Line #0 Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51m10gx3afl.jpg]]
2
3	''The Circus of Doctor Lao'' is a novella written by newspaperman Charles G. Finney. Published in 1935, it tells the story of a rather unusual circus coming to the town of Abalone, Arizona.
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5	It was loosely adapted into a [[TheFilmOfTheBook film]], ''[[Film/SevenFacesOfDrLao 7 Faces of Dr. Lao]]'', in 1964, with Tony Randall starring as the eponymous doctor.
6
7	!!This novel provides examples of:
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9	* AbhorrentAdmirer: A sympathetic example; Mrs. Cassin is an older woman whose husband [[spoiler:simply left her]]. Since she lost her looks and charm a long time ago, she has no luck in attracting men.
10	* AllMenArePerverts: The men in the town are extremely eager to check out the "peep show".
11	** Larry Kamper and friends only seemed to want to see the werewolf transform due to expecting her to be a naked young woman, she wasn't.
12	* {{Bouncer}}: Arguments [[RunningGag continue]] about whether it is a man, a bear or a Russian, but all witnesses concur it's an excellent bouncer, effortlessly giving two trouble-making college students the bum's rush to the street.
13	* BrutalHonesty: Apollonius. He answers questions about the future with absolute, painful accuracy, rather than the wishful fortunes given by charlatans. It falls on deaf ears regardless.
14	* CircusOfFear: Several of the exhibits of the circus make it a dangerous place.
15	* CircusOfMagic: A circus owned by a Chinese man named Dr. Lao pulls into town one day, carrying legendary creatures from all areas of mythology and legend, among them a sea serpent, Apollonius of Tyana (who tells dark, yet always truthful, fortunes), a medusa, and a satyr. Through interactions with the circus, the locals attain various enigmatic peak experiences appropriate to each one's particular personality.
16	* CrappyCarnival: Many think Dr. Lao's circus is one of these, especially with that crazy ad in the newspaper, and the less-than-impressive parade through town.
17	* TheDogBitesBack: The Sea Serpent takes a chance to attack Dr Lao during the brawl as despite being apart of the circus he's only be waiting for a chance to escape.
18	* EccentricTownsfolk: The fine folk of Abalone, Arizona.
19	* ElectiveBrokenLanguage: Dr. Lao switches back and forth between AsianSpeekeeEngrish[=/=]YouNoTakeCandle and perfect English; he mostly uses the former to deflect unwanted questions.
20	* FaunsAndSatyrs: A satyr is one of the Circus exhibits, and a faun appears in one of the peepshow scenarios "interacting" with some nymphs.
21	* TheFilmOfTheBook: ''[[Film/SevenFacesOfDrLao 7 Faces Of Dr. Lao]]'', made in 1964.
22	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: The peep show includes scenes of nymphs fooling around with each other.
23	* HumanSacrifice: Demanded by the god Yottle after someone in the congregation runs their mouth. [[spoiler: The chosen sacrifice, her protesting lover ''and'' Yottle's high priest all get crushed when Yottle's statue tips over.]]
24	* HypercompetentSidekick: Apollonius. He's an extremely powerful magician, but works for Lao in his weird little circus. (Why he bothers doing this is one of the unanswered questions listed in the appendix.)
25	* HypocriticalHumor: Apollonius claims to be more powerful than Jesus, but then pulls out a crucifix to banish Satan Mekratrig. (Again, this is specifically pointed out in the appendix.)
26	* InterspeciesRomance: The satyr is said to be the child of [[BestialityIsDepraved a goatherd and his goat]].
27	** [[spoiler: Miss Agnes Birdsong is seemingly seduced by the satyr, but interrupted by Dr. Lao before anything can happen.]]
28	** Dr Lao mentions the Chimera often tries to get with the Sphinx.
29	** The appendix contains a humorous mention of a "pony stallion show".
30	* LampshadeHanging: The appendix includes a section listing several plot-questions the main story never bothers to answer.
31	* MeaningfulName: A newspaper proofreader is named Mr. Etaoin, after the nonsense phrase "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etaoin_shrdlu Etaoin shrdlu]]" which was used as space-filler in the days of hot-type newspaper printing.
32	* {{Medusa}}: One of the exhibits.
33	* MythicalMotifs: Many of the characters are mythical creatures.
34	* MysteriousMiddleInitial: A lot of people in town seem to have "R".
35	* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Like you had to ask.
36	* {{Novella}}: An eight-page introduction, 100 pages of story and then 19 pages of Catalog that includes a lot of additional information.
37	* OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious: Dr. Lao's Chimera is male despite the index poking fun that mythology generally agrees it/they were female.
38	* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Another of the exhibits in the circus. Dr. Lao's mermaid does not speak, is entirely naked, and her human half is described as beautiful.
39	* OurMonstersAreWeird: One troper would tell you there was a bear at the circus. Another would tell you there was a man there. Some tropers might say there was a Russian there. Either way there was something big and hairy at the circus and it was weird!
40	* RandomEventsPlot: A weird circus comes to a small Arizona town, the townsfolk aimlessly interact with the various exhibits, there's a final big show in the main tent, everybody goes home. Or wherever.
41	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Apollonius states that he's 2000 years old. Lao might be equally old.
42	* RepulsiveRingmaster: Dr. Lao falls into the "morally ambiguous" category, as he's not overly worried about some of the more interesting and permanent changes (like petrification) that happen to his customers.
43	* RunningGag: People arguing about the man/bear/Russian.
44	* SadlyMythtaken: Some members of the circus are creatures thought to be found only in myth.
45	* {{Satan}}: Or specifically Satan Mekratrig appears (or some form of him) in the big top performance.
46	* {{Satire}}: A genuine example, satirizing human nature in general. It is not gentle about this, especially by early 20th century standards.
47	* SeaMonster: One of the circus's exhibits is a large sea serpent, capable of speech.
48	* SexGod: The Satyr and (seemingly) Mumbo Jumbo.
49	* TakenForGranite: Despite warnings, [[spoiler:Kate Lindquist looks at the Gorgon head-on]]. And [[spoiler:several more people casually get the same treatment during the monster-brawl at the end.]]
50	* TalkingAnimal: The sea serpent.
51	* ThoseTwoGuys: Two college guys Paul Conrad Gordon and Slick Bromiezchski spend the entire book always together.
52	* UnfazedEveryman: A running element of the novel; the townspeople either don't realize or refuse to realize the wonders of the circus.
53	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: A brawl between the exhibits breaks out that leads to [[spoiler: ten people being petrified]] in the big top....all because the sphinx was clumsy and bumped into the unicorn.
54	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The appendix details the future lives of several of the circus-visitors. Including [[spoiler: a young girl who dies in a traffic accident two months later.]]

Context Literature / TheCircusOfDoctorLao