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Marion Zimmer Bradley
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The Catch Trap Mass Market Paperback – 1 Aug. 1984

by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 215 ratings
Tommy Zane's dreams of becoming a trapeze flyer bring him under the tutelage of Mario Santelli, who sees in Tommy's dreams and ambition the chance to regain the greatness that his family, The Flying Santellis, once enjoyed
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Ballantine Books
  3. Publication date
    1 Aug. 1984
  4. Dimensions
    10.16 x 1.91 x 17.78 cm
  5. ISBN-10
    0345315642
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0345315649
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Product description

From the Inside Flap

t, colorful novel of the circus world of the 1940s and 1950s, rich in detail, bursting with power and emotion.
Mario Santelli, a member of the famous flying Santelli family, is a great trapeze artist. Tommy Zane is his protege.
As naturally and gracefully as they soar through the air, the two flyers find themselves falling in love. Mario and Tommy share sweet stolen moments of passion, but the real intensity of their relationship comes from their total devotion to one another and to their art.
As public figures in a conservative era, they cannot reveal their love. But they will never renounce it.
A tremendously moving tale, a rich family saga, a wise and compassionate portrait of a special love in a special world.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 Aug. 1984
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reissue
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345315642
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345315649
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 318 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.16 x 1.91 x 17.78 cm
  • Best Sellers Rank: 21,259 in Contemporary Fantasy (Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 215 ratings

About the author

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Marion Zimmer Bradley

Marion Zimmer Bradley

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Marion Zimmer was born in Albany, NY, on June 3, 1930, and married Robert Alden Bradley in 1949. Mrs. Bradley received her B.A. in 1964 from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, then did graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-67.

She was a science fiction/fantasy fan from her middle teens, but wrote only for school magazines and fanzines until 1952, when she sold her first professional short story to VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION. She wrote everything from science fiction to Gothics, but is probably best known for her Darkover novels.

In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited many magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine, which she started in 1988. She also edited an annual anthology called SWORD AND SORCERESS for DAW Books.

Over the years she turned more to fantasy; THE HOUSE BETWEEN THE WORLDS was "fantasy undiluted." She wrote a best-selling novel of the women in the Arthurian legends--Morgan Le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, and others--entitled MISTS OF AVALON, and she also wrote THE FIREBRAND, a novel about the women of the Trojan War. Her historical fantasy novels, THE FOREST HOUSE and LADY OF AVALON are prequels to MISTS OF AVALON.

She died in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999, four days after suffering a major heart attack. She was survived by her brother, Leslie Zimmer; her sons, David Bradley and Mark Greyland; her daughter, Moira Greyland; and her grandchildren.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
215 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book highly readable, with one mentioning it keeps them enthralled until the last page. The story quality receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting how it covers circus life.

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ReadabilityStory quality
7 customers mention ‘Readability’7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, with several describing it as one of the best books they've read, and one noting it keeps readers enthralled until the last page.

"...years ago and have re-read it many times over the years and it never loses its appeal...." Read more

"...This is one of the best books I have read of any subject...." Read more

"...story and although not as well told as it could have been is well worth reading." Read more

"...Truly a brilliant novel." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Story quality’5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality of the book, with one customer highlighting its portrayal of circus life, while another notes how it weaves together multiple family narratives.

"...characters, Tommy and Mario hold your attention, there are many stories in the family, from Stella who gets an illegal abortion and then cant have..." Read more

"...The story covers circus life, particularly the skills of the flying trapeze; family life, with its joys and sorrows and relationships; and an epic..." Read more

"...I can understand both points. That said it is a good story and although not as well told as it could have been is well worth reading." Read more

"Amazing sensitive story. You really feel like you know the family, and you get to feel like you lived in the circus your self." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Anne Livingston
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Your Read and Read Again List
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I bought this book over 20 years ago and have re-read it many times over the years and it never loses its appeal. Its a book that works cn many levels and although the main characters, Tommy and Mario hold your attention, there are many stories in the family, from Stella who gets an illegal abortion and then cant have any children to Lucia, Mario's mother, who has had to give up her career after an accident and be the stay at home mum. For anyone with an interest in the circus world, this book will keep you enthralled until the last page. My only regret was that there was never another book about the characters to tell what happened to the younger generation in it, and since MZB is dead there never will be. If you buy this book you will never ever regret it.
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  • Coffee Lover
    5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding story.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2012
    Verified Purchase
    For once a novel with a gay theme that is all about people's characters and lives, and not about sex. This is one of the best books I have read of any subject. Beautifully written, and captivating it will remain a book to be read and re-read many times.
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  • MerlinKaz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Read it! I have always been glad I found it.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I bought this book in hardback in a book shop close down, possibly close to 30 years ago. I loved it the first time I read it and have done every time I have re-read it.
    The story covers circus life, particularly the skills of the flying trapeze; family life, with its joys and sorrows and relationships; and an epic love story between two characters you cannot fail to love and who make you want to change the views of people to make their life together as wonderful as they have a right for it to be.
    I wish there had been a sequel but perhaps that is part of my love for the story ... that there isn’t.
    I know that I will never part with this book, and will continue to re-read it every few years.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Nigel Gordon
    4.0 out of 5 stars I was told that when asked which was her best and worse book MZB named this as both
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 December 2015
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    I was told that when asked which was her best and worse book MZB named this as both. She stated that it was a book that needed writing and the story needed telling - which it does. She also pointed out it was an early work for her and she had learnt a lot since and if she was writing it again it would be about half the length. I can understand both points. That said it is a good story and although not as well told as it could have been is well worth reading.
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  • EBR45
    5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2011
    Verified Purchase
    To quote another reviewer "Do you know that feeling of being totally and absolutely absorbed by a book, like sucked into its pages, as if for days and weeks the reality around you is a vague dream in the distance".

