Love in the Elephant Tent

March 16, 2015
“Elephants are nomads. They’re supposed to keep moving. To roam free. Get what they need and move on, not be chained to a circus.” Beginning her
narrative memoir in 1988, 23-year-old Kathleen is as nomadic as she is told the elephants are. Traveling Europe with a one-year open-ended plane ticket, she joins Super Circo Magico with fellow ragtag vagabonds in Spain, expecting little more than a unique experience. Instead, she finds a home, not so much within the circus as with Italian elephant-
keeper Stefano. The challenges of losing childhood selfishness and gaining a life partner are amplified within a setting where speaking up for her beliefs and ideals about how animals and people should be treated could cost her partner his livelihood. The story of Kathleen’s journey toward self-discovery is enthralling, but at times, the book’s focus on it leaves other significant characters thin. The descriptions of life in the circus, the animals, and the spectacle put on every night vividly take readers into the experience. Some overly dense descriptions and flash-forward moments detract from the narrative flow. Agent: Eric Myers, Spieler Agency.

May 15, 2015
Cremonesi never set out to join the circus, yet this young woman from Oregon ends up swimming with sharks and riding an ostrich with one of Italy's most famous circuses, Circo Moira Orfei. Cremonesi's memoir is saturated with descriptive language and emotion, as she tells the story of how, at 23, she becomes a dancing girl in a traveling circus and falls in love with Stefano, the passionate Italian elefanti caretaker. Behind the circus' glamour lies a sobering reality of mistreated animals and workers; however, Cremonesi's adventurous and compassionate nature is at its height as she interacts with the menagerie. Traveling around the Mediterranean, she chafes at womanly roles foisted upon hercooking, cleaning, dancingbut after a bit of whining, she learns to adapt without compromising her independence. Threading her family history between costume changes and exotic animal feedings, Cremonesi rounds out the picture of her free-spirited quest to find home. Readers looking for stories of self-discovery, as well as fans of Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants (2006), will enjoy this title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)