Alice Hoffman Museum of Extraordinary Things Review

 Reading Pace: Superfast

Genre: Magic Realism, Historical Fiction.

I had watched the movie, Practical Magic, some time in the 90s. I had forgotten its name but I remembered bits of its scenes sometimes, and wondered what the movie was. Recently, when I rediscovered this movie, I wanted to know more about the author. I randomly picked this book, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, based on just the interesting title. As a rule I do not research much about any book before reading it for the fear of spoilers. So I won't tell you what the story is either, but just tell you what to look forward to in this novel.

Alice Hoffman's genre is mainly a blend of historical fiction with fantasy. Many of her books explore the history of America through the lens of Magic. Of course, there is the Native American culture which could be considered a part of the magical tradition. But what Hoffman writes about is a history of modern America.

 

 

 

In this novel, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, she explores a part of history that is largely unknown to the rest of the world. This book is about New York at the turn of the 20th century, more specifically the first decade. A city still becoming what it would be and is going through some sort of growing pains before giving in completely to the assault of relentless capitalism. And capturing this city during this transition is one of the protagonists, Eddie Cohen. Eddie is a young Jewish man, son of a Ukrainian immigrant, who has escaped from the country and from the Russian persecution. He is one of the pair of eyes that captures the changing landscape of New York, growing wistful for a city that is changing too rapidly in front of his eyes. His camera captures all of this. His story gets entangled in the discovery of a possible murder. This is what is magical about Eddie. He is a detective at heart. He just has an instinct for finding people. Through Eddie, Hoffman tells us the story of an accident that revolutionised labour laws in America.

 

The main, protagonist, if we may say so, is Coralie Sardie, daughter of a French immigrant. She is the mermaid but that is not her magic. She is one of the weird creatures at her father's museum. Although the rest of the world had the concept of the circus, America took this thing to a whole new level in what were called the "freak shows". It is exactly what it sounds like, they used to showcase different looking people. It is through her eyes that we see other side of the city. Most importantly, we see a crazy early version of Disneyland called the Dreamland. With no concept of human rights and labour laws in place, we can see the extent to which people could take the concept of entertainment.

 

 

Talking about Hoffman's love for Magick, she is all about realising the feminine power. As Coralie goes through her ordeal, the magic is thrust upon her. She goes from being a literal showpiece to being a woman.

As both the protagonists discover their potential, and each other, they have to fight monsters within them and outside them. Eddie has to fight with his indifference to his own past, he has to fight the emerging face of capitalism. Coralie has to fight her imagined shackles, she has to fight the identity that has been bestowed on her. Both Coralie and Eddie are more attached to their foster parents rather than their biological parents. Hmm is there a metaphor for America somewhere there? 

 

In a way, all the characters of the novel have been rid of their humanness, either willingly or by force and they have to find them, even if it comes at the cost of destroying the material things around them. Eddie's imploration starts with the investigation of the fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and Coralie's imploration ends with the fire at the Dreamland amusement park. These two fires that changed America. But even as the characters find their humanity, we can feel the writer's yearning in whether it was worth it, considering what it was replaced with. 

In conclusion, it is an interesting journey that Hoffman takes us on, a black and white America, so different. This book is a pageturner, and yet it effortlessly informs without breaking the pace when telling the personal stories.