Super Short Summary

In Cathy Day’s debut short story collection, The Circus in Winter, the stories revolve around the inhabitants of Lima, Indiana as they interact with the Great Porter Circus. The circus workers use Lima as their off-season base, and Day’s narratives flesh out three generations of interactions between the two groups. Descending from a circus elephant trainer and a ticket-taker, Day mixes family history with meticulous research to render the dazzling—and heartbreaking—world of circus life, thus adding authenticity to her tales. The Circus in Winter addresses themes of family, loss, dreams, disillusionment, home, tragedy, and reconciliation.