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lisamchuk's review
4.0
Beautiful and disturbing and heartbreaking all at the same time. Very interesting use of actual historical events to anchor and drive the plot.
tashaseegmiller's review
5.0
This book is built around a magical concept, but tells the dark story of New York in the early 20th century. Hoffman does a superb job of revealing characters, both major and minor, in a way that makes the reader care. The writing is vivid, the plot unique, and I loved every minute of it.
bywell's review
5.0
Wonderfully written, incredibly imaginative, well paced with lots of little surprises sprinkled throughout.
aceinit's review
3.0
The writing in this novel is absolutely beautiful and paints an elegant, mesmerizing picture. However, while the feel of the novel is superb, the story itself is a little bland, a lot of predictable and resolves everything a little too neatly and efficiently.
Time is fluid, and I'm still trying to figure out precisely how long an enormous dead fish and, especially, a certain spoiler, are stored in a certain basement between the time they are discovered and the time the latter thing is returned to its proper place. Days? Weeks? It is difficult to tell, and in some ways the story suffers for it.
The fact that half the novel is unnecessarily written in italics is an oddity as well. For the flashback portions, I'm fine with it, but why this continues once the story is firmly in the present is beyond me.
I am also not sure why so many people insist on comparing this novel to The Night Circus. They are very much not the same thing at all. Not remotely close to the same thing.
Time is fluid, and I'm still trying to figure out precisely how long an enormous dead fish and, especially, a certain spoiler, are stored in a certain basement between the time they are discovered and the time the latter thing is returned to its proper place. Days? Weeks? It is difficult to tell, and in some ways the story suffers for it.
The fact that half the novel is unnecessarily written in italics is an oddity as well. For the flashback portions, I'm fine with it, but why this continues once the story is firmly in the present is beyond me.
I am also not sure why so many people insist on comparing this novel to The Night Circus. They are very much not the same thing at all. Not remotely close to the same thing.
novabird's review
3.0
Reading, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, I felt like I was watching a slow, stop again, start again, parade from a significant distance. As though, I watched the moving exhibits from a higher vantage point; some floats were themes of the characters themselves, others were themes of symbolism, others were themes of real historical events, all of these were interspersed with cages of strange animals, and plain, motored platforms of unusual variations of humans positioned on them. At the same time, I heard two things at once; first was the different float music that lost their harmony while blending into a soft cacophony that came rolling over the distance. Second, I heard the commentator on TV, in the background filling in details like the cost of the floats, or how many paper flowers had been used, while I turned back occasionally to the TV to see the close ups the world’s more unfamiliar sights.
These two sounds represent Hoffman’s authorial voice. The first sample of sound as a soft cacophony of her narrative voice is heard during the climactic scene,
What does a ‘breakfast table,’ have to do with the climactic scene at hand? Absolutely nothing. This is so jarring that the scene loses its willing suspension of disbelief and creates distance between the reader and the tale. Hoffman utilized the ‘breakfast table,’ to overemphasize the beginning of the book, to place a stress on the fact that the book is being completed by book-ending it with the matching symbolism of borders,
The second sample of sound, is found in her narrator/commentator voice filling in historical facts also placed during an action scene,
This narrative intrusion also disconnects the reader from the tale and creates unnecessary distance, again disrupting the willing suspension of disbelief.
Hoffman’s, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, contrasts many ideas, from the very real elements present in fire and water, tradition against encroaching modernity, poverty and wealth, obedience and defiance, and innocence against evil to name the most obvious. Yet she seems to be trying to give equal weight to both magical realism and historical fiction and this balance is never achieved.
The little dialogue there was had veracity and was nuanced in a tone fitting for 1911. There was some depth in each ‘character’s float’ as they stand-alone. Hoffman shows her deliberate portrayal of Coralie as an ingénue struggling to find an identity, compared to the sophisticated Juliet. I think that the reason I wasn’t able to connect with Coralie was that there were strong contradictory character developments, where one thing that seems to be an absolute does a full reversal;
The curious, short sentence, “She was suddenly and achingly present,” shifts the reader’s experience of Coralie and reinforces an objectivity that asks the reader to then consider all that happened and will happen to Coralie before and after this ‘awakened,’ river incident and asks us to think about how fully present she is otherwise. If a character is not fully present under normal circumstances, then why should the reader lend them credulity?
