too many people are ignorant of the story behind the human, and proceed to write these individuals off before giving them a chance, and I believe the author, Gary Robinson, has done a good job in building these aspects into the story. The fact that the conversation around spirituality was also brought into the picture very subtly, and I appreciate how it was written into the plot. However, there were some parts that I believe were rather gruesome, and while it is an accurate depiction, perhaps I was not ready to be confronted by such graphic imagery.
In conclusion, I found this book to be a good read, maybe not so much at the start, as I definitely enjoyed it more from the middle onwards. The book was written in lots of detail, sometimes helping to paint a clear picture in the reader's mind, which has its benefits and drawbacks - it immerses the reader in the world that the author is attempting to build. However, if overdone, which I believe some parts were, it does not translate well to a reader feeling comfortable. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars for these reasons, including those mentioned above.
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The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid
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