As a huge fan of Angela Carter's 'Nights at the Circus', I'm always up for a book about the glamour and grit of life in a circus and this one promised much. The story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived proved too much of a temptation for me so I had to read this ahead of publication on 3rd September.

The story follows a girl born into a circus family - her father tends the animals while her mother is a star attraction due to her act of swimming with crocodiles. Neglected by her parents, the girl (who is not given a name in the book) is taken under the wing of a flame-haired tightrope walker called Serendipity Wilson; from her, she learns the circus skills that will be central to her future and sets in motion events that will see her seeking a missing child and uncovering truths about her own past.

This book is told mainly by an older narrator who is reflecting on the events of her life while revisiting documents - letters, photos, a book page - that prompt her telling of the story. She is ostensibly telling her story to a journalist (the first chapter is a transcribed conversation) but - as the novel progresses - it becomes a written account interspersed with folk tales from the Isle of Man as told to the narrator by Serendipity Wilson.

There was lots to like in the novel, from the brushes with magic realism (as in the glow of Serendipity's hair) to the cast of characters who - while not all nice - are certainly distinctive. I particularly liked Big Gen and Cubby, although they were all vivid and interesting, from tragic Marina to larger-than-life Serendipity. I loved the settings - the duality of the circus is especially well evoked, with its grim and earthy seediness set alongside its veneer of glamour. I also really enjoyed the snippets of the folk tales which made engaging diversions from the main narrative. The inclusion of tiny bits of history from the world outside the circus also worked really well - lots of the novel felt quite timeless, but the references to the Berlin Olympic Games and the Holocaust gave the story compelling historical roots.

Personally, I found the beginning of the book a little slow compared to the second half where the story really picked up its purpose and moved on to another interesting location (no spoilers!) However, the opening sections did explain the emotional ties (or lack of) between characters which are important to the rest of the novel.

Overall, I would recommend this as an engaging story with some excellent characterisation and setting choices. It doesn't quite have the glorious grotesqueness of Angela Carter, but it does have an emotional pull that kept me reading.

Trigger warnings: violence in war, sexual assault

I love circuses. I love the magical dream-like setting, the illusion of knowing everything and yet nothing and the constant hunger for sensation. These were the expectations that I had when I started reading this book but sadly, my dreams of getting enraptured were never fulfilled. Here are a few thoughts that sum up the book for me:

- This book really isn’t about circuses and definitely NOT like The Night Circus/Caraval but about pain and endless searches
- This book is more of a collection of many tales, with a narrator chronicling her life
- We never find out what makes the main character ‘The Greatest Funambulist’

Especially with regards to the third point, I found it to be sadly disappointing because if this book and its main character are already sold as being full of circus magic and artistry, this part was sadly lacking and taking a lot of spirit and opportunities from the book away. I generally often had a very ‘artificial’ feeling while reading the book because the setup and tales told throughout the book felt very staged and -at times- static. From Poland to the UK to New York — this book is a journey but I never grow very attached to setting or characters.

Something that is important to know when starting the book is that the focus of the story is unlike what you expect — it’s about family dynamics and finding one’s own roots, even though it is often connected with pain. Thus we accompany our nameless character as she chronicles the early stages of her life, outcast by her own family, ‘adopted’ by a friend, betrayed by herself, forever fighting to right her wrongs, through interviews and own writings. It’s the actions through inexperience on her road to eventual success that are filled with sorrow and darkness that make the soul of the book. And it is only until the end that it is fully revealed what the whole point of the book is even though most releveations seemed pretty obvious to me. Because the whole book seems more like a montage of tales and moments, the story seemed very static so readers will have enough time to either become very confused or to think about the ending.

The narrative style of this book is pretty interesting too, even though it loses its charm after a while. Maybe it is because we can never focus on one storyline only, or because the line between fiction and reality was written with intentions to make it as blurry as possible, but I found myself strangely annoyed with the folklore-like writing style a few chapters into the book. This story is not feather-like so I didn’t expect the writing to be light either but it was missing the depth to the story’s depth. Macabre, vulgar, deep and dark — I had so many mixed feelings.

There is a definite turning point in this book, and from that everything turns even darker, if it isn’t like this already. It is only then that the reader understands the whole impact of this book, but again, I don’t know how ‘grave’ it was supposed to be because it lacked the appropriate foreshadowing. Very often, the writing felt like a school assignment, with certain topics, settings and writing styles you are tasked to mimic. It was lacking the originality, the detail to characters for me to care enough about them, as if the writer was jumping from writing techniques to writing techniques.

