A heartfelt presentation of small-town American life and the joys and struggles that go with it, “Home of the American Circus” centers on Freya who, at 30, must move back home and deal with the house her parents left her. As she addresses the neglected property, Freya faces memories of childhood neglect.
Allison Larkin keeps her fifth novel close to home, set mostly in Somers, New York, where she was born. The title refers to the town, which boasts itself as the birthplace of the American circus. The novel is interspersed with snippets from a school paper on the history of Old Bet — the elephant whose statue marks the town center — and the more famous keeper of said elephant.
These asides challenge the spottiness of the historical record, reflecting the way Freya relates to Bet as someone whom history is not concerned with, when her tormentors get to write their own version of what happened.
Flashbacks reveal a cascade of abuses suffered at the hands of her family, and seemingly gone unnoticed by the community. The present tense helps differentiate current happenings — with the novel starting in 2007 — from trips down memory lane that crop up as the town’s people and places are introduced, stirring up the past like mud in a pond.
The silver lining: Somers has Freya’s beloved niece, Aubrey, whom she hasn’t seen in a decade since she left town. The exceptionally written, touching connection between these two characters is, by itself, worth picking up the novel.
Larken abandons the typical story arc in favor of a more naturally flowing up-and-down journey that basks in beautiful moments like a slice-of-life story. Whether it’s banter at the bar Freya’s working or a leaking roof that is simply one more thing than she can possibly handle right now, the characters and their experiences are so real and pure that their joys and sorrows are amplified tenfold.
As the novel progresses and Freya starts to rebuild her life in Somers, we learn bit by bit the horrific events that led to her departure.
Reconnecting with childhood friends, avoiding the demons of her past, and navigating an entirely new level of adulthood via being thrust into homeownership, “Home of the American Circus” is Freya’s journey of empowerment, to reclaim her life and the people and things she holds most dear; to recognize her own resilience and inherent self-worth. Larken builds a robust picture of Freya’s life, her family, and a small American town home to a circus elephant.
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