Genre: Nonfiction
Secondary genre: biography
Content warnings: rape/sexual assault of a minor, child abuse, use of G*psy to refer to non-Romani people, mental illness.
Representation: POC/immigrants
Format read: audiobook
Rating:

**This review contains mild spoilers**

Leitzel was one of the most famous, most adored performers of the early 1900s. But she wasn’t a singer, or a dancer. She was an aerialist who seemingly broke the laws of physics and gravity, going beyond what it was thought the human–and especially the female–body could achieve at a time when powered flight hadn’t yet been accomplished.

She went on to marry another circus performer, Alfredo Cordona, a Mexican trapeze artist. Their doomed romance would enchant the entire would.

But in order to understand both Leitzel and Alfredo, we need to go back further, to the late 1800s, when their parents were working in the circus.

This book dedicates it’s first quarter or so to the story of the older generation, describing how Leitzel and Alfredo came to be on opposite sides of the planet under wildly different circumstances.

I feel like there is very little I can tell you about this book that wouldn’t be a spoiler, as it is a biography and there for about someone’s life. There isn’t a plot, per say, just the events that happened, and wow, were they a doozy. If this had been a work of fiction, I could write paragraphs about what a twisted mind the author has, but alas, all of these events are true, from the abuse to rape and murder.

There are bright spots: happy times, challenges overcome, family reunions. But this is definitely not a cheerful book.

If, however, you enjoy biographies, the circus, or stories that are frequently untold, then this might be one to pick up.