Tales of the Ex FireEater

Janet Money, formerly the sports editor of the Woodstock Daily
Sentinel-Review, is a freelance writer and editor in London, Ontario.

“What is morality?” is the key question asked by Fido, the novel’s
titular character, who was raised in the circus and orphaned at a young
age when her mother disappeared mysteriously under the Big Top. Growing
up and seeking the answer to this question takes Fido from the circus to
the big city to a Buddhist monastery and, inevitably, back to the
circus, where she learns the truth about her parentage. Among the
novel’s cast of quirky characters are a midget who takes Fido in after
her mother disappears, a dancing fat lady, a tyrannical ringmaster whose
controlling behavior eventually crosses the line into sexual abuse, and
a bisexual would-be tightrope walker who introduces Fido to love and sex
and provides her with the opportunity to leave the circus. By the end of
the novel, Fido still hasn’t answered her own question, but she’s
wiser.

Sheila Dalton, who has previously published children’s books and
poetry, has woven together a fascinating web of characters and symbols.
This coming-of-age tale would probably make a good film.