DNF@15%

The blurb had a lot of promise but unfortunately aside from the setting there was nothing in this story holding my attention. Although what the author does isn't technically head-hopping, I found some of the constant shifts in POV jarring and unnecessary, which didn't help.
I still think this could be a great pick for lovers of historical fiction, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley/Penguin Random House for the ARC.

I was eager to read this having loved 73 Dove Street from the same author. This is the story of two sisters, Leni and Nette, in Berlin just before during and after the Second World War. Their trials and tribulations are mentioned ( and these are in no way trivial, living in Berlin during and just after the division of west and east Berlin must have been horrendous) but for me there was nothing in this novel that is compelling or new.

I'm so sorry I didn't like this. I wish I had.

Yet another beautifully written novel from Julie Owen Moylan.

I genuinely don’t feel a review can convey the beauty of this novel - from its gorgeous descriptions to its intricate study of humanity, it truly is one of the books of the year.

Moylan transports the reader to early and mid twentieth Century Germany, following the lives of two sisters, cataloguing their triumphs and tragedies with such heart.

This is a novel about missed opportunities, misunderstandings and redemption. The cast of characters is memorable and the narrative structure is used perfectly to tell this nuanced tale of Leni and Annette. The poignancy in this novel is almost unbearable at times and I found myself wanting to intervene in the characters’ lives as I was so invested.

There’s one panicked scene, towards the end of the novel, that I read so quickly because I was literally holding my breath, desperate to know what would become of the people involved.

I don’t believe I will ever forget these characters, they will live with me forever.

Synopsis: Told over multiple timelines, two sisters struggle to survive 1930s Germany and then WWII Germany. The story climaxes in the 1960s as the Berlin Wall is being built.

This was a bit of a slow burner, but once it got going I felt very invested in the lives of the two sisters. It was difficult to sympathise with Annette as the big reveal behind why she behaves the way she does is saved for the final few chapters, however I'm glad I persevered because there is a great story to be read.

When I reviewed 73 Dove Street I remember saying that it's difficult to make austerity Britain an interesting read because life was so devoid of colour. I feel that by setting her newest novel in the Cabaret era of Berlin, Julie Owen Moylan has definitely overcome that issue - it's very entertaining and kept me hooked.

Its fair to say that this author has produced another powerful, moving and feminist read. She writes women and how complicated and multi faceted they are like no other author.

This had strong, vivid scenes and I felt immersed in the club world. The relationship and dynamics between the sisters fascinated me, right up to the final showdown.

A captivating read that encouraged me to read on and moved at a relevant pace.

Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan

I really have been blown away by this story set just after WW1 and progressing to the mid-twentieth century. Our characters are two German sisters Leni and Annette who live in Berlin and are the last living members of their family. When we first meet them they’re in dire straits, living in a makeshift shelter in an abandoned garden. Thanks to war and the influenza epidemic they’ve lost their family so are totally reliant on each other. Leni, the older sister, gets a chance to earn some money at a notorious and rather seedy cabaret club called Babylon Circus. There the naive and rather shy Leni becomes a cigarette girl in a second hand and pinned costume that just covers her modesty, but she is at first shocked by what she sees. With shades of the musical Cabaret the author creates a club that is a mirage of clever lighting, fairground mirrors and risqué musical numbers. It’s enchanting by dark and unwelcoming by day, but this is the type of fun that can only be had at night. The girls are shameless, nudity is common in the dressing room, but Leni sees something attractive in their boldness, bawdy gossip and loud raucous laughter. They have a freedom she’s never seen before in women, they’re not afraid of taking up space. The illusion extends to the girl’s costumes, covered at first glance but offering a cheeky glimpse here and there. This is what the crowd turn up for, but one girl manages to shock the audience by crouching on the table of a misbehaving customer and pissing in his face. Everything is overseen by owner Dieter, a man with his own disguise. He rarely enters the cabaret room, but sits in his office with it’s resident cat. Having left half his face on a battlefield he wears a tin mask which chafes at his wounds and leaves his expressions slightly lopsided. This gives a certain sense to the fairground mirrors, if everyone is distorted then no one stands out.

