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annerlee 's review for:
The Museum of Extraordinary Things
by Alice Hoffman
The book conjures up life in New York City at the beginning of the 20th Century with a mixture of narrative and first person diary entries from the two main characters. The characters are children of imigrants, trying to form their own identities whilst coming to terms with the culture, constraints and 'failings' of the previous generation (which are also part of who they are). The main characters live on the edge of society; one is an orthodox Jew, the other the daughter of the 'Professor' who owns The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a sensationalist sideshow (and freakshow) on Coney Island. Both protagonists are motherless children with no immediate family apart from their fathers.
The story is set in the context of actual New York events with two major fires influencing the course of history and so the characters in the story. Society is in flux: imigrants are fighting for survival, factory workers are badly treated and organising themselves to demand better conditions and pay, the women's movement is beginning and gangs / a largely ineffective and corrupt police force patrol the streets. New York City is expanding, but the countryside with its wildlife, bogs, rivers and fishing is still not too far away.
Some of the negative Goodreads reviews complained there was nothing new in this novel. I beg to differ, for me it was all shiny new and exciting: it invoked the darkness and light of New York City at the turn of the Century without too much violence or morbidity.
For me, the book is an 'extraordinary thing' in itself - much more than just a well-researched emotive tale. I was immersed in a time and place I knew very little about, but which now feels so familiar! I already miss the green outskirts of the city, the rivers, the fishing, the old turtle and the characters of course (Wolfman, Maureen, Eddie and Coralie... NOT the Professor!
The story is set in the context of actual New York events with two major fires influencing the course of history and so the characters in the story. Society is in flux: imigrants are fighting for survival, factory workers are badly treated and organising themselves to demand better conditions and pay, the women's movement is beginning and gangs / a largely ineffective and corrupt police force patrol the streets. New York City is expanding, but the countryside with its wildlife, bogs, rivers and fishing is still not too far away.
Some of the negative Goodreads reviews complained there was nothing new in this novel. I beg to differ, for me it was all shiny new and exciting: it invoked the darkness and light of New York City at the turn of the Century without too much violence or morbidity.
For me, the book is an 'extraordinary thing' in itself - much more than just a well-researched emotive tale. I was immersed in a time and place I knew very little about, but which now feels so familiar! I already miss the green outskirts of the city, the rivers, the fishing, the old turtle and the characters of course (Wolfman, Maureen, Eddie and Coralie... NOT the Professor!