Cleverer Than God is a book that tells the story of Paul Cinquevalli, a juggler who rose from the Circus circuit of the 1880s, to attain celebrity status in the British Music Hall and American vaudeville stages until the outbreak of WWI.

Through quotes by Cinquevalli himself, woven together with excerpts from journalists and writers of his era, the book tells his story as poignant fragments, capturing the essence of Cinquevalli’s triumphs, defining moments, and heart-rending tragedies.

The author, Erik Åberg, is a PhD student at the department of Circus at Stockholm University of the Arts.

5×8″, appx 120pp, hardback with blue digital cloth finish

ISBN: 978-1-958604-11-3

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While the cover of Erik Åberg’s Cleverer Than God suggests The White Album, I can assure you that, inside, this book is an exquisite aesthetic object. It is a contemplation of the life and art of vaudeville’s greatest juggler Paul Cinquevalli.

…I wouldn’t alter this book for the world. It’s a thing of beauty, minimalist, yet full of quotes by the artist and his admirers about all his miracles and missteps.

…I highly recommend Cleverer Than God as a gift book; it’s something to be enjoyed as a literary work as much as it is a spotlight on a very narrow area of show business.

-Trav S.D., Travalanche