    That sums up exactly how I felt upon reading "The Catch Trap". Truly a brilliant novel.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Not A Number
    5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2011
    Verified Purchase
    One of the best books I've read, and without a doubt the most beautifully written and immersive tale of gay romance that I have ever read, nudging out my old favourites since my early teens (Mary Renault's "Alexander" and "The Persian Boy").

    I loved this so much I'll be buying copies for friends and family.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling read. This will make you laugh and cry.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing sensitive story. You really feel like you know the family, and you get to feel like you lived in the circus your self.
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  • katejames
    5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Don't normally do this , but thankyou to whoever recommended this book - it was riveting, found it tricky to do anything else except read
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling tale of flying and love
    Reviewed in Canada on 16 May 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This story draws you in and holds you there till the end. Following Mario and Tommy through their ups and downs in their act and their lives is a beautiful take as old as time
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  • ljs
    5.0 out of 5 stars Still One of My All-time Favorites
    Reviewed in the United States on 27 December 2004
    Verified Purchase
    I read this for the first time almost twenty years ago, when I was in college. I read it a couple of more times in the following years, but this is probably the first time I've reread it in eight or ten years. And again, I can't put it down. I will still be sad when I'm done reading it, because I'd like to have more of it.

    This is one of the best gay love stories you're likely to find, at least if you're a soppy romantic like me. I fell in love with the characters and the setting, not to mention the historical details. Hell, to this day I have a thing for redheads, in part because one of the lead characters, Tommy Zane, was a redhead. If I ever go to the circus, it's because of this book. I want a sequel, but at the same time I want the ending to be the "happily ever after" the characters deserve.

    From a mechanical perspective Bradley was not the greatest writer, but she sure could spin a yarn. The book grabs you and does not let you go until well after you've put it down. You can't help but get involved with the main characters, the Santelli family, and their circus milieu. It also works on the level of social history and commentary. Mario and Tommy are like many gay couples of that time in their response to the repression society heaped on them. Their struggle to make their love survive and even thrive under such conditions leaves me misty-eyed by the end. In a very real sense, I think the book is Bradley's tribute to the struggle and pain of that generation of gay men and women, and the strength it took to endure. The reviewer who derided the story as being about closet cases needs to understand that things were very different back then. As for me, I would make this mandatory reading in every high school, especially in the Bible Belt.

    So get it, read it, and pass it on to your friends and family.
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  • V. S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ein wunderbare, nicht-kitschige Lovestory
    Reviewed in Germany on 30 April 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Das ist eine der wunderbarsten Liebesgeschichten. Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass mich eine Homo-Beziehung in einem Zirkus-Setting der 40/50er Jahre überhaupt interessiert. Aber der Autor schafft es, den Leser mit seiner detailgetreuen Beschreibung in den Bann zu ziehen. Sehr einfühlsam, überhaupt nicht kitschig. Wer beispielsweise "Me Before you" geliebt hat, wird auch diese Buch verschlingen.

    Habe die Kindle-Edition gekauft, da waren einige Fehler drin. Aber darüber kann man hinwegsehen bei der wunderbaren Geschichte.
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  • kip
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've ever read
    Reviewed in the United States on 14 January 2015
    Verified Purchase
    One of the best books I've ever read! Marion Zimmer Bradley is my favorite author in the universe and I love all of her Darkover (Fantasy) series. Years ago I exchanged a few letters with the author and if I recall correctly, this book as actually based in part on a true story. MZB had received offers to make it into a movie but the movie company wanted to change one the main characters genders, so she said no. This would make an excellent movie as its written! The author, MZB really understands how to convey the emotions and depths of the characters personalities, as well as tell an excelent story in all of her books, this one doubly so. Read it and I'm sure you'll love it too!
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  • Kerst
    5.0 out of 5 stars Eines meiner Lieblingsbücher!
    Reviewed in Germany on 11 March 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Ich hatte das Buch zuerst auf Deutsch und es ist seit vielen Jahren eines meiner Lieblingsbücher. Deshalb wollte ich es auch in der Original-Sprache lesen.
    Es ist einfach eine ganz tolle Liebesgeschichte und die Welt des Zirkus ist faszinierend und lädt zum Träumen ein. Auch alle Freunde, denen ich das Buch empfohlen habe, waren begeistert.
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