Eddie/Ezekiel’s gradual return to full awareness has the more believability. Yet he too is seen from a distance, as he learns to see with more alertness. Early on with his experience of photography, the narration tells us that,
Two pages later we hear,
Because of the closeness of the two texts and the order of their presentation, we as the reader are left unfortunately with the sense that being awake equals being detached.
What I liked best about, "The Museum of Extraordinary Things," was the fact that I could see the settings of the book very clearly, actually with astonishing clarity. I can call to mind the hermit’s shack, the museum, the Hudson River and its banks, the garment factory, the Ukrainian forest and the dock etc. I think Hoffman chose to focus her narrative on the visual through,
Despite being overly weighted with unnecessary detail, and the distancing effect on the characters, this is a wonderfully visual book, with enough action in it, which could be improved upon by adapting it for screenplay and I can see it becoming a successful movie.
I give, "The Museum of Extraordinary Things," an extra. .25 because of its strong visual focus and the fact that this should translate well into a film. 3.25
Parades are beautiful to watch if viewed infrequently. Yet they are still just not for me.
These two sounds represent Hoffman’s authorial voice. The first sample of sound as a soft cacophony of her narrative voice is heard during the climactic scene,
“as there had been in Coralie’s dream when she was a little girl, when there was so little difference between night and day she expected her dreams and nightmares to greet her at the breakfast table,”
What does a ‘breakfast table,’ have to do with the climactic scene at hand? Absolutely nothing. This is so jarring that the scene loses its willing suspension of disbelief and creates distance between the reader and the tale. Hoffman utilized the ‘breakfast table,’ to overemphasize the beginning of the book, to place a stress on the fact that the book is being completed by book-ending it with the matching symbolism of borders,
“It made me wonder how far the waking world was from the world of dreams.” p. 3.
The second sample of sound, is found in her narrator/commentator voice filling in historical facts also placed during an action scene,
“By morning nothing would be left . . .(and then including the amount of property damage in an actual monetary figure).”
This narrative intrusion also disconnects the reader from the tale and creates unnecessary distance, again disrupting the willing suspension of disbelief.
Hoffman’s, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, contrasts many ideas, from the very real elements present in fire and water, tradition against encroaching modernity, poverty and wealth, obedience and defiance, and innocence against evil to name the most obvious. Yet she seems to be trying to give equal weight to both magical realism and historical fiction and this balance is never achieved.
Spoiler
The symbolism of the locks and keys and mainly females being locked into two buildings on fire with two real fires is seen as symbolic form of control/destruction. Yet, the first fictional fire that references Mrs. Rochester from Jane Eyre is not even a subtle foreshadowing, it is rather blatant foretelling, even the hermit’s shack on fire adds to this dimension. The last fictional fire diminishes the actual re-rendered real accounts, by attempting to elevate itself by being the center of alchemy for the story. From the cereus plant finally in bloom undergoing a transformation from virginal white into red, and then ash, to the idea that the swim tank could have been the refuge from the ravaging fire for the couple plus a dog, both these magical realism effects have lost their necessary willing suspension of disbelief. The whole ending was unbelievableThe little dialogue there was had veracity and was nuanced in a tone fitting for 1911. There was some depth in each ‘character’s float’ as they stand-alone. Hoffman shows her deliberate portrayal of Coralie as an ingénue struggling to find an identity, compared to the sophisticated Juliet. I think that the reason I wasn’t able to connect with Coralie was that there were strong contradictory character developments, where one thing that seems to be an absolute does a full reversal;
“She was no man’s dark dream, only a girl who was forced to swim half-clothed.” p. 20
The curious, short sentence, “She was suddenly and achingly present,” shifts the reader’s experience of Coralie and reinforces an objectivity that asks the reader to then consider all that happened and will happen to Coralie before and after this ‘awakened,’ river incident and asks us to think about how fully present she is otherwise. If a character is not fully present under normal circumstances, then why should the reader lend them credulity?
