This is the gripping tale of Stanton Carlisle, who works as a ‘carny’ as part of a travelling show. As a re-write of the original classic noir novel of 1946, it shows some age but is still a well written novel. The characters are well-rounded and the era of freak shows and carnival life is beautifully brought to life. Essentially, it is the story of Stanton’s rise and eventual fall from grace as he makes his way through life, always looking for the next big chance to make his fortune at the expense of his gullible audiences. Looking forward to seeing the film. Recommended.

Took me a few days to read this which surprised me. It started off really bringing me into the tale, with the description of a ‘carmines’ life in the 40’s so interesting that I thought I would devour this in a day. Then the second half of the novel happened, with our protagonist becoming a shill and, ultimately, a character I really didn’t like. Through conning people and becoming a much more surreal novel the second half left a lot to be desired. A novel to be read as it’s of its time, otherwise, I’m not sure I’d have picked this for myself.

I wanted to read this book because it was different to what I usually read. Unfortunately, it didn't click with me and I was unable to get past more than 10% of it. I really wanted to like it but I just couldn't.

Stanton Carlisle works in a travelling show. He joins forces with molly who has an electric act, and both decide to leave the show to become a spiritualist team. The book follows the ups and downs of stanton as he delves deeps into a dark and surreal world.

As Oscar once said, "We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars". This book reminded me of that quote as I read it. Very few of the characters were gazing upon the heavens, in this book, to aspire, but to take advantage of people. The ones who had any innocence, had it quickly dispatched by how they were raised, or the cruelties' they endured. It was a reflection of the true basic nature of humanity, exploitation of others, voyeurism of the unusual, and a desire to believe what we are told. Stan, takes sublime advantage of all of this, and while people may believe it was a gullibility for its time, for me, the subject matter has just changed. Instead of carnival attractions we now have reality TV, and we continue to buy or believe in snake-oil and the like. I think I enjoyed this book, it was depressing, cruel, and showed a lot of the worst of human nature, but a type of book that needed to be written, just to highlight those traits.

The premise is interesting on this one, as was the author's life, but, sadly, the execution is sorely lacking and, like a lot of mid-20th century novels, the pacing is slow and plodding. What was probably quite shocking at the time is tame today and the material - while compelling - takes a long time to get to. It doesn't help that Gresham's writing isn't all that either. I'm sure in the hands of Guillermo del Toro that this will be a fun movie but the novel itself isn't a fun read.

This book was first published in the 40's and it was like delving into history. Its such a descriptive book as you find yourself immersed in the world of freaks and carnival people and how they lived. Its mainly about a young man called Stan and his life working in the 'carny' then becoming a mentalist for the rich and his inevitable downfall. He almost seems superfluous to the book and is the method in which you view the time period.

Its depressing and bleak and although I enjoyed it initially I was glad when it concluded. I felt I had enough insight into the lives of the characters although I will watch the new movie and see how everyone is portrayed.

I enjoyed this book, although at times I found it hard to read as the depiction of the lives of the characters was very depressing. It's very well-written, and the characters really came alive for me.

A very good book, dark and gripping. I enjoyed the first part more than the second part. though. The scenes in the carny are very well done and the characterisation excellent. The writing is full of slang terms which adds to the richness, and the structure is modern in its sometimes fractured style..

The latter part, where Stan rises and falls explains some tricks of spiritism and it's amazing that people were so gullible - yet they were, as we know from documented evidence.

Recommended as a gritty, psychological exploration of a man's callousness and greed.

