The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid by Gary Robinson is a book about damaged people trying to repair themselves. The two main characters of the book start out as two substance-abusing outcasts desperately trying to find their way in life, and they learn to find happiness through meeting each other.
This book is divided into three separate parts that tell three separate stories, though the characters remain the same. The first story introduces us to Duke Reynolds, a sword swallower who wandered into the circus life at a very young age. He cast his old life away and joined the misfit group of performers, performing his sword-swallowing trick to make money. When he's not sword-swallowing, he's fueling his addiction to drugs and alcohol. He gets himself into trouble, barely makes enough money to get by, and has no other family besides his circus family. After we finish Duke’s story, we then are introduced to Gary Robinson, a college student whose dreams have long been crushed by his drug and alcohol addictions. He spends most of his time drinking, partying, and leading his life into a downward spiral. Only after meeting Duke
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The first story exists to set up Duke’s character and show the readers the events that have defined his life. We observe how Duke's alcohol addiction takes its toll on his life and why he tries desperately to get Gary away from this lifestyle. Likewise, the second story allows readers to take a glimpse at Gary’s self-destructive lifestyle. He is portrayed as a character who had several opportunities to get on the right track but always seems to revert back to his bad lifestyle. I could definitely see why Gary and Duke would form such a strong bond by the time their stories have ended. They share many similarities with each other, and Duke has plenty to teach the young Gary about how to fix his