What does it mean to be different?
Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back, frightening his neighbors and leaving him struggling to find a home. He ends up in a “freak show” traveling the 1930s South, where he bares his back to onlookers who come to gape and fawn. Is he a horror or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?
Johnny’s travails in the Depression-era U.S. shine a spotlight on the era, where traveling shows provided entertainment and the odd could bring a thrill to grueling lives. Ideal for fans of Water for Elephants and Weyward, Boy With Wings brings the sideshow performer’s plight to life, surrounded by menace but also adulation, fraud, love and an undeniable magic.
Boy With Wings details Johnny’s life from a small child to a young adult. The following is an interview from his teen years, when he’s the star of the “Alexander’s Traveling Oddities” show that patrons pay extra to see.
Johnny, what was it like when you first appeared on the show?
I was scared. I didn’t know what it would be like, or even what I was supposed to do. They told me—Tot and Sheila—to just go out there and let them look, but I didn’t want to do it. They made me wear this cape-like thing, and there were all these people staring from behind a rope. But when I took off the cape and showed them, well, it was okay.
Do you like it now, being the star?
I guess. I’ve gotten used to it, and in a way, I suppose I like it some. I listen more to the crowd now, to what they’re saying and their other reactions. People faint sometimes. I get heckled now and then. I sign photos of myself after the shows, which can get a bit tiresome. And I feel bad in some ways because others here work so hard, performing multiple times a day, while I just go out and show the patrons my back. I wish I could sing or dance or do something more, but I haven’t come up with anything yet to add to my act.
What are the other acts like?
Oh, they’re really great! We have Zorat the sword-swallower who also breathes fire—he’s one of my favorites. There’s Sheila the tattooed lady, and Boris who throws knives, and Alfred who has this wooden dummy named Cletus who talks all on his own. There are others more like me—the true freaks, they call us: Otto, who’s a pinhead, Kenneth the Dog-Faced Man, and Tot, the tiny lady who runs the show. There are also these minstrel singers, who have voices that are amazing! We had girls who danced, too, but they had to leave.
What was your life like before the show?
I’d rather not talk about that.
What are the patrons like at your shows?
They’re mostly men: farmers and workers. Sometime women, and occasionally children, too. I see some of the men drinking from bottles—that’s hooch, or so Winifred tells me. Tot made the decision to allow Negros into the shows, and that has made some people mad.
Who is Winifred?
She’s this girl, my friend. She’s the only other kid on the show, though she’s not a performer. She’s Tot’s daughter. She’s. . . Well, I guess she’s my girlfriend.
Are you religious?
Sure. I study with Zorat—his real name is Robert. We read the Bible, and he tells me of things that he’s learned. I don’t understand lots of it. I wish I could know more.
What do you think the future holds?
I’m not sure. I saw someone from my past recently, and it brought back this big, dark cloud. My mother is dead, but I’d like to find my father, or at least I think that’s what I want. Winifred and I have that in common—she’s looking for her father, too. Who knows what could be out there for us? I’d like to have a regular job, a regular life, but for now I’m okay being on the show. We’re like a big family, you know? Or at least this is the family I’ve got.
Are they really wings?
I think so. I don’t know. I have to turn on my side to sleep.
MARK MUSTIAN is the author of the novels “The Return” and “The Gendarme,” the latter an international bestseller that has been published in eleven languages. He was a finalist for the Dayton International Literary Peace Prize, shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing, and the winner of the Florida Gold Book Award for fiction. He is the founder and president of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, now in its tenth year. A former elected official and an attorney, he lives in Florida and Michigan with his wife and elderly dog. Learn more at: www.markmustian.com
Follow Mark Mustian on social media:
Facebook: @MarkMustianAuthor | Twitter: @MarkMustian
Novel PASTimes 