Fall of the Flamingo Circus - Hardcover

Rigby, Kate

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394583566 ISBN 13: 9780394583563

Publisher: Villard, 1990

Synopsis

Fall Of The Flamingo Circus is the story of a strong and independent girl’s childhood and adolescence, her desperate battle to make something of the fearful hand dealt to her. Through her eyes we see the realities of poverty in England – hunger and junk food, boredom and noise at home, snobbery and notoriety at school – and the fear of a brutal father…over the years we watch Lauren’s voice grow in power and imagination, as her life – a rebel, a punk, admired by her gang but rejected and victimised by men – bursts out of its sad confines…but Lauren is always alone with her restless and furious self: she alone will discover the pain and loneliness of being different, crazy, colourful in an England turned grey, obedient and satisfied.

About this title

Reviews

Rigby's first novel boasts a working-class, punk-rocker heroine whose fresh, authentic voice is as unusual as her fears, needs and longings are universal. Growing up in a Yorkshire slum with an abusive, alcoholic father and seven siblings, attention-starved Lauren Schanzer feels like a caged animal. Dressed in outrageous clothing, her face hidden behind war paint, she struggles both to discover herself and avoid self-confrontation, fleeing home to live off welfare and float randomly from one hellish relationship to another. Her funky, reprobate facade only thinly disguises her compassionate heart and basic integrity. Lauren's diary entries capture her spunky, defiant voice as she moves from a naive, ungrammatical seven-year-old waif to a sparkling philosopher-poet whose calamitous, colorful 22 years have taught her that a tragic existence is not inevitable after all.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Villard
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394583566
• ISBN 13: 9780394583563
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 213