- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Quercus; paperback / softback edition (11 Jan 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1847240216
- ISBN-13: 978-1847240217
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 460,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Pilo Family Circus
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Review
The plot is full of wonderful grotesqueries and unfolds at a cracking pace. I was enjoying reading this book so much I forgot I was meant to review it.' Sydney Morning Herald
I couldn't put Elliott's novel down. It's fantastic... An entertaining mixture of Palahniuk and David Lynch - Independent on Sunday
Inventive, scary and darkly humorous novel has a dash of Stephen King and a hint of Lovecraft but is really sui generis. It may be a true one-off but that doesn't stop me wanting more - The Observer
Elliott's prose is sharp and engaging...this intriguing book mixes fantasy with psychological horror to squirming effect - The List
as much surreal poetry as macabre thrills … this is a first novel of real promise. At his best, Elliott writes with a power commensurate with the originality of his vision. It is not just that he has unusually nasty visions to put on the page but he has the ability to make us share them - TLS
a bravura performance, a disquieting glimpse into a richly imagined and horribly plausible parallel universe - Financial Times
I couldn't put Elliott's novel down. It's fantastic... An entertaining mixture of Palahniuk and David Lynch - Independent on Sunday
Inventive, scary and darkly humorous novel has a dash of Stephen King and a hint of Lovecraft but is really sui generis. It may be a true one-off but that doesn't stop me wanting more - The Observer
Elliott's prose is sharp and engaging...this intriguing book mixes fantasy with psychological horror to squirming effect - The List
as much surreal poetry as macabre thrills … this is a first novel of real promise. At his best, Elliott writes with a power commensurate with the originality of his vision. It is not just that he has unusually nasty visions to put on the page but he has the ability to make us share them - TLS
a bravura performance, a disquieting glimpse into a richly imagined and horribly plausible parallel universe - Financial Times
Independent on Sunday
I couldn't put Elliott's novel down. It's fantastic... An
entertaining mixture of Palahniuk and David Lynch
entertaining mixture of Palahniuk and David Lynch
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Clowns had always had a sinister role to play in popular culture. From "Krusty " the clown in "The Simpsons" to the clown in Stephen Kings bloated novel "It" to Papa Lazarou In "The League Of Gentlemen" there is something distinctly unnerving about them . Serial killer John Wayne Gacy used to dress as a clown for children's parties , that's when he wasn't killing young men and burying them in the crawl space under his house.
It's actually a bit of a surprise their incarnate creepiness hasn't been used more often so "The Pilo Family Circus" is a welcome addition to the genre-if indeed there is genre . Except the clowns in this novel aren't so much creepy as downright evil, psychopathic ,and murderous . Which is no surprise , as the circus they work for -the one of the title- is set in some nether region bordering hell , or so we are led to believe and is run by two siblings- George and Kurt Pilo( who co- inherited the circus after chewing his fathers face off) who constantly attempt to kill each other and is populated by brooding gypsies, garish freaks, homicidal acrobats, baleful dwarfs and has a Funhouse which no one who enters ever returns from.
Into this tormented hellhole comes Jamie , a young man living in Brisbane who on the way home from work one night encounters three clowns from who he filches a little pouch of what looks like dust .( This dust has a significance integral to the plot) Soon his life is turned into a maelstrom of insanity as the clown s make it nastily clear he has to pass some kind of audition . On doing this he is kidnapped and forced to learn the art of clowning for the Pilo Family Circus. The Clowns are a mixed bunch . The groups leader ,Gonko, is misanthropic ,amoral , devious, but calculating and cunning while Goshy is a psychotic sinister fruit loop in love with a potted fern. His brother Doopy is a juvenile delinquent but a very dangerous one, while old hand Winston is wary and seems to be hiding something. Jamie meanwhile, once he dons the clown face paint mutates into whiny bullying lunatic JJ and the two opposing characters battle it out for control of the body they both inhabit .
