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Literary Friday: The Museum of Extraordinary Things

Friday, March 7, 2014


I didn't get as much reading done this week as I would have liked because we've been super busy.  But I did get a chance to read Alice Hoffman's The Museum of Extraordinary Things last weekend while traveling.  I admit that I'm a fan of Alice Hoffman's, and this book is the perfect combination of historical fiction, mystery, family drama, and a wee bit of magical realism.

The book's setting is New York City, mainly Manhattan and Coney Island. The bulk of the plot is bookended between two tragedies of historical significance:  The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Dreamland Fire on Coney Island.  Both tragedies enable the two main characters, Coralie and Eddie, to meet, fall in love, and start over.

Coralie Sardie considers herself a freak of nature because she has webbed hands.  Her sociopathic father and owner of Coney Island's Museum of Extraordinary Things grooms her from a very young age to be one of his acts: She's a mermaid with her own tank inside the museum.  She trains extensively and seems impervious to the cold waters of the Hudson River. After one of these training sessions when a strong current takes her way off course, she spies Eddie, a young, handsome photographer in the undeveloped forest on the northern side of Manhattan.

Eddie was born Ezekiel Cohen.  He and his Orthodox Jewish father escaped the cossacks in the Ukraine and worked their way to the slums of the Lower East Side.  A misunderstanding causes Eddie to run away from home and work for the Jewish mystic Abraham Hochman.  Eddie becomes adept at finding those who are lost, and when the body of one of the Triangle Fire's victims is never found, Eddie is hired to find the lost girl which leads him to Coralie.

Each chapter begins with either Eddie's POV or Coralie's and then switches to a third omniscient narrator.  I normally don't like multiple points of view, but it works well in this novel. The four elements are as much the antagonists as the frightfully drawn human ones are: the historic fires;  the Hudson River; the mud and marshes on Manhattan; and the air the seamstresses fall through to their deaths are just a few of the ways Hoffman weaves the elements throughout the story.  The characters are all so well drawn, even the secondary ones. There is one villain who is so sinister that he gives me chills just thinking about him.  I don't think I've come across one this evil since Mr. Croup in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

My favorite part of the book is the belief in love at first sight.  If you're a sceptic, then Hoffman will convince you otherwise.  The plot seemed to slow down a bit, like trudging through the muddy marshes depicted in the story, but these plot points are necessary to understand the whole story.  The ending seemed rushed at first, but it ends with the Dreamland Fire, so perhaps it was intended to enhance the frantic mood of the tragedy.

Alice Hoffman's impetus for this novel was the article she wrote for the Los Angeles Times about the anniversary of the Triangle Fire.  She includes a hefty bibliography at the end of the novel, and I'd like to read one or two of the books she listed.


Book trailer





Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.


"All of the land in the area had once belonged to Clement Moore, the author of The Night Before Christmas, a scholar of Hebrew and Greek who called his estate Chelsea after the district in London known for its opulent Georgian town houses."

from pg. 56,  The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman


Did you read anything interesting this week?  Please share!  This is a linky  :D


Literary Friday
Until next time…
Blessings!
Ricki Jill

14 comments

  1. Oooh, I'm reading this one as well so I skipped over most over your post just so I don't spoil the book for myself! But I'm a Alice Hoffman fan as well, so I feel this will be a fun read for me! Thanks for sharing :) Hope you have a good weekend!
    My Friday post
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  2. Sounds like something I would love to pick up!

    Here is my Friday 56

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  3. I read one Alice Hoffman that I loved and one that I couldn't get through. Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genre's and I hate to admit that I know so little about American history. I may have to pick this one up. Great review as always.

    hugs
    Caroline

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  4. This is one of my favorite authors....I read everything she writes so I can't wait to read this one. I'm reading The Constant Princess.....it's WONDERFUL!!! Enjoy your day my friend! Hugs!

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  5. Although I am interested in this after reading your review, I am not going to add it to my wishlist for now. It is just getting out of control, I have some serious catching up to do before I add new titles. Alice Hoffman is not an author I am very familiar with as I have only read one of her novels and that was in 2006!

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  6. Oddly enough, I just became aware of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire listening to NPR yesterday and now you mention it. I guess I need to read the book.

    Thanks for adding to my list of books.

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  7. We are on our spring break here right now and I wish I could say I was reading but I have been so busy skiing and skating that books have not yet happened. I do love being inspired by your book list though. I am going to come back and catch up on all your posts that I have missed.

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  8. That sounds lovely! Right up my alley. I'm putting it on my list....thanks!

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  9. This sounds like an excellent book. Just the kind of story I adore. Another book on a similar subject is VENGEANCE IS SACRED. by Peter Healy. It takes place during the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and includes a little magical realism too.
    Here's the link to my Friday post: THE MERMAIDS SINGING.

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  10. I just read about this book today. I love turn-of-the-century New York. Added to my TBR list!

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  11. Oh Alice Hoffman's book looks amazing, cover and all! I think I need it in my life.

    Happy weekend!

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  12. I enjoy historical fiction. It sounds like a good book
    great choice
    Ruty@THE FRIDAY 56

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  13. I JUST found out about this book yesterday! Alice Hoffman is one of my favourite authors, so I couldn't believe I hadn't heard about it coming out until last night. And I swear this is like the fifth time I've seen someone mention it in a day, so clearly I need to get my butt to the library!

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  14. I just received the audio CDs of this one. Sounds wonderful!

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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