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Freya grew up unloved by her parents and, after a trauma, ran away, leaving behind her young, adoring niece. When she ran out of money and had to return many years later to her inherited, dilapidated family house, she finds her now teenage niece in need of her support. And Freya begins to rebuild her life. But it’s scary to be back near the people who previously hurt her.
The Home of the American Circus covers topics of childhood traumas, mental illness, found family, depression, drugs, and rape. By returning to her small town, Freya is forced to deal with the memories and people from her previous life. These turn out to be a mixed bag—some wonderful memories and some awful ones.
Allison Larkin does a terrific job writing this heartbreaking/heartwarming story and was particularly effective with the flashbacks triggered by what Freya was experiencing in real time after her return. Freya finally develops the courage and support to make positive changes for her life as well as for others’ lives.
The only parts of the novel that I wasn’t crazy about were the sections about the elephant, Old Bet, and Hachaliah Bailey (better known as half of Barnum and Bailey Circus). Bailey was from Freya’s home town, Somers, NY. So, the novel’s title plays on that. Plus, as I learned in the acknowledgements at the end, Somers is also Larkin’s home town. Larkin was using the idea Bailey’s circus as a metaphor for Freya’s crazy home life. I get it. But those Bailey/elephant sections pulled me out of the story every time. Thankfully, they were short interludes. True, Old Bet was significant to both Freya and Larkin, but I bristled at Larkin’s choice to interrupt the story frequently. I’d have preferred she put more of that information in the section about Freya’s research paper. But that’s just me.
This story does not end with all the loose ends wrapped up in a pretty bow. I think it’s right for Freya’s story. While she still has struggles and decisions ahead of her, much of her internal turmoil and unfinished business has been dealt with which is a huge improvement for her well-being.
The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whelan who always sounds snarky to me. But she worked well as Freya’s voice. Of course, she also has a good repertoire of voices and accents which served her well in her portrayals of the characters of this novel. She surprised me when she actually sang a few times! I love a narrator who sings and I don’t believe I’ve heard her do that before. Good for her! I’ll give her an A.
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