Goldenland Past Dark

January 14, 2013
Smith’s debut showcases a cornucopia of memorably weird personalities in a handful of vivid moments. Dr. Schoenberg’s shabby little traveling show includes Webern Bell, a 15-year-old, four-foot-tall humpbacked clown; Brunhilde, a bearded lady who still mourns the destruction of Dresden; and Nepenthe, a lizard-skinned beauty who may be an heiress. As the novel opens, they are in a bright yellow Cadillac, fleeing from a vengeful gypsy through a rainy night. Unfortunately, before anything hinted at or described in that opener is resolved, most of these painstakingly actualized characters leave or die. Soon all that’s left are Webern’s elaborate dreams of ever-more-intricate performances and memories of his warped childhood. All of this is utterly fantastic and wonderful, and it takes quite some time to realize that no actual story is developing. Readers who get deeply into the characters and visuals may find they don’t even mind the lack of structure or resolution. Agent: Joy Tutela, the David Black Literary Agency.

March 15, 2013

Webern Bell, a 16-year-old hunchback, stands just under four feet, yet his dreams of perfecting his routines as a clown with Dr. Show's traveling circus know no bounds. When a sinister, sword-bearing stranger stalks Dr. Show, Webern and his friends try to protect their boss, but a series of bad decisions leads to disaster. Later, Webern continues his vocation through lost love, the inheritance of a trained chimpanzee belonging to his late grandmother, and the reappearance of people from his past--both real and imagined. VERDICT Smith's first novel captures the uncertainty and surreal qualities of circus life in gorgeous prose. Her characters represent archetypes of the "circus freak" as well as very real people with deep-rooted feelings and motivations. Part dark fantasy, part magical realism in the style of James Blaylock and Tim Powers, Smith's tale deserves exposure to a crossover audience.

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