the museum of extraordinary things book review

Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island freak show that thrills the masses. As fire destroyed it, wild animals escaped into the streets causing panic and a considerable amount of mayhem.The 'spellbinding' ( People, 4 stars), New York Times bestseller from the author of The Dovekeepers: an extraordinary novel about an electric and impassioned love affair-'an enchanting love story rich with history and a sense of place' ( USA TODAY). It was constructed of cheap,flammable materials and its glorious appearance was a mere front. Just as one would imagine with an amusement park, it was largely a facade. This event too is woven into the story in this fascinating book. On 27th of that same year, Dreamland, an amusement facility at Coney Island was also the victim of a huge fire. The scene is set for an completely original and unusual narrative.

He also meets Coralie, the Human Mermaid. Most of them were young female immigrants.Įddie become involved in the mystery of one of the girls who worked at the factory and was there at the time of the fire – but whose body or remains have not been found. In this disaster, one hundred and forty six people lost their lives. On March 25th, 1911, he witnessed and photographed a tragic (true life) situation, the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Soon we meet Eddie, a young man who had had a hard (and colourful) upbringing and who has an interest in photography. The Museum of Extraordinary Things: A Novel The entire book is quite chilling in many ways but nevertheless and excellent read and definitely what pundits refer to as a ‘page-turner’. Maureen has once been an astonishing beauty but her looks had been ruined when she was the victim of an acid attack. His daughter was motherless so was cared for and brought up by Maureen. It read The Human Mermaid.Įven his household had its strange elements. It was craftsman-made from the best chestnut wood and hand-painted using gold leaf. She was displayed under a special sign that her father had commissioned. The entrepreneur father, displayed his daughter in a glass tank. She was mercilessly trained to stay under water for longer and longer period of time and trained to be an exceptional swimmer. She was born with webbed fingers and her father therefore trained her to become part of his sideshow – as a mermaid. One of these is his own daughter, Coralie. These exhibits are largely living creatures – or human beings. the book tells of a strange character indeed – a man who makes his living at Coney Island running a sideshow of ‘extraordinary things’ in fact. Set in the early years of the twentieth century. It’s hard to know which are the more horrifying sections – the fact or the fiction. This book, written by Alice Hoffman, is an exceptional fiction, bracketed at the beginning and the end with real events.

The museum of extraordinary things book review