Hoffman, Alice. The Museum of Extraordinary Things. New York: Schribner. 2014. Print.
First Sentences:
Description:
You would think it would be impossible to find anything new in the world, creatures no man has ever seen before, one-of-a-kind oddities in which nature has taken a backseat to the coursing pulse of the fantastical and the marvelous.
Description:
I'm not really sure how to categorize Alice Hoffman's The Museum of Extraordinary Things. A romance? Historical fiction? Fantasy? Mystery? Character study? Really, it is all of these things and much more.
Coralie is the daughter of Professor Sardie, the proprietor of the small Museum of Extraordinary Things in 1911. The Museum is a collection of "Living Wonders" such as odd people, animals, and other freaks of nature placed on exhibit to the public vacationing at nearby Coney Island.
Coralie appears in the museum as a mermaid who swims in a giant tank under the observation of paying customers. She is rarely allowed outside the museum except for occasional swims in the Hudson River, where one night she spies a handsome photographer, Eddie, shooting pictures in the moonlight.
Eddie has his own demons as an immigrant Jew who fled Russia with his father. He becomes Americanized, changes his name from Ezekiel to Eddie, and strikes out on his own, abandoning his father and his faith, to become a photographer. He documents the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where hundreds of workers, mostly women, died because they had been locked in their workrooms by owners who wanted to prevent workers taking breaks.
Eddie is persuaded to search for one young woman from that factory whose body was not dound among those who perished in the fire. As he unravels her story, her fate and the lives of Professor Sardie and eventually Coralie come together.
In 1911 the museum is facing competition from the new attractions of Dreamland, a lavish amusement park that will open soon to huge crowds, people who no longer are interested in the small sideshow offerings of the Museum. So Professor Sardie hatches a scheme for an attraction like no other, a new creature that will capture the attention of the world and bring back his audience ... with the reluctant assistance of Coralie.
The story is bracketed by two major events in America at the turn of the century: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the fire at the Coney Island Dreamland fire. This peek at turn of the century New York life also introduces readers to a variety of extraordinary characters including a mystic, a recluse, a grifter, an blind photographer, a scarred housekeeper, and many more.
It is a strange story, full of wondrous people and events, a story that gently takes hold of you slowly until you cannot extract yourself from it by putting down this book. I was completely caught up in these conflicts and personal struggles, as well as absorbed in the historical events of the two great fires that changed the world at that time. There are the struggles of daughter and father, of father and son, that are recognizable to everyone, yet here played out with intelligence and emotion. And of course there is the compelling love story between Coralie and Eddie.
Coralie is the daughter of Professor Sardie, the proprietor of the small Museum of Extraordinary Things in 1911. The Museum is a collection of "Living Wonders" such as odd people, animals, and other freaks of nature placed on exhibit to the public vacationing at nearby Coney Island.
Coralie appears in the museum as a mermaid who swims in a giant tank under the observation of paying customers. She is rarely allowed outside the museum except for occasional swims in the Hudson River, where one night she spies a handsome photographer, Eddie, shooting pictures in the moonlight.
Eddie has his own demons as an immigrant Jew who fled Russia with his father. He becomes Americanized, changes his name from Ezekiel to Eddie, and strikes out on his own, abandoning his father and his faith, to become a photographer. He documents the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where hundreds of workers, mostly women, died because they had been locked in their workrooms by owners who wanted to prevent workers taking breaks.
Eddie is persuaded to search for one young woman from that factory whose body was not dound among those who perished in the fire. As he unravels her story, her fate and the lives of Professor Sardie and eventually Coralie come together.
In 1911 the museum is facing competition from the new attractions of Dreamland, a lavish amusement park that will open soon to huge crowds, people who no longer are interested in the small sideshow offerings of the Museum. So Professor Sardie hatches a scheme for an attraction like no other, a new creature that will capture the attention of the world and bring back his audience ... with the reluctant assistance of Coralie.
The story is bracketed by two major events in America at the turn of the century: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the fire at the Coney Island Dreamland fire. This peek at turn of the century New York life also introduces readers to a variety of extraordinary characters including a mystic, a recluse, a grifter, an blind photographer, a scarred housekeeper, and many more.
It is a strange story, full of wondrous people and events, a story that gently takes hold of you slowly until you cannot extract yourself from it by putting down this book. I was completely caught up in these conflicts and personal struggles, as well as absorbed in the historical events of the two great fires that changed the world at that time. There are the struggles of daughter and father, of father and son, that are recognizable to everyone, yet here played out with intelligence and emotion. And of course there is the compelling love story between Coralie and Eddie.
Love is the one thing that's not easy to find.It's an achievement, Eddie, to feel such a glorious emotion, whether it's returned or not.
Happy reading.
Fred
Fred
www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Swyler, Erika. The Book of Speculation
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Swyler, Erika. The Book of Speculation
A mysterious book of a magician's is passed from hand to hand between small carnival and circus performers, including someone known as a "swimmer," someone who can hold her breath for long periods underwater during performances. She searches for the history of this book and its importance. (Previously reviewed here.)Morganstern, Erin. The Night Circus
Wonderful behind the scenes look at a circus and the lives of two young magicians competing to be the best in the world.
