Book Review: ‘The Circus Train: A Novel’ By Amita Parikh

Author Amita Parikh has written a fantastic debut novel, looking at a traveling circus through Europe before and during WWII. Theo Papadopoulos is one of the top illusionists in the world, and one of the stars of the show. His wife died during childbirth in 1929 in Greece, leaving him behind with a little girl named Lena, who has polio. On the train Lena often feels alone in her wheelchair, she reads a lot, has a tutor, and helps out the Doctor on the train. One day she finds a stowaway boy named Alexandre, who is Jewish, and lost his parents. Theo gets permission for him to stay, and he befriends Lena, and learns magic, and becomes part of the act. As the war progresses, Theo worries about his family, and makes secret plans to take the three of them to America, until he is betrayed, and he and Alexandre are turned over to the Germans, who use them to help build, and perform. Lena escapes to London, and her old teacher, thinking her father and Alex are dead. She goes on to live her life, and find love, until her father and friend return, with shocking secrets about her life and the past. A story of family, friendship, and love during the horrible days of WWII. More novels like this, and Amita Parikh will be a force in the writing world. A great end of the year book.

You can pick up The Circus Train in stores now.