Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

Water. Fire. Love. Man's inhumanity to man. History. Love of animals. This beautifully written novel by New Yorker Alice Hoffman weaves all of these elements into a fascinating tale set in New York in 1911.

We learn of early photographic practices, Coney Island and its fun-fair development, The Triangle Fire, early Union/Worker's Rights movements and the Hudson River and its banks at that time.

At no time does it falter, it swims seamlessly on with an extraordinary tale, told predominantly by a young woman who, from a very young age, is trained to be an act in her father's exhibition of freaks of nature. He adds her to his cast which includes Siamese twins, a tattooed lady and a hirsute man.

I wholeheartedly agree with Jodi Picoutt's comment "Many novels these days are called "stunning'', but this one truly is: part love story, part mystery, part history, and all beauty.''

Posted by CC.

Catalogue link: Museum of Extraordinary Things

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