The Circus of Dr. Lao
Front cover of first edition
|
|
| Author | Charles G. Finney |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Boris Artzybasheff |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | 1935 Viking Press |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 154 pp. |
The Circus of Dr. Lao (1935) is a novel written by American newspaperman and writer Charles G. Finney and illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff. It won one of the inaugural National Book Awards: the Most Original Book of 1935.
Many later editions omit the illustrations.
The novel is set in the fictional town of Abalone, Arizona, whose inhabitants epitomize ordinary Americans as they are simultaneously backhandedly celebrated and lovingly pilloried for their emergent reactions to the wonders of magic and of everyday life. A circus owned by a Chinese man named Dr. Lao pulls into town one day, carrying legendary creatures from all areas of mythology and legend, among them a sea serpent, Apollonius of Tyana (who tells dark, yet always truthful, fortunes), a medusa, a satyr, and others. Through interactions with the circus, the locals attain various enigmatic peak experiences appropriate to each one's particular personality.
The tale ends with the town becoming the site of a ritual to a pagan god whimsically given the name "Yottle", possibly an allusion to the Mesoamerican god Yaotl, whose name means "the enemy". The ritual ends when the god himself slays a virgin, her unrequited lover and the priest. The circus over, the townsfolk scatter to the winds. Apparently few of them profit from the surreal experiences.
The book's appendix is a "Catalogue" of all the people, places, items and mythological beings mentioned in the novel, summing up the characters pithily and sardonically, revealing the various fates of the townsfolk and listing a number of plot holes and unanswered questions not addressed in the book.
List of Dr. Lao's captured animals:
The novel was later adapted by Charles Beaumont into the script for an effects-filled 1964 movie 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. The film features a great deal of stop motion animation, and was produced by George Pal, a stop motion animator of long experience.
...
Wikipedia