The first time I read this intriguing & very "noir" American novel 10 year ago I must confess that I found it at the time a little bit too long. But my mistake had been to have seen, prior to reading the book, the 1947 movie directed by Edmund Goulding with Tyrone Power & Joan Blondell. That was a mistake.
Now & thanks to Bloomsbury I had another opportunity to take a gander at this great novel and Boy am I glad! The weird world of freak shows and traveling carnivals with their sleazy hustlers, deranged grifters and neurotic & poisonous femmes fatales kept me entranced. The atmosphere is dark, the smells pungent, the cacophonic sounds oppressive. This gothic noir is a masterpiece of unease & fear. The grotesque become sublime. I highly recommend this literary freak show!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury UK for the opportunity to (re)read this wonderful novel prior to its release date

Nightmare Alley (1946) is a classic noir novel by William Lindsay Gresham primarily set in the sleazy and hallucinatory world of the carnival complete with its cast of hustlers, con artists, grifters, freaks, showmen, marks, and - of course - femme fatales. It’s part horror story, part morality tale, and wholly dark and desperate. In short, truly nightmarish.

Stan Carlisle is a young, ambitious, manipulative man who perceives opportunities with few risks whilst working at the carny. Stan is far too astute to ever sink to the level of the geek we first meet at the start of the book.

Each chapter is introduced by a Tarot card, suggesting that the participants can never escape their fates. Stan quickly learns the skills of the mentalist which enables him to deceive vulnerable, gullible, and desperate members of the public. Beyond that, the less you know about the plot the better.

Nightmare Alley is a memorable novel that is pure noir and even better than the 1947 film adaptation starring Tyrone Power.

4/5

Wow, this book was depressing and also strangely unbelievable. Stanton (Stan) works at a travelling carnival, he longs to be rich and successful. He has an affair with an older woman who also works in the "carny" whose husband Pete is an alcoholic but who once had a very famous and successful "mind reading act." After Pete dies, Stan takes his secret code book and along with Molly the girl he really fancies at the Carny, moves to New York and becomes a famous "mind reader." He meeets a psychitarist who has a very wealthy client and they cook up a plan to fleece him (which is quite unbelivable). However, Molly can't go through with the deception and the psychiatrist cheats Stan. Like Pete before him he falls into alcoholism and ends up back at the carny.

This book has been reissued to coincide with a new upcoming film of it. A big budget film noir, starring Tyrone Power was made of this book previously and bombed at the box office. I think this new one is likely to do the same. I think during lockdown we need something a bit less depressing. The writer's life also seems tragic, he too was an alcoholic, his wife left him for C.S. Lewis and he later committed suicide back in the motel room where he had written this, his successful book. Grim.

My thanks to the publishers for an advanced review copy of this noir masterpiece. I have been absolutely riveted by it and hope this revival of the 1946 book and the new film of it which Guilllermo del Toro is directing will bring new readers to it. The 1947 film starring Tyrone Powers is out there too, but read the book first!

The book opens with Stanton Carlisle’s disgust and amazement at the abject abasement of the alcoholic geek at a low life carnival. Clement Hoatley, the carnival owner tells him how a man can be made into a performer of grotesque acts such as biting the heads off chickens.

Stanton is intelligent and good looking. He has literary flair, an extraordinarily good and detailed memory and a huge ambition to succeed. He also knows the power of fear and he has no moral compass. Neither of course has Ezra Grindle, the ruthless tycoon, whose spiritual fleecing eventually forces Stanton down his own nightmare alley.

Stanton’s rise is charted through chapters headed by tarot cards, which would normally have put me off reading further. But this book is unputdownable. Our anti hero goes from sleight of hand tricks, through faked mind reading with the sleazily generous Zeena, whose alcoholic husband finds himself in the way; to spiritualist seances with ‘electric’ girl, Mollie, as the medium; to founding his own occult church. All the while his mental state is falling apart. and his biggest swindle is concocted with the icily bent psychologist, Lilith Ritter. He never misses an opportunity to profit by a mean or base act. His descent back to the lowest of low life carnivals as an alcoholic bum riding the railroad is spectacular and gut wrenching.

This was Gresham’s first book. He was himself a tortured and obsessive man and he never wrote anything else anywhere near as good. The writing here is spare, often harrowing and there is not one superfluous word. An truly outstanding book!

