Literary Significance and Reception
Reviews have praised the novels realism, believable characters and dialogue, sense of place and the complexity of the novel. The Guardian picked out Pelecanos ability to provide authentic voices for his characters but criticised instances where the narrative voice was inconsistent with the reality of the character. Other reviewers have commented that the gory detail and social realism may be offputting for some readers. The New York Times commented that the blaming of some of the characters behaviour on the absence of father figures may be an oversimplification.
Read more about this topic: Soul Circus (novel)
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