I will admit that the book had ‘something’, however in the end I was simply happy to be done with the story.

2.5 stars but I will round it up to 3 stars

A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington is a lyrical novel; in other words it's full of beautiful writing. It follows the story of a post-war circus family and the main narrator is a child who is unwanted and forgotten by her parents, often having to resort sleeping with the animals. She goes on to become an excellent artiste with an ambitious dream of being The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived. Now as an adult she recounts mesmerising stories of circus legends and folklore tales, all the while bringing both painful and beautiful memories of her childhood.

Her storytelling has a mission: to find a child that got lost from the circus, an incident she feels fully responsible for. This is a story of many losses and some reconciliation.

I loved this book: the storytelling is intoxicating and the characters of Marina, Manu, Serendipity Wilson, Fausto, Big Gen and Mouse are unique and wonderful. ⁠

A Girl Made of Air is Nydia Hetherington’s debut novel and it is such an interesting read, full of mystery and folklore.
Our protagonist is nameless, although we know that her nickname is Mouse. She was born to two circus performers post-war, she always knew that she wasn’t wanted and she spent much of her childhood trying to hide in the shadows. This all changes when Serendipity Wilson joins the circus with her glorious red hair and many tales to tell. She takes the young girl under her wing and teaches her how to walk the tightrope. She goes from being invisible to suddenly being the star of show. In the present day, she is being interviewed about being the greatest Funambulist who ever lived. Hetherington presents this through a series of interviews and written articles and we soon understand that Mouse has a secret to share. She knows that a child went missing from the circus and she now wants to use this opportunity to find them and right any wrongs.
Nydia Hetherington writes beautiful descriptions within her book. I could vividly imagine the circus and all that happens behind the scenes. The costumes, the food, the animals, the smells are all conjured up for the reader to immerse themselves in. It is a very realistic representation too, Hetherington does not try to glamourise the circus but presents all the gritty details. She shows how difficult a life it can be, especially for an unwanted child.
A Girl Made of Air is an intriguing read, I wanted to know more about Mouse and her relationship with Serendipity. The mystery of the missing child runs throughout the book and keeps you reading on. This is a book to look out for.

I was browsing Netgalley when this gorgeous cover caught my eye. I read the summary and it looked unusual and interesting, so I requested it, began to read it... felt blocked from the start and had a hard time finishing it. Of course, almost everybody on Goodreads seems to love it !

To be honest, it might be a case of "it's not the book, it's me" because when I reached the second part of the story, I liked it better, began to appreciate the style. Unfortunately, I didn't care much about the characters, so even if I finally liked the writing, I still hard a hard time reading about them.

The book opens with the age-old trick of the interview of a celebrity. I've read it before, I'll probably read it again, but it felt contrived, the questions/answers and the supposed chemistry between journalist and artist felt unnatural. I was told, not shown. Then we read about the childhood of Mouse and it hardly kept my interest until we reached Marina's letter... The story she told was awful and you understood many things, saw her under a different light, but it was a sort of story I've read before. And the rhythm of the whole book was slow. I don't mind slow, usually, when it's interesting, but there I wasn't riveted.

I finally reached the end with a sigh of relief and of course, there was a twist that everybody is supposed to gasp at : I was just happy to have finished.

If this author writes anything else, I'll probably give it a try because there was definitely something in her style and her stories of ghosts, legends and all that. But just now, I need to read something completely different.

This was slightly different than I expected it to be, I thought it was going to be a story mostly about the Funambulism, but it was a story about the Life of the Funambulist. Which, now I think about it, is far more fascinating. And Nydia Hetherington tells it well. While her writing is descriptive and we can see Mouse's world from her hiding places under the caravans, I would say mostly we get feelings. The warmth of Serendipity Wilson, the coolness of her parents, the confusion of her life. We don't need every word that could be used to describe the wigwam, we know how it feels.

I also appreciate that Mouse doesn't shy away from her 'bad' feelings, even though the story is written to someone else she doesn't deny the times she hated people even when she knew it was unreasonable. We don't often get characters who acknowledge anger or frustration or misplaced feelings, so Mouse's honesty was refreshing.

I thought this was a well-woven tale that depicted what certainly seemed like a realistic portrayal of circus life, and definitely a realistic portrayal of people - while somehow still being bound together by the magic of the circus.

This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived...

