'The Blue Circus,' Book Set In Beverly Area, Available Now

CHICAGO, IL - A newly released book is on the shelves at Bookie's and other book stores that's set mostly on the Southwest Side of Chicago in Beverly and Mount Greenwood. "The Blue Circus" has been available for about two months now.

"I had a complete blast writing this thing," said Dennis Foley, author of the book.

Billed as a "microcosm of Chicago politics combined with a family saga," the book is set in 2005 and takes place at locations known to neighborhood residents like the old Dubliner bar, St. Barnabas Church and the minor league field at Beverly Park. One of the main characters lives at 102nd and Bell, while his brother lives over in Mount Greenwood at 106th and Whipple.

The entire book is set in Chicago, with other scenes set downtown and at places in other neighborhoods on the South Side.

"Beverly and Mount Greenwood sure get a lot of action," said Foley, a lifelong South Sider and former City of Chicago Streets & Sanitation Department employee who lives in the St. Barnabas parish.

Foley, who also authored 'The Streets And Sans Man's Guide To Chicago Eats,' describes The Blue Circus as "part murder mystery - part city worker tell all."

And how he came to select some of the names in the book.

"I paid a bit of homage to a few folks in the book. I gave the main characters the last name of 'Lonigan,' as a way to pay credit to James Farrell and his Studs Lonigan trilogy from almost 100 years ago," he said. "I often wondered what Studs' family would be like in modern day Chicago.

"Well, enter Danny Lonigan, a Streets and San electrician, and his union boss, big brother, Tom. Tom also runs a boxing gym in his two-story garage. That was my way of paying respect to Marty McGarry and the good he did for South Side kids in his Beverly boxing training facility."

Book cover provided by Dennis Foley