A dark yet often humorous novel, full of twists and turns as we follow the tale of Stan Carlisle.

This book is a re-publication, which is due to be released to coincide with the film version.

The story unfolds in such a way that every chapter brings a darkening atmosphere, plots twists and a sense of an imposing doom builds throughout.

It’s a must-read.

This is a dark, visceral tale of Stan Carlisle as he rises from the grubby underbelly of the Carny to slick mentalist, conning those desperate for hope of some sign from the afterlife to lead his own Spiritualist church and the big mark who will make his fortune, with the aid of innocent, adoring Molly, and cool headed, detached Lilith - but who's conning who?

Early scenes in the Carny are vibrant, peppered with humour and vividly brought to life, while the mood darkens with Carlisles success and we're drawn with a sense of growing, claustrophobic, imposing doom, towards a devasting concluson.

Rereleased to coincide with a new film version this overlooked depression-era classic is a must-read.

This is a vintage cult classic noir set in New York, which is receiving contemporary attention with the upcoming film release of the novel by William Lindsay Gresham, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Stanton 'Stan' Carlisle is a young carny, ruthless, ambitious, clever, manipulative man who has no intention of ever allowing himself to sink to the level of the carnival's freaks and the alcoholic 'geek' drawing the sneering attention, ire and contempt of the crowds. This dark, disturbing and sleazy atmospheric tale is structured by chapters named after Tarot cards, all pulling relentlessly and inexorably towards a preordained fate, the rise and fall of Stan, unscrupulous, amoral, abusive, frantic in his desire to acquire a fortune, understanding that fear is the key.

He is a quick learner when picking up the skills of a mentalist from Zeena, aided by a assistant, with a keen observant eye, paying attention to details and psychology, that appear to confer almost magical powers with which to swindle, deceive and con the gullible, desperate and the vulnerable. He leaves the carnival with Molly, the electric girl, with more morals than him, chasing bigger dreams that see him turning into the exploitative spiritualist preacher, Reverend Carlisle, turning to the demon drink to cope, uncaring of anyone around him. Amidst the increasing sense of dread and doom, he meets the beautiful Lilith, a psychologist he seriously underestimates, who draws his attention to a wealthy mark, only for his life to spiral out of control, a broken man and for his life nightmarishly turning full circle.

Gresham's Depression era set novel carries the type of authentic descriptions, for example, of the carnival and its acts, of a writer that knows intimately of what he depicts, in all its bleak horrors and insights. This is an intensely engaging and twisted read, with an underlying dark sense of humour, and great characters, that will appeal to readers who love their noir. After reading this, I am looking forward to seeing del Toro's interpretation of this complex novel. Many thanks to Bloomsbury.

First published in 1946, the book opens with Stan Carlisle working as a roustabout at a travelling carnival cum freak show and we are introduced to the acts from the sideshows as Stan learns the various tricks of the trade. Lowest of the low at the carnival is an alcoholic "geek" who is an object of derision.
He starts to perform sleight of hand magic, befriending Zeena, the carnival's mind reader, and develops a talent for "cold reading" techniques.
Being smart with a ruthless streak, he leaves the carnival, taking a naive young girl, Molly, with him and sets up his own mind reading act. Despite great success, Stan gets bored and reinvents himself as a spiritualist preacher, calling himself Reverend Carlisle. Once again, he is successful but is stressed by the double life he is leading.
He seeks the help of Lilith, a female psychologist, who persuades him to swindle a tycoon who becomes convinced that Stan has spiritualist powers. But after Stan, with Molly's help, cons the rich man out of his money, he discovers that he has been conned by Lilith. From there his life begins a downward spiral until he ends up as a "geek" at a carnival.
The description of seedy sideshows and carnival characters in the early part of the book is amazing and the language, rich and varied as Stan's rollercoaster tale unfolds - a mix of comedy and tragedy which sees his life as a huckster come full circle.
My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for a draft copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.