On Our Book Shelf: Circus Mirandus

Micha's grandpa Ephraim is dying and mean Great-Aunt Gertrudis has come to manage the household.  Micha yearns for the days before her arrival when he and Grandpa spent hours together engaged in various fun projects like building the tree house in the backyard. Grandpa doesn't whistle anymore and spends long days in bed while Aunt Gertrudis keeps Micah away insisting that Grampa needs to rest.  Not only is Micha forlorn about the changes she has wrought in their routine but is also apprehensive about what the future holds.

Most missed are Grampa's stories of magic and fantasy that would hold Micah spellbound and transport both of them to an imaginary world -  one in particular he calls "Circus Mirandus." Here live the "Lightbender," a magician; and Mr. Header who runs the menagerie of uncaged animals; Strongman and Chintzy, a plumed bird that carries messages; and Rosebud who concocts healing elixirs. Grandpa has made this world and its characters so real that when Micah sees Grandpa deteriorating, he is convinced that if somehow he can make contact with its inhabitants, their magic will be able to heal Grandpa. 

And so he sets out to do just this with the help of his best schoolmate Jenny.  Jenny, an intelligent girl with a lot of common-sense, does not completely "buy" all of what Micah asserts, but she knows he needs a friend at this difficult time in his life and agrees to go along. So begins their journey to "Circus Mirandus." The plot is woven successfully to keep the reader engrossed, especially when Grandpa has repeatedly mentioned that when a child, he was given a wish by the "Bender of Light" which he has chosen to keep until absolutely necessary.  Micha believes that NOW is the time to "call in" that wish and the suspense builds to see if it will save Grandpa.

After all this build-up, Micha's wish is not granted in the manner in which he expected, sort of like prayers which are not always answered in the manner the supplicant would hope. In fact, the conclusion leaves the reader uncertain as to what actually happens. While in the car with awful Aunt Gertrudis who is relocating him to her home in Arizona, Micha hears music -- the music of the circus beckoning him to join them. Traffic is stopped on the highway due to an earthquake so Micah is able to run from the car toward the sounds of drums and pipes, jumping over a chasm leaving Aunt Gertrudis and the other onlookers behind. "The Lightbender spreads his arms wide to receive him: How do you like my miracle." 

Personally, I did NOT like the "miracle" which is subject to a number of interpretations. The last sentence reads, "You never need an invitation to go home." Although Circus Mirandus is currently popular, appearing on "Best-seller" lists for children, some aspects bother me. The focus on magic is one, particularly in this grave situation; the conclusion where Micah, trusting in the magical 'Light-bender," hurls himself across the abyss is another. Moreover, the theme of escape from problems does not "sit well" with me. As a reviewer, I am like a "deliverer of the message," making readers aware of what books are garnering both attention and acclaim. In this case, I didn't much like the "message."