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Characters
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Prospero the Enchanter – Hector Bowen – “died” March 1885
Celia Bowen
Alexander
Marco Alisdair – became assistant to Lefevre
Chandresh Christophe Lefevre – theater producer
Midnight Dinner guests:
Mme. Ana Padva – retired Romanian prima ballerina, designed circus costumes
Mr. Ethan W. Barris – engineer and architect
Tara and Lainie Burgess – designed atmosphere (scents, music,
lighting, curtains, etc.)
Mr. A. H. – has no shadow
Herr Fredrick Thiessen – clockmaker, wrote articles about circus,
leader “reveurs”
Le Cirque des Reves
Isobel Martin – fortune teller, Marco’s girlfriend
Tsukiko – contortionist, Mr. A. H.’s student, part of previous challenge
Twins born opening night 1886:
Winston Aidan Murray “Widget” – sees the past
Penelope Aislin Murray “Poppet” – sees the future
Concord, MA 1892, 1897, 1902:
Bailey Clarke
Caroline – older sister
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For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.
- At the beginning of the novel Alexander tells Marco “People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see” (page 33). Further on when Marco is teaching Isobel a simple charm, he says, “But it won’t work if you don’t believe it will…” (page 50). How did these two ideas influence the people who visited the circus? Did they influence the way you read the novel?
- Discuss the various characters. Was anyone believable? Were you able to understand the characters even though very few were based in reality?
- The Burgess sisters were in charge of the atmosphere (scents, music, lighting, etc.) at the circus. How do our senses influence our experiences? Do you have any personal examples?
- What happened to Tara Burgess? Was it suicide, accident, or did someone cause her death using magic?
- When staging shows, Chandresh is more interested in the reactions of the audience than the show itself. He felt, “In the response of the audience, that is where the power of performance lives” (page 57). Have you ever experienced a performance where the reactions of the audience made a difference in your experience?
- How important is our past to our present lives? When explaining how he reads people’s past, Widget told Bailey, “On people, the past stays on you…Some people can get rid of it but it’s still there, the events and things that pushed you to where you are now” (page 263).
- The three chapters titles when Bailey was visiting the circus were based on the root -mancy which means a form of divination:
- Page 136 – Oneiromancy: interpretation of dreams to tell the future
- Page 213 – Cartomancy: fortune telling using playing cards
- Page 251 – Ailuromancy: using the movement of cats to predict the future.
Why did the author use obscure
words that most people would not understand instead of simply using the definition?
- What was the allure of the circus for the reveurs?
- When Bailey was walking around the circus with Widget and Poppet, he was surprised no one recognized them. Widget responded that, “People don’t pay attention to anything unless you give them a reason to” (page 254). Do you think this is correct? What might we be missing because we are not paying attention?
- At the end of the novel Mr. A. H. he told Widget about the magic in stories and words and that Widget can shape the future through stories. He said, “There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict…Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy” (page 505). Have you read or heard a story that influenced you in some way?
- Would you have gone to the circus? More than once?
- Did you like reading a pure fantasy? Did the make-believe add or distract from your reading experience?
First Semester Success: 2nd Edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and in hard copy from wordassociation.com. Click on the upper right link.
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