Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

14 reviews

born_reading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, and Death of parent

jedore's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Eddie had come to understand that what a man saw and what actually existed in the natural world often were contradictory. The human eye was not capable of true sight, for it was constrained by its own humanness, clouded by regret, and opinion, and faith. Whatever was witnessed in the real world was unknowable in real time. It was the eye of the camera that captured the world as it truly was.”

This book will takes you on a journey to early 20th century New York City, where you'll get to know Coralie Sardie, