The Ordinary Acrobat

Duncan Wall

301 ratings by Goodreads

Language: English

Published by Knopf, 2013

0307271722 / 9780307271723

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Seller: Library House Internet Sales, Grand Rapids, OH, U.S.A.Library House Internet Sales

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Hardcover

Condition: Used - Good

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The extraordinary story of a young man's plunge into the unique and wonderful world of the circus--taking readers deep into circus history and its renaissance as a contemporary art form, and behind the (tented) walls of France's most prestigious circus school. When Duncan Wall visited his first nouveau cirque as a college student in Paris, everything about it--the monochromatic costumes, the acrobat singing Simon and Garfunkel, the juggler reciting Proust--was captivating. Soon he was waiting outside stage doors, eagerly chatting with the stars, and attending circuses two or three nights a week. So great was his enthusiasm that a year later he applied on a whim to the training program at the École Nationale des Arts du Cirque--and was, to his surprise, accepted. Sometimes scary and often funny, The Ordinary Acrobat follows the (occasionally literal) collision of one American novice and a host of gifted international students in a rigorous regimen of tumbling, trapeze, juggling, and clowning. Along the way, Wall introduces readers to all the ambition, beauty, and thrills of the circus's long history: from hardscrabble beginnings to Gilded Age treasures, and from twentieth-century artistic and economic struggles to its brilliant reemergence in the form of contemporary circus (most prominently through Cirque du Soleil). Readers meet figures past--the father of the circus, Philip Astley; the larger-than-life P. T. Barnum--and present, as Wall seeks lessons from innovative masters including juggler Jérôme Thomas and clown André Riot-Sarcey. As Wall learns, not everyone is destined to run away with the circus--but the institution fascinates just the same. Brimming with surprises, outsized personalities, and plenty of charm, The Ordinary Acrobat delivers all the excitement and pleasure of the circus ring itself. Former library book. Mylar protector included. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item.…

Seller Inventory # 123722425

Title
The Ordinary Acrobat
Author
Duncan Wall
Publisher
Knopf
Publication year
2013
Condition
Good
Dust jacket
Good
Book Type
Ex-Library
Binding
Hardcover
Language
English
ISBN 10
0307271722
ISBN 13
9780307271723

Library House Internet Sales

Grand Rapids, OH, U.S.A.

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Library House Books and Art

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Grand Rapids, OH U.S.A. 43522