This is a very enjoyable book for two main reasons:One: It it true to its title. The carnival theme, feel, smell and energy is present throughout the work. You never miss a beat, and the narrative is not short of side-show attractions ;)Two: You can feel that moments shared are fluid and can fit in any character. You are never really aware whose story it is, when it happened or how long it took. The collective emotion doesn't warrant the question, you simply don't care, you just assemble the puzzle as it comes.The only reason I didn't give this a 4 star rating is my deep appreciation to a much more ambitious "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. There are some similarities in both attempts, this one is more comprehensible, yet I still enjoy the labyrinths of the latter. Carnival, by Rawi Hage, follows the adventures and misadventures of a taxi driver nicknamed Fly. Fly, equal parts saint, sinner and story teller, is the child of circus performers, both of whom are dead. Thrust out from the world of the circus and into the wider world of reality, Fly recounts to the reader that there is little difference between the magic, mystery and odd ball characters who inhabit the circus world from the greater world outside the big top. In fact, the city and its carnival world rivals and even surpasses anything that can be found or imagined within the big tents of the circus.Fly takes the reader on his nightly rides. Some encounters are humourous, some edgy, and some profane as would be expected. Fly tells the reader that "horde(s) of humans in masks re-create the periodic cycles of life and death." When Fly is not driving he is often within a confusing and overloaded apartment of books, which partially explains his philosophical commentaries throughout the book. Fly tells the reader that "all libraries must submit to some order" and this insight seems to help him, and presumably the reader sort through the episodic chapters of the book.Fly's library was once owned by an Alberto Manuel, and I can't help but wonder if this is not a bit of a wink and nod to another Canadian author, with a slightly different name, who also has an extensive library and is the author of A History of Reading.
What do You think about Karneval (2014)?
Interesting, but never really came together for me. Some brilliant set pieces.
—Eren
The story rambles on, featuring a strange procession of characters - loved it
—thunfer14
Beautiful but vague. Could have used more story.
—ms0543862
An absolutely masterfully poetic piece of work.
—taeny
