The New York Times Book Review - Rachel Khong
This is an assured debut that doesn't shy away from the task of holding the ordinary and otherworldly in its hand, at once. It's herein that the book's power lies…Fontaine is unafraid to write the uglinessthe imperfect care and lovethat takes place between people, and the memoir is most "electric" when it doesn't shy from that imperfection…In the end, The Electric Woman is about probing mysteries to which there is actually no mystery, but also no end. The woman in a box is disfigured, plain and simple; it's an act that purports to be magic, and it is and it isn't. Equally true and mystifying is the fact that we loveit's plain and extraordinary and impossible to put into words. The ways in which mothers and daughters hurt each other, even as they love each other, are in themselves a world of wonder.
Publishers Weekly
★ 01/15/2018
In the opening pages of this fascinating memoir, first-time author Fontaine learns how to eat fire. This is just one of several “death-defying” feats she learned during her stint with the World of Wonders, “the very last traveling sideshow of its kind.” Intrigued by illusion and danger, Fontaine—a grad student studying writing—accepted a surprising invitation to join the show. Not only did she yearn for adventure but she also hoped to temporarily escape from assisting her mother after her mother suffered a debilitating stroke. Fontaine segues between hospital visits to her mother in California’s Bay Area and the fantastical world of the carnival, where Fontaine learned to handle snakes, swallow swords, free herself from handcuffs, and eventually master the role of “the electric woman,” lighting light bulbs with her tongue. Traveling state and county fairs, Fontaine shares the unusual stories of her fellow carnival workers, all of whom come across as devoted to the exhausting, grueling, yet inspiring work they do each day. Fontaine explores the history of the carnival (e.g., the first incubators were on display in a carnival sideshow in the early 20th century); its pecking order of performers, carnies, and foodies; its humor and dark underbelly. This remarkable, beautifully written memoir explores the depth of mother-daughter love and the courageous acts of overcoming fear and accepting change. (May)
From the Publisher
"With the crisp, slightly gravelly voice of someone who eats fire for a living, author Tessa Fontaine narrates her powerful, heartfelt story about transformations, loss, mothers, and daughters." -AudioFile
AUGUST 2018 - AudioFile
With the crisp, slightly gravelly voice of someone who eats fire for a living, author Tessa Fontaine narrates her powerful, heartfelt story about transformations, loss, mothers, and daughters. Fontaine dives into the colorful unpredictability of life in the circus to recover from caring for her mother after a major stroke. The amusing cast of characters who are part of Fontaine's "carny" life with the World of Wonders adds levity to the emotional powerhouse of her complex family relationships. What Fontaine lacks in vocal diversity between her male and female characters she makes up for with careful diction and a steady tone, even while recounting emotionally raw moments of overcoming her own fears and the worst moments of her mother's hospitalization. E.E. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-03-03
A writer performs in a traveling sideshow tour after spending three years with her mother as she endured a series of debilitating strokes.In her debut memoir, Fontaine explores the power of the mother-daughter bond and the resiliency and marvel of the human body under duress. In October 2010, the author's mother suffered the first of several strokes. She was left severely incapacitated and in the care of her husband, Fontaine's stepfather. Yet in the summer of 2013, at great risk to her health, they set off together for an ambitious trip to Italy, refusing to give in to her physical limitations. On a whim, the author set off on her own adventure, signing on as a carnival performer in America's last traveling sideshow, the World of Wonders. For the next 150 days, she tested her physical endurance and deeply ingrained fears, acquiring skills as a fire eater, snake charmer, and escape artist, among other sideshow feats, and investigating the unique culture and often grueling realities of carnival life. Fontaine is a graceful writer, and her story initially shows great promise as she seamlessly weaves together a chronicle of her often bizarre carnival experiences with poignant memories of her mother before and after her illness. But as the narrative segues into a lengthy day-to-day account of her experiences on the tour, it becomes less urgently involved with her connection to her mother and reads more like a journalistic reporting exercise. Though the author is careful to recount her dedicated immersion within this world, there's an emotional detachment that grows more evident in her encounters with the individuals who inhabit this space. After several weeks on the tour, as the wonders begin to grow thin and somewhat repetitive, the story loses momentum. Though her tale eventually leads to a moving and satisfying conclusion, the journey is unnecessarily arduous.A sometimes-engrossing but overlong memoir about carnival life and family bonds.