It’s Paul the pianist’s good looks that capture Leni; his talent, his smile and the lock of hair that escapes onto his forehead. When he starts to walk her home she’s evasive, how can she tell him he doesn’t have one? She invents a family, but then has to keep Annette out of her business. Paul’s also in trouble, as his brother has run up debts he can’t repay and the lenders are leaning on him to pay instead. After a warning in the form of a beating he knows he must leave, but what will he do about Leni? Leni and Annette now have rooms, with a landlady who doesn’t mind watching Annette in the evenings while Leni works. I had so many questions. Would Paul ask Leni to go with him? Does he even feel that strongly about her? Where would Annette fit into this? Even after all these questions are answered, jealousy and fate intervene changing everything.

In our second timeline we’re in the midst of the Cold War and a middle-aged Leni is living in Berlin with her teenage daughter, following the death of her husband. She’s surprised by a sudden visit from her sister Annette who now lives in the USA. Annette seems agitated and anxious, spending all her time in flat brooding and smoking. Leni’s daughter is in the throes of first love, using the guise of drama rehearsals to meet her boyfriend. With nowhere to go they find solace in a strange old cabaret club where there’s a fairground mirror amongst the ruins. This is the perfect place for secret assignations. Leni is concerned that with her sister here the past seems closer than it’s been for years. So many secrets are being kept between these sisters and when Leni sees a face from the past, they could all come tumbling down like a pack of cards.

Julie writes mid-century women like no one else. I feel like I know them. This is my grandmother’s generation and my grandad actually went to Germany after WWII to help rebuild the country. I could actually feel the wild decadence of the 1920’s and it’s a huge contrast to the Cold War period where everything feels grey and routine with nothing to look forward to. The bleakness of Leni’s flat really comes across when it’s echoing the desolation of Annette. Even the once rowdy and colourful club is now derelict and abandoned. I love the way the author plays with place and identity in this way. She’s also clever with how the characters see themselves as part of their identity. Dieter and the girls at the club are almost gaudy grotesques, using appearance and performance to mask true feelings. As for Dieter, if we can’t express emotion in our face how do we connect with others and what effect does that have on our identity. Dieter can’t look at his new face because it doesn’t reflect the image he has of himself in his mind. It’s only once everyone else becomes distorted that he fits in, only the cat accepts him utterly as he is.

The secrets between the sisters are beautifully constructed. Annette’s adult behaviour is a faint echo of her childhood feelings. Her jealousy and fury when she discovers Leni with Paul is the fear of a child who has almost lost everything and everyone she knows. She only has Leni and what if she leaves her too? As an adult, pulling secrets or feelings from her is almost impossible. She has been holding the past inside herself so tightly and for so many years I was unsure if she would bring them to the surface without breaking. Towards the end, as another terrible event outside their control looms over Berlin, my heart was in my mouth! Not knowing whether the ending would be what I wanted had my heart racing. I couldn’t bear either sister to suffer any more heartache and this is the beauty of Julie’s writing. She makes you believe in this world and these characters so much, that you’re able to shed real tears for them. This novel is easily one of the best I’ve read this year and I’m in no doubt it will feature in my end of year list too. This is Julie’s best novel so far.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book with no obligation to review.

I thought this book would be more about the Circus of Mirrors itself and what went on there through the years. The blurb says it is like Cabaret, one of my favourite films but it is like it only in the sense that it is set in Berlin and there is a nightclub. There is no decadence, no seedy glamour, no mention of the Nazis or the political views of ordinary people.

Instead it is a book about Leni, her sister and her niece, and their hard, hard lives and struggles in Berlin from the 1920s to the 1960s. I quite enjoyed the book and felt for Leni although I was not able to summon up much liking for manipulative, selfish and lying Annette even after we found out the what happened to her when Leni was ill. And it appears that in Thea nature will win out over nurture. Quite depressing really.

The dreadful drudgery, suppression of themselves and sacrifices made by many women in their lives, (relevant even in these days) is very well described and quite heart breaking to read. Women are indeed unsung heroes and always seem to get the fuzzy end of the lollipop..

This is a well paced and interesting read, the characters are recognisable and the dialogue and situations seem authentic. For me, it was not a particularly quick read or a real page turner but I was involved in Leni's story and wanted to see how everything turned out. It is not, however, a book I would read again.

I would have liked to have found out more about what happened to Dieter and I think I might have missed the point of the scene on the plane and the gift for his friend the pianist.

Another opportunity to become immersed in a world created by Julie Owen Moylan.
The characters were believable, though not always likeable. Sympathies swayed between the sisters and, at times, their circumstances seemed so unbearable..
Sometimes in the UK, I think it is forgotten that there were also terrible losses in other countries. The author reminds us that Germans were human beings too.
Thanks to Netgalley.

4.5 rounded up

Berlin, August 1961
Annette needs to explain things to her sister Leni and the answers to this lie in the past. It all starts nearly forty years ago in 1926 at the Whalebone Theatre which features the Babylon Circus cabaret act. Leni works there as a cigarette girl, desperate to scrape a living to support her much younger sister Annette, after the death of their parents. Here, the extravagantly exotic mixes with fantasy and more, although the reality for most who work there is to pay their bills. Initially, Leni is a fish out of water but meeting handsome Paul, the theatre pianist will eventually change the course of their lives. The sisters have always depended on each other, even more so by 1961 with secrets being kept and desperate to keep it that way.

Julie Owen Moylan is a gifted writer and this is a saga in the best possible way spanning nearly four tumultuous decades. There are so many strong elements to the storytelling but maybe the standout feature is the evocative Berlin setting with the Babylon Circus mirroring the hope of the 20’s, offering signs of what’s to come and later is a symbol in more ways than one. There are vivid descriptions, it shimmers, glitters and shines but what lurks behind the glossy surface? Some scenes are so unusual they jump off the pages in full technicolour making me gasp, smile or my eyes boggle! Yet the building and its occupants will experience much over the next few decades…. what will its and their fates be?

The storytelling is excellent, it’s part Historical Fiction with the meteoric events woven organically into the plot, part romance, part character driven and part domestic drama. At its core is the sisters relationship which evolves into a novel of jealousy, sacrifice, guilt, survival and the need for forgiveness. It’s beautifully written, the characters are complex and well portrayed. It’s moving, packing an emotional punch which is poignant and thought provoking.

Overall, a stunning and gripping page turner from beginning to end and a novel I can happily recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Simply stunning. Berlin 1926, following the death of their parents sisters Leni and Annette are on the streets. Desperate and hungry, older sister Leni tries to find work eventually ending up as a cigarette girl at Berlins Babylon Circus, a cabaret thats glitzy and glamourous on the surface but beyond the spotlights as tired and worn as the exotic dancers who night after night donned their skimpy costumes to entertain.

Spanning decades this compelling novel told of two sisters who both wanted a better life but against the backdrop of a city that was embroiled in politics and war nothing came easy. I loved this novel. A vivid portrayal of a city, two sisters and survival.

My thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the advance review copy

Often, where a woman is born can determine the course of her entire life.

This compelling story starts in glittering and menacing 1926 Berlin, with Leni falling deeply in love with Paul at the cabaret nightclub where they both work, vividly capturing both time and place.

Julie Owen Moylan's poignant story of courage, sacrifice missed chances, long-hidden lies and women fighting the odds to grab happiness where they can deals with complex issues, (in particular violence against women, both sexual and emotional and abandoned children) which some readers will find triggering.

This is an epic novel, spanning decades as it explores with compassion and humanity the relationship of two sisters, Leni and Nette, torn between the love and obligation they feel towards one another, and their desire for freedom and independence.

Possible spoilers


4 +


Another absolute winner from Moylan.
It packs an emotional punch with every chapter.
As much as I know circumstances made Anette the person she is, she did drive me slightly mad!
I loved the opening chapter, the glitz, the glamour, the decadence of the Circus, so we'll described , I felt I could be there.
Then the war and its aftermath, and the rubble that Berlin became.

All so very very good, just what I've come to expect.

Once again, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. Julie Owen Moylan can do no wrong. She has a way with words that get me completely lost in her books, and this one was no exception.

I really enjoyed getting to know Leni, Annette and Thea - I laughed and cried along with them and I was really rooting for each of them. The romance between Leni and Paul is particularly beautiful, and I so wanted them to find their happy ending through their struggles.

In true Julie Owen Moylan style, some difficult topics are included throughout the book, so please be aware of this before picking it up. (❗️TW: rape, war violence)

Circus of Mirrors is out on 12th September 2024 and is available to pre-order now. I can't wait to hold my physical copy in my hands - the cover is gorgeous!

If you still haven't read any of Julie Owen Moylan's books, then I strongly urge you to do so. She has become one of my most favourite auto-buy authors, and I'm already very excited for book 4!