This book is written with the most beautiful and lyrical language, everything feels magical and fairytale as the narrator takes the reader to different periods in her life

Known only as Mouse, the narrator recalls her time growing up in the circus, essentially abandoned by her parents, and how she eventually becomes The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived. As someone who was neglected as a child, she quickly latches on to those who show her some warmth and friendship which leads to some questionable choices and decisions. I liked that she was flawed and childish and selfish, it made her very human in this magical story

One of her greatest friendships is with Serendipity Wilson, whose advise to Mouse comes in the form of fairytales from the Isle of Man. These little interludes were fun but had some serious messages for her to follow. Mouse is an unreliable narrator. Yet her insistence of Serendipity Wilson’s hair as a light beacon creates a wonderful visual

I adored the continuous use of air and water imagery within the novel. Air is used to show the narrator as free and happy, and water, forever tied to her mother, is dangerous and terrifying for her. Books based in the circus often have a hidden darkness and this no exception. The passage on her mother’s history is especially heartbreaking, and makes Marina a lot more human. The contrasts between the light and dark contrast so well as the story moves back and forwards

Set post-WWII there is a timeless quality to this story with its mix of story and fairytales. A hard to put down book, and one I would definitely recommend

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus and Nydia Hethrington for this ARC to read and review.

3.5 rounded up to 4

It took a little bit for me to get into this book but once I did I really enjoyed it.
The first chapter is an interview between our nameless MC and a New York Times journalist and from then onwards the rest of the book is a journal / memoir to the journalist about our MC's life, her search for her friend's child and all of the sad, bizarre and sometimes joyful things that happened to her along the way.

Our main character is very flawed due to a neglectful and isolated upbringing. So, once she finds someone who cares for her, she makes questionable choices to try and keep them by her side and these choices set the story in motion.

Serendipity, like many of the characters in this book, was very intriguing. She came from the Isle of Mann, had glowing hair and decides to look after a child who isn't her own. We also get to experience a lot of her folklore tales from the Isle of Mann (which I loved). They always had an important message, were true to the Isle of Mann and had a very Scandinavian / Celtic feel to them.

I enjoyed the surreal and grimy surroundings of the circus, the detail of other characters pasts, the atmosphere of Coney island and I really loved Cubby and his adoptive mum.

This book doesn't shy away from the horrors of WW2 or the awfulness of people but it also proves that there's always more to the story.

This book spans from 1940's Britain to 1980's New York and I really appreciated how the MC explains her feelings regarding the juxtaposition of growing up in a wigwam in the British Countryside to now living in hyper modern, tech central New York.

Throughout this book I was going to give it 3 stars but I really enjoyed to ending so I'm going to bump it up.
If you like historic fiction, mysteries, and a hint of the bizarre & mesmerising then this book is for you.

Mouse was the greatest tightrope walker the circus had ever seen,

I cannot finish this book sorry, it is so slow, nothing has yet happened and I’m more than half way through, certainly not the book for me.

This was quite a lyrical and engaging story. I love the circus setting and will look out for more from this author

I chose this book in anticipation of reading the next 'Night Circus' but in actual fact, although it was set initially in a circus, this book is more about relationships and the difficult life of our main character.

Using the narrator's journals, letters, old postcards and memories, the tale takes us through the life of a girl who becomes 'the greatest funambulist who ever lived'. Bringing herself up, it's tragic story with none of the glamour or mystery of the NIght Circus, so perhaps it's unfair to compare the two.

Interweaved into the story are tales of Manx folklore, which at times I found confusing and unnecessary.

It took me a while to get into the book, and to be honest I finished it only because I'd got so far I wanted to see it through. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Girl Made of Air is a remarkable debut by Nydia Hetherington. It follows the story of mouse, the greatest funambulist who ever lived. I was drawn to this book by the circus theme and was captivated by the grittier, darker side of circus life. It’s a beautifully written book however it is disjointed due to the narrator moving back to her memories and forward to the present in each chapter. It also moves at a slow pace but is ultimately rewarding as the story is interesting and the writing is stunning.

