This book had me interested in what was going on right up to the end of the book. The main character and narrator, Bartholomew Fortuno believes that his extreme thinness as a gift, one that elevates him above the masses of "normal" people. His sense of who he is and how he has become so thin is a sense of pride for Bartholomew and it is reinforced by the reactions of the audience. When he meets another fellow performer, a new act in Barnum's museum, he finds his world changing. He starts to question things he never thought he'd ever question. So certain as he was to his world and the world around him. As he starts to venture outside his comfort zone, his perceptions start to change. As his perceptions change, his world starts to transform. Instead of gifts he sees the world is really of our own making. He also sees that the world changes no matter how hard we try to make our own world stagnant.
The mysteries of the self of each of the players in this book have you guessing as to who is hiding what and who is loyal to whom all set in a place that is at once open to the "normal" as it is closed. The climax of the book is not without it's surprises and it is quite shocking. The book in itself is a show and one that is well done and deserves it's own applause. The transformation is not of just one character, but of many. I recommend this book and give it 4 stars. This is one show you are invited to really know the characters.
The mysteries of the self of each of the players in this book have you guessing as to who is hiding what and who is loyal to whom all set in a place that is at once open to the "normal" as it is closed. The climax of the book is not without it's surprises and it is quite shocking. The book in itself is a show and one that is well done and deserves it's own applause. The transformation is not of just one character, but of many. I recommend this book and give it 4 stars. This is one show you are invited to really know the characters.
This novel is set in the mid-nineteenth century and is narrated by "the thinnest man in the world," Bartholomew Fortuno, who is featured by P.T. Barnum in his American museum. Fortuno is captivated by the sudden appearance of Mrs. Iell Adams, a mysterious attraction in the museum. This is a sometimes uncomfortable glimpse into the world of the "freaks and oddities" and those who pay to see them. I found it difficult to sustain an interest in Fortuno's life and musings, which seemed self-deceptive and became, for me, ultimately onerous.
Although fiction, I assume that the characters were based on real people with physical aberrations who allowed (and often encouraged) their own exploitation as a way of earning a living. I didn't like this book and cannot recommend it
Although fiction, I assume that the characters were based on real people with physical aberrations who allowed (and often encouraged) their own exploitation as a way of earning a living. I didn't like this book and cannot recommend it