Eddie/Ezekiel’s gradual return to full awareness has the more believability. Yet he too is seen from a distance, as he learns to see with more alertness. Early on with his experience of photography, the narration tells us that,
“for the very first time, that he had felt truly awake.”
Two pages later we hear,
“He was detached and professional in the face of tragedy.”
Because of the closeness of the two texts and the order of their presentation, we as the reader are left unfortunately with the sense that being awake equals being detached.
What I liked best about, "The Museum of Extraordinary Things," was the fact that I could see the settings of the book very clearly, actually with astonishing clarity. I can call to mind the hermit’s shack, the museum, the Hudson River and its banks, the garment factory, the Ukrainian forest and the dock etc. I think Hoffman chose to focus her narrative on the visual through,
“the eye of the camera that captured the world as it truly was.” p. 57
Despite being overly weighted with unnecessary detail, and the distancing effect on the characters, this is a wonderfully visual book, with enough action in it, which could be improved upon by adapting it for screenplay and I can see it becoming a successful movie.
I give, "The Museum of Extraordinary Things," an extra. .25 because of its strong visual focus and the fact that this should translate well into a film. 3.25
Parades are beautiful to watch if viewed infrequently. Yet they are still just not for me.
theblondpanda's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dawndola's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
lo_a's review
4.0
I love the book. It shows you the characters, their life and destiny with clarity and richness without pushing you to sympathize with one. It is simply showing it as is. You can feel whatever you want to feel.
goodem9199's review
2.0
ugh. Alice, you're killing me. Once upon a time I counted Hoffman as one of my favorites. I think she's lost her mojo. This was a hot mess. By disc 9 I was still uncertain about who some of the characters were and why in the world I hadn't stopped listening by then.
catcardoso's review
3.0
*3,5-4 stars
It’s been quite some time since I’ve read this book yet I don’t know how to feel about it. Whether this is entirely a good thing or rather disappointing, I’m not so sure of. When I started this book I was absolutely blown away by the immersive and beautiful writing, the peculiar setting and interesting characters. It truly felt like magic even in the simplest lines. I genuinely thought this would be my new favourite book.
I can’t quite say I didn’t like this book, because as a matter of factly I was sucked into it right from the start. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed with how the story progressed. Perhaps because it was quite hard to read at times. Perhaps because I thought the protagonists were way more interesting separately than together. Perhaps because it was very real and raw and the cruelty of the world and the historical parts were not what I was expecting this book to be about at all. I wonder if this means the book is incredible precisely because it was so real even when it confronts you with how cruel the world can be and what it’s like to live a life that’s barely yours. It certainly made me feel things and gave me chills. It wasn’t everything I had wished it to be, but I can’t deny that this story is incredibly well written and unlike anything I’ve read before.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve read this book yet I don’t know how to feel about it. Whether this is entirely a good thing or rather disappointing, I’m not so sure of. When I started this book I was absolutely blown away by the immersive and beautiful writing, the peculiar setting and interesting characters. It truly felt like magic even in the simplest lines. I genuinely thought this would be my new favourite book.
I can’t quite say I didn’t like this book, because as a matter of factly I was sucked into it right from the start. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed with how the story progressed. Perhaps because it was quite hard to read at times. Perhaps because I thought the protagonists were way more interesting separately than together. Perhaps because it was very real and raw and the cruelty of the world and the historical parts were not what I was expecting this book to be about at all. I wonder if this means the book is incredible precisely because it was so real even when it confronts you with how cruel the world can be and what it’s like to live a life that’s barely yours. It certainly made me feel things and gave me chills. It wasn’t everything I had wished it to be, but I can’t deny that this story is incredibly well written and unlike anything I’ve read before.