Book Review: Death of a Clown by Catherine McCarthy

“Aim high, and never allow the apathy of others to shatter your dreams.”

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Chester Brown’s path has always been set in stone. There is no escape from the clutches of the Sacred Order of Tragicomedy, nor the grip of The Sacred Church of Razzmatazz. Born into the role of a clown, his huge feet and bulging nose define him physically, while his community’s narrow mindset and rigid beliefs trap him within a mundane and stifling box. Until decades of performative drudgery wear him thin, leading to an existential crisis and stark realization: he longs to be a writer. His secret passion moves him to action, resulting in a chance encounter precipitating a European pilgrimage and the discovery of a new world. Can he break the bonds of his past, or will its pull prove too strong to overcome?

Death of a Clown is a layered, metaphorical dark fantasy rich in atmosphere and world-building. The writing is gorgeous, employing an utterly immersive story-within-a story structure that produces a resonant and fulfilling rumination on existence and the courage required to eschew the safe and familiar in favor of change, exploration, and self-acceptance — and of facing the ultimate fear: living. It’s at once a warm embrace and a sharp blade: inspiring and introspective, merciless and shrewd, illuminating humanity’s shortcomings and fallibility through captivating tales rooted in literature and philosophy, observation and contemplation. These stories simmer with darkness, hope, despair, and possibility, evolving in time with their author.

Chester’s surroundings feel tangible; the further he travels from his known environment, the more sumptuous, vibrant, and alive everything becomes. He escapes through writing, achieving freedom and adventure, reflection and introspection, unleashing his inner sorrow and cynicism, a sublime smiting of society’s indoctrination-based consumerism, control, superficiality, and hierarchy, recognizing where true wealth and value lie: not in position or material possessions, but in experience and fulfillment, study and challenge, sincerity and understanding. A well-lived life shouldn’t be predetermined, inflexible, intolerant, or unforgiving, but rather something fluid and meandering, as unique as each individual’s singular essence.

Thank you to Catherine McCarthy for sharing an eARC of this incredible forthcoming novella, which releases via Sobelo Books on May 27th. It’s an engrossing and powerful meditation on learning, love, and self-actualization and a divine reading journey that will easily rank among this reader’s all-time favorites.

🖤Amanda