Set in vaudeville in the early twentieth century, Jonah Man is a gripping and ultimately heartbreaking novel that reveals the often tragic lives of performers struggling to make it to the big time. Told from the perspectives of multiple characters, including a one-handed juggler who moonlights as a drug trafficker, a talented young boy who longs to escape the shadow of his abusive father, and a police inspector whose bumbling attempts to solve a murder result in a series of calamitous missteps, Jonah Man explores the dark side of life behind the curtain, where performers will resort to the most extreme measures-including drug dealing, self-mutilation, and even murder-to keep their ever shrinking dream of becoming a star alive. Resurrecting the lost language and world of vaudeville-a "Jonah Man" was a performer who, despite his best efforts, had stalled in his career-Jonah Man is an unforgettable portrait of people trapped between their highest hopes and the crushing realties of their lives

Mode of access: World Wide Web