I have to start by saying that this book is so beautifully written, Nydia is a very atmospheric writer and the words are simply divine, I definitely spent the majority of this book enjoying the lyrical qualities of the writing.
We follow Mouse, who is born, unwanted, into the circus life to a mother reluctant to care for her and a stepfather under the influence of her mother - this leaves Mouse to find comfort in the animals she occasionally beds down with, and another circus act, Serendipity Wilson, who quite literally shows Mouse the ropes, and takes her under her wing until she bears her own child, Bunny.
Ever since reading Sarah Gruen's Water for Elephants I have been drawn to reading books with a circus connection, and so I particularly enjoyed the parts of this book that were bringing the circus realities to life. The grime of the 'behind the scenes' and the harsh realities of the circus definitely felt honest.
This book felt a little more like multiple stories/ tales of various characters, and the parts of their lives as they layered together, interwoven with a little magic and folklore. Alongside these tales we follow Mouse's life journey and the occasional return to her desire to find Bunny who goes missing. There were occasional moments of disconnect due to the layout of the story, but the descriptive writing kept me wanting to read on - plus I now have a new favourite word: funambulist!
I definitely want to read more by this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley & Quercus Books for the advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I love books that involve fairytale, folklore and myth so I jumped at the chance to read this. However it wasn't quite what I expected.

The story tells the tale of Mouse, a girl born into circus life but whose Mother and Father don't seem to want to take any care of her. Mouse is soon taken in by Serendipity Wilson who teaches her to be a funambulist, the Greatest Funambulist who ever lived.

I found the pace of the book to be extremely slow and doesn't appear to be going anywhere. I nearly gave up on it. It picks up a little pace when Mouse leaves the circus. I did enjoy the tales of the faeries told by Serendipity Wilson that are interspersed throughoutthe book.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Quercus books for he chance to read this

A memoir style fictional book, its use of memories remembered and journal entry's, help this book flow in a story of life, loss and reconciliation.

I'm loving historical fiction at the moment, and circus themed stories in particular are catching my eye.
In the style of a memoir, using glimpses and stories from the past, A Girl Made of Air tells the wonderful story of a funambulist and her life and loves.
The writing is beautiful and draws you into the life of 'Mouse', from her sad beginnings through to time of fame and glory. Nydia Hetherington captures brilliantly the struggle people have everyday in getting moving. 'As I look out of my window, every person I see has their own wire to walk'. Just brilliant.

When I first heard of this book I was excited; recommened to fans of Erin Morgenstens The Night Circus, I just couldn't wait to read it. I started reading expecting a story full of magical charm but this book is dark, gritty and in some places, really hard to read.

The style of writing and the characters are beautiful. I loved when Mouse was on the tight rope and I really wanted more of this through the story, I just wanted it to be uplifting! I feel almost frustrated by it.

I am giving this book 4 stars purely for the gorgeous way it is written and the complexity of the characters.

Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but I found it focussed too much on the dark side of circus life with no camaraderie or family values which are so important to circus families. Although based around a circus I felt that it was an afterthought to the storyline.

The book was a surprising read - marketed as something for fans of Erin Morgenstern, I was expecting a magical, charming read but this is nothing like The Night Circus. That is not to say this isn’t a brilliant book set in the circus, but it’s dark in tone; instead of romantic charm there are war themes, death and even sexual assault. Many of these characters are treated poorly, are in pain and trying to find some meaning - all behind the glamour of the big top. There are any characters in the book, the circus family is full of interesting, deep characters, especially Serendipity Wilson, Marina and Mouse, the narrator of the story. The story also slips in little stories, dark fairy tales almost, that broke it up well. All in all I did like this book, and I liked the writing style of the author, it just was a lot darker, sadder and more grim reality than magic escapism.

I’m pleased to share my review for A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington today. Thank you to Quercus Books for a digital review copy via NetGalley – my thoughts are my own and not influenced by the gift.

Synopsis:

A lyrical and atmospheric homage to the strange and extraordinary, perfect for fans of Angela Carter and Erin Morgenstern.

This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived…

Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus.

Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child… But will her story be enough to bring the pair together again?

Beautiful and intoxicating, A Girl Made of Air brings the circus to life in all of its grime and glory; Marina, Manu, Serendipity Wilson, Fausto, Big Gen and Mouse will live long in the hearts of readers. As will this story of loss and reconciliation, of storytelling and truth.

My thoughts:

This story is full of mysteries and emotions, that it is difficult to know where to begin with my review. So I will suggest that first you look at the stunning cover design, which is beautiful and I look forward to seeing it in bookshops soon.

As the synopsis states, the narrator, was a tightrope artiste, who rose up from being an unloved child of Marina hiding in the shadows, to be the main attraction at the circus. The story is so much darker than I expected, and it is an uncomfortable read in places due to the topics covered. However, it is a fascinating story, full of secrets and magic.

An impressive debut novel and I look forward to reading more from Nydia Hatherington in the futures. Her writing brought the circus to life, not just the glitz and glamour of the inside of the Big Top, but also how grubby life was for the circus people, camping in fields in all weathers.