St. Cloud author's new novel, "The Wonders of the Little World", follows circus family across America
ST. CLOUD — Bill Meissner, a former creative writing professor at St. Cloud State University, has been enthralled by carnivals and the circus ever since he rode the Ride-o-Plane 19 times in one day as a 10-year-old. While he loves carnival food, rides and music, he acknowledges the isolating environment the industry puts upon its workers.
“A carnival is a small town in and of itself that can be really suffocating,” Meissner said. “As a typical carnival goes from town to town, they don’t spend much time in one place other than setting up and performing the show, pretty much isolated from the outside world.”
Meissner, who grew up near the World Circus Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, recently penned his latest book, “The Wonders of the Little World,” where a fortune-telling mother, tightrope-walking father and their daughter find themselves venturing outside their circus’ invisible walls and into society.
The trio’s journey into greater society comes after the father, Tony, embarks on a quest along Route 66 from New Mexico to Santa Monica, California to connect with his past. Meanwhile, the mother, Estelle, and 11-year-old Ariel think Tony went missing and travel the country in search of him.
“I hope readers will relate to the main characters and appreciate their search for meaning in a sometimes chaotic and puzzling world,” Meissner said. “I also hope they'll be entertained as the characters are enlightened during their separate journeys.”
Part of this “enlightenment” comes in the form of cultural awareness, Meissner told the St. Cloud Times. He said Estelle and Ariel meet a Black civil rights leader during their Washington D.C. visit and explore a realm of the American experience and history the two were shielded from during their time with the circus.
“Estelle is rather sheltered by her life in the carnival and is basically uninformed about the civil rights movement,” Meissner said. “She goes from being naive about it with little understanding to grasping the issue and empathizing with it while joining in on the movement’s activities.”
Experiences like the D.C. trip helped the characters become more in tune with their inner selves. Meissner said he hopes this will rub off on his readers to inspire them to go beyond their daily routines to create new experiences.
“Experiencing new environments definitely expands a person's perspective and enlightens them,” Meissner said. “Each new experience adds to the person one is and to the person they will become.”
“The Wonders of the Little World” is Meissner’s third novel and 12th book overall.
“Meissner is such a beautiful writer. I admire his voice, his eye for detail and his gentle humor, ‘The Wonders of the Little World’ might be his best novel yet,” Shannon Olson, an SCSU English faculty emerita, said in a SCSU press release. “I was hooked from page one, ready to follow Ariel, Estelle and Tony wherever the road might take them.”
— Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter for the St. Cloud Times.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud author publishes new book "The Wonders of the Little World"
