Review: "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" by Alice Hoffman

I always pick up novels by Alice Hoffman because I am assured of an enthralling read! Her novels are each very different but deliver a knock out story and The Museum of Extraordinary Things is no exception. In this captivating tale, Professor Sardie owns the Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island freak show. He is always on the lookout for additional exhibits to add to his collection to entice crowds to enter. If he can’t find them naturally, he manufactures them by raiding morgues, houses of ill repute or any other place that anomalies might exist. From a very young age, he even has trained his daughter, Coralie, to withstand stand very cold extremes in water temperatures and to hold her breathe for great lengths of time and she becomes his star exhibit. He keeps her secluded and she longs to live a normal life. One night on a training swim, she accidently meets Eddie Cohen, a Jewish photographer, who has a tragic story of his own. This is the tale of their lives and how they eventually escape from the past that haunts them.

This is a multilayered book written in a unique style. The story is told in the first person by the two main characters and also narrated to fill in details. Although a work of fiction, the inclusion of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the Dreamland Fire are historically correct and devastating and moving. Although the plot seems to be two separate themes, she weaves them together gradually until all your questions are answered and you hate to turn the last page.

I have come to expect exceptional quality in Ms. Hoffman’s books and this does not disappoint. Pick it up today and immerse yourself into the 1911 world of Coney Island and New York City. With colder weather coming on, this is a great story to cuddle up under a warm blanket and lose yourself in.