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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