The Adventures of Mr. Maximillian Bacchus and His Travelling Circus by Clive Barker
From the first story, in which Indigo Murphy, the best bird handler in the world leaves the show to join in matrimony with the Duke Lorenzo de Medici, to the fabled court of Kubla Khan, the magic never stops. You will meet a young apple thief named Angelo with magic eyes, and an orang-outang named Bathsheba, and a host of other amazing characters with names and personas cut like a patchwork quilt from the mythologies and dreams of the world.
Though written forty years ago, these pages are littered with the same magical side steps that have always been woven into Clive Barkers fiction. Worlds not quit our own, and yet so real they ring with truth and leave you wishing you could step from your mundane life into that other place into those caves of ice if only long enough to catch Maximillian's show.
Format: audiobook
Narrator: Bruce Donnelly
Performance: 🌑🌑
Story: 🌑🌑🌓
There was a time, when I was in high school, I was obsessed with Clive Barker's books and swore to read all of them. Unfortunately, my interest petered out when he started churning out mediocre works like Coldheart Canyon. Mister B. Gone was alright but since then I haven't picked up a Clive Barker Book for almost 10 years.
The Adventures of Mr. Maximillian Bacchus and His Traveling Circus was sadly not as fantastical enough for a story about a traveling circus with magic and anthropomorphic animals. In fact, for people with an unorthodox way of living, they were not very interesting nor were they very smart. As people who live on the road, I expect a higher level of street smarts but these circus folks seem to easily crack under the slightest intimidation. The person who intimidate them, Mr. Bentham who runs the rival Theatre of Tears, was a much more intriguing character than all of the main characters combined. Then there's the super cliche young man falls in love with the princess at first sight coupled with the princess is uselessly crying, waiting to be rescued trope that didn't add anything to the story. The troupe spent most of the time on road which would have been OK had their adventures been more interesting but as such, Mr. Bentham's trip to the arctic might have been a more rousing adventure to read about.
The narrator himself was quite dull for somebody reading about a trip to the much fabled Xanadu. All the voices sounded similar and it was such a missed opportunity to play around and create distinct voices for supposedly magical people.
One reviewer mentioned this was one of Clive Barker's earlier works. I don't know if I should take that into consideration. The stories were not that bad and I could see the seeds of the trademark Barker phantasmagoria. However, reading them now, they're just not something that would make me enthusiastic about revisiting the author again.
SOUNDTRACK
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
The Beatles / The Analogues
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
Late of Pablo Fanques Fair-what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!
The celebrated Mr. K.
Performs his feat on Saturday at Bishops Gate
The Hendersons will dance and sing
As Mr. Kite fly's through the ring don't be late
Messrs. K and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry The Horse dances the waltz!
The band begins at ten to six
When Mr. K. performs his tricks without a sound
And Mr. H. will demonstrate
Ten summer sets he'll undertake on solid ground
Having been some days in preparation
A splendid time is guaranteed for all
And tonight Mr. Kite is topping the bill
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