It's a slick pacy read, with moments of extreme violence , and sadism but done in a slightly tongue in cheek manner with genuinely witty moments. Its more screwball black comedy than outright horror though some readers will find it genuinely shocking . Comparing it to Stephen King is wrong as it's far more enjoyable than most King novels, none of his rambling self indulgence her. ,The Chuck Palanhuik comparisons are apt though it's not as literate as his work .I think if you imagine Dave Barry or Carl Hiaasen turning their hand to the horror genre you wouldn't go far wrong and this book is every bit as pleasurable as that prospect sounds
It's actually a bit of a surprise their incarnate creepiness hasn't been used more often so "The Pilo Family Circus" is a welcome addition to the genre-if indeed there is genre . Except the clowns in this novel aren't so much creepy as downright evil, psychopathic ,and murderous . Which is no surprise , as the circus they work for -the one of the title- is set in some nether region bordering hell , or so we are led to believe and is run by two siblings- George and Kurt Pilo( who co- inherited the circus after chewing his fathers face off) who constantly attempt to kill each other and is populated by brooding gypsies, garish freaks, homicidal acrobats, baleful dwarfs and has a Funhouse which no one who enters ever returns from.
Into this tormented hellhole comes Jamie , a young man living in Brisbane who on the way home from work one night encounters three clowns from who he filches a little pouch of what looks like dust .( This dust has a significance integral to the plot) Soon his life is turned into a maelstrom of insanity as the clown s make it nastily clear he has to pass some kind of audition . On doing this he is kidnapped and forced to learn the art of clowning for the Pilo Family Circus. The Clowns are a mixed bunch . The groups leader ,Gonko, is misanthropic ,amoral , devious, but calculating and cunning while Goshy is a psychotic sinister fruit loop in love with a potted fern. His brother Doopy is a juvenile delinquent but a very dangerous one, while old hand Winston is wary and seems to be hiding something. Jamie meanwhile, once he dons the clown face paint mutates into whiny bullying lunatic JJ and the two opposing characters battle it out for control of the body they both inhabit .
It's a slick pacy read, with moments of extreme violence , and sadism but done in a slightly tongue in cheek manner with genuinely witty moments. Its more screwball black comedy than outright horror though some readers will find it genuinely shocking . Comparing it to Stephen King is wrong as it's far more enjoyable than most King novels, none of his rambling self indulgence her. ,The Chuck Palanhuik comparisons are apt though it's not as literate as his work .I think if you imagine Dave Barry or Carl Hiaasen turning their hand to the horror genre you wouldn't go far wrong and this book is every bit as pleasurable as that prospect sounds
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Here's a book sure to grab your attention: grab it, shake it, chew on it and spit it out! The Pilo Family Circus is one part comedy and one part comic book violence.
Comparisons with "It" and other evil clowns are a little misplaced. The clowns are a rough and ready bunch to be sure: lead by the scheming, sadistic Gonko, the masochistic Rufshod, the creepy space-cadet Goshy and his puppy-dog psychopath brother Doopy as well as the mysterious Winston, the clowns draw the protagonist Jamie into the Pilo Family Circus when he accidentally comes to their attention. But the clown troupe is not the real evil of the Circus, no sir. That would be Kurt Pilo, the bestial proprietor who snacks on teeth and his Napoleonic brother George. Even these two serve shadowy masters who reside... elsewhere.
In between the clowns' struggles to win Kurt's favour and sabotage other acts of the Circus (their running battle with the camp-but-deadly acrobats is hilarious) we witness Jamie's struggle with his alter-ego J.J., who emerges when Jamie is forced to don his magical face paint. This battle of wills can only have one winner - and one dead loser.
The action is fast paced, the dialogue is witty, salty and colours the characters very nicely. Subsequent readings of this book have revealed deeper allegorical elements to this story, for example the Jamie/J.J. struggle could be a metaphor for someone's struggle with addiction or schizophrenia. The circus itself may be a comment on our need for and addiction to distraction and entertainment, even as our souls are sucked our of our bodies.
In all this was a cracking read and I would recommend not reading it on the train or bus, as there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. For fans of The Young Ones and H.P. Lovecraft alike, enjoy this fine debut.
Comparisons with "It" and other evil clowns are a little misplaced. The clowns are a rough and ready bunch to be sure: lead by the scheming, sadistic Gonko, the masochistic Rufshod, the creepy space-cadet Goshy and his puppy-dog psychopath brother Doopy as well as the mysterious Winston, the clowns draw the protagonist Jamie into the Pilo Family Circus when he accidentally comes to their attention. But the clown troupe is not the real evil of the Circus, no sir. That would be Kurt Pilo, the bestial proprietor who snacks on teeth and his Napoleonic brother George. Even these two serve shadowy masters who reside... elsewhere.
In between the clowns' struggles to win Kurt's favour and sabotage other acts of the Circus (their running battle with the camp-but-deadly acrobats is hilarious) we witness Jamie's struggle with his alter-ego J.J., who emerges when Jamie is forced to don his magical face paint. This battle of wills can only have one winner - and one dead loser.
The action is fast paced, the dialogue is witty, salty and colours the characters very nicely. Subsequent readings of this book have revealed deeper allegorical elements to this story, for example the Jamie/J.J. struggle could be a metaphor for someone's struggle with addiction or schizophrenia. The circus itself may be a comment on our need for and addiction to distraction and entertainment, even as our souls are sucked our of our bodies.
In all this was a cracking read and I would recommend not reading it on the train or bus, as there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. For fans of The Young Ones and H.P. Lovecraft alike, enjoy this fine debut.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I thought this book was fantastic! Funny, and as imaginative as anything I've read lately. In a time where some of our big name authors (I won't name names) seem to be getting stale, a new crowd is stepping up, Joe Hill, Lisa Gardner, G. W. Dahlquist, and now Elliot. It seems this book has won quite a few awards over in its native Australia, and it is undoubedtly a debut of real promise.
But I must disagree with the previous reviewer's comments comparing this book to "It" - it is a totally different style to that, and I don't think it is horror of quite the same intent. "It" wanted to scare you, this one does something else. A definite "must read".
But I must disagree with the previous reviewer's comments comparing this book to "It" - it is a totally different style to that, and I don't think it is horror of quite the same intent. "It" wanted to scare you, this one does something else. A definite "must read".
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
great till the end
I really enjoyed most of the book.. it put me in a Lynchian world most of the time. The only downpoint was the ending - not good enough. Read more
Published 10 days ago by JONATHAN EDWARD KAY
Could have been a lot better
A good idea let down by poor writing.
Really, I think it's a great shame because the creepy atmosphere of the circus was wonderful. Read more
Really, I think it's a great shame because the creepy atmosphere of the circus was wonderful. Read more
Published 13 months ago by hyperconformist
Sorry to disagree
Hated it....correction...am hating it.
Am halfway through and last night I thought I simply cannot read this anymore.
I don't find it exciting. It's downright nasty. Read more
Am halfway through and last night I thought I simply cannot read this anymore.
I don't find it exciting. It's downright nasty. Read more
Published 13 months ago by J. A. Johnson
Horrible, hilarious and extrememly strange.
Not for the faint-hearted. There are shades of Papa Lazarou here, on hard drugs and with a grudge (and a chainsaw). Read more
Published 24 months ago by Book Critic
twisted fun
What an amazing read! I really enjoyed reading this book from start to finish, will elliot has a extremely twisted sense of humour which had me laughing throughout. Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2009 by S. Scales
Inventive horror
Fabulous. Absolutely revelling in its own weirdness, this book comes at you with the energy of a freight train. Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2009 by Michelle3791
Roll up, roll up...!
If you have a fear of clowns this is probably not going to be your best bet.For those of you with no clown aversion; read on and enjoy!! Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2009 by Smartboo
A cult in the making?
I think people who are expecting high literature from this book are expecting too much. That's not what it's about - if you want to read something beautifully crafted, The Pilo... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2008 by booksy
Brilliant storytelling and dark humour
What a fantastic book, I couldn't put it down! Read this if you have a taste for the macabre and do not have an aversion to foul language and violence! Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2008 by Naomi Porter
Well worth a read
I was unsure of this book when I first opened it as clowns have always seemed very sinister to me, and this book did not fail to reinforce my ideas! Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2007 by G.F
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