The hope and heartbreak of the Sixties still linger in America's
consciousness. In this breathtaking debut, Jennifer Egan brings to life
the seductive pull of that era as it exerts itself on two sisters,
separated by a decade, who take enormous risks to personify its ideals.
It is 1978. Phoebe O'Connor, 18, runs off to Europe seeking answers
about the tragedy that has haunted her family for eight years: the
sudden dead of her older sister Faith while in Italy. To Phoebe, Faith
epitomizes the youthful, chaotic freedom of the Sixties, and imitating
her becomes Phoebe's way of trying to elevate herself from a life that
seems drab and unsatisfying compared to the vivid spectacle that was
Faith's. Once in Europe, Phoebe follows the itinerary Faith spelled out
in postcards from her fatal trip, landing in London, living in a hostel
in Amsterdam, taking a tab of LSD in Paris. But instead of the
millennial excitement that Faith had sensed in 1960s Europe, Phoebe
encounters disappointment and ennui. And when Faith's old lover joins
Phoebe to retrace those last days in Italy, Phoebe glimpses the human
price that her sister paid in following her uncompromising quest for
personal liberation. With its coolly graceful prose and mastery of
narrative, "The Invisible Circus" is an unforgettable first novel by a
writer of uncommon ability.
