A lovely story, brilliant writing and an absolute joy to read.
When opening this book, the metaphor loomed large. How many of us think our lives are a joke, that we don’t fit and that we can never be happy? And we all want the sad clown to be happy, right?
But Catherine McCarthy has cleverly built this work with layers, not just a metaphor but a web of them, all linking like the pixels in a photo, waiting for us to get the big picture. There is a huge skill to including stories within a story as she has here, and to make them not only relevant but captivating and seamless in transitions, a constituent part of the whole. Does it work? Oh yes! This is a fantastic life-relevant fairytale with other little fairytales built in.
Chester is an out-of-place soul, sensitive and self-educated. When he has an emotional reaction, he auto-telegraphs it with his whole body. Seeing the world through his eyes coats the locations (the streets, train stations, theatres, cafes and cathedrals) with an atmosphere of wonder. His lack of confidence and the impostor syndrome written large on his big clown heart, are the weights holding the story in place and the credibility which anchors the ending.
So, to summarise: A complex layered story, but so easy to read. When you think about this book you will possibly start to think about your own life.
I give this 5 stars and I’ll break that down (layering stars within stars): 5 stars for the story, 5 for the writing and 5 for the after-read impact.
