Starred review from December 12, 2011
Bennett (The Company Man) melds an energetic reimagining of medieval myth with an engrossing backdrop of impresarios, puppeteers, and amazing feats of strength in this tale of turn-of-the-century vaudevillians. The performances of Hieronomo “Harry” Silenus’s quartet leave audiences dazzled yet unable to remember what they have seen. Teen piano prodigy George Carole, believing that Harry is his father, joins the quartet and learns their actual mission: to sing the song of creation that keeps the world alive and safe. As darkness closes in, the exhausted and increasingly fractious performers gamble everything for one more bit of the song. True motives borne of old sadness are revealed with delicate precision, and even the most terrifying creatures are invested with a heartrending pathos. Narrated perfectly by a baffled young man whose zealous pursuit of a father’s love is often outpaced by his alternately endearing and dangerous vanity, Bennett’s finely crafted novel rises on a wave of suspense to a place of beauty and hope. Agent: Donald Maass Literary Agency.
Starred review from February 15, 2012
In Bennett's new fantasy, everything in existence is an echo of a primal song used by the Creator to bring the universe into being. Primarily set in the recent past, the story focuses on a troupe of threadbare vaudevillians wielding unwanted magical powers on- and offstage as they play some of the worst venues in the business. Their primary and private agenda is searching the secret places of the world for surviving fragments of the Creator's music. But they have competitors. The song is also sought by an ancient malevolent power who wants it silencedand all of creation along with it. In a wonderfully realized world full of pathos and mystery and wisdom, Bennett's antihero showman, Heironome Silenus, bullies and goads his troupe on its bizarre quest, well aware of the consequences of failure. The Troupe is a fairy tale for grown-ups about love and betrayal and redemption, set against the grungy backdrop of a vaudeville stage and revealing along the way a bit of the deep magic to which all life resonates. Another superb effort from Bennett, author of The Company Man (2011), this is the kind of book that will find its way into one's hands again and again over the years.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)