The old chestnut is as endearing and idealized as it is still accurate and representative: boy meets circus, boys falls in love with circus, boy runs away to join circus. Wall tells the story of an American exchange student's (his own) sojourn in Paris that segued into his Fulbright-funded stay at France's national circus school. Wall's account of his year of training at France's Ecole Nationale des Arts du Cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois is an exquisite exposition not only of the physically exacting training disciplines of juggling, tumbling, and trapeze but also of circus history, lore, and some delightfully talented and idiosyncratic personalities who have imbued the circus with characteristic passion and commitment. Proving himself even more adroit verbally than physically, Wall offers a revelatory love letter to the simultaneously ancient and contemporary art of acrobatics, the circus, and its denizens. VERDICT Wall does the burgeoning circus memoir subgenre proud; this beautifully written text will be of use in performance collections of all libraries, regardless of size or scope.
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