Thursday, July 5, 2018

The Orphan's Tale

Title: The Orphan's Tale
Author: Pam Jenoff
Published: February 21st 2017 by Mira Books
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

I have no idea how so many people enjoyed this book. By the time I was twenty percent invested I was ready to throw the book against the wall and move on. Yet, there was a nagging feeling, with so many people claiming how they enjoyed it, I had not gotten to the meat of the story yet. I should have put it down at that time. This book, or its characters, never captured my interest. It laid flat and bored me to the point of frustration.

Using the backdrop of a traveling circus during the war to hid their pasts – Noa a Dutch woman having rescued a Jewish infant and Astrid, an aerialist, who is trying to hide her Jewish roots -- form a tumultuous relationship amongst the trapeze of the German Circus Neuhoff.

As the author continues to throw in staid intrigue and bumbling outside forces in an attempt to tear both the women and the circus apart, I found myself checking page counts to see how much longer this monotony was going to take. What did I miss that made this book, and possibly a future feature film, captivating to so many? How could this story hold the attention of so many die-hard fans?

No comments: