The Museum of Extraordinary Things is a beautifully written book about belonging, love and beauty, among other things.
It is the story of Coralie, a girl with webbing between her fingers who lives with her father and his collection of extraordinary things and people.
“My father was both a scientist and magician, but he declared that it was in literature wherein we discovered our truest natures.” pg 2
It is also the story of Eddie, a Jewish boy who flees with his father from a village in Russia after his mother is murdered.
Eddie is a photographer and Coralie is one of her father’s “extraordinary things.”
“Eddie had come to understand that what a man saw and what actually existed in the natural world were often contradictory.” pg 57
Both Eddie and Coralie have known hard times, poverty and hunger. They have been beaten down, overworked and abused.
“People will disappoint you with their cruelty every time.” pg 5
They both carry secrets. Coralie has discovered a diary in a locked drawer in the basement. Eddie has a stolen watch in his pocket.
“The Museum of Extraordinary Things was a true museum, a place of edification, wherein natural curiosities were displayed along with human marvels. Now, however, they needed more, and, when more could not be found, it must be invented.” pg 28
Beyond the personal lives of the two protagonists, this is also a story about New York and how it was developing outwards, consuming the woods and running pavement over grass.
It is also about the development of labor laws, the rights of the worker and unions.
Two actual catastrophic fires are recorded in this historical fiction. They highlight the horrific losses humanity has sometimes endured in the name of progress and, especially in the case of the factory fire, greed.
Those pages are hard to read. But Hoffman has written them beautifully and they feel true, as if the reader is standing there, watching the disasters unfold, and questioning what horrific things sometimes happen.
“It’s dangerous to look into things you don’t understand,” Coralie advised. “You haven’t seen the half of what there is in this world.” “Perhaps you’re one of the extraordinary things I don’t understand.” pg 241
Recommended for adult readers because of disturbing content and abuse, both physical and emotional. The Museum of Extraordinary Things is haunting, but beautiful; dark with moments of light in the shadow; and truly, filled with extraordinary people and things.
Thanks for reading!
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