*What do you think about young Jacob’s conscience and his commitment? He is so embarrassed after his night with Barbara and Nell; he can’t sleep or make eye contact with Walter. However, he thinks… “No matter what I did last night, I cannot leave these animals. I am their shepherd, their protector. And it’s more than a duty. It’s a covenant with my father.”

*How did you react to the red lighting of Walter and Camel, and the others?

*Prohibition was a big factor in the novel – from the bootlegging of booze from Canada to Camel’s physical ruination from “jake.” Anyone out there ever heard of “jake” before this book?

*One reviewer of the book wrote that the book “explores…the pathetic grandeur of the Depression-era circus.” In what ways and to what extend do the words “pathetic grandeur” describe the world that Gruen creates in her novel?

Hat Tip: Librarian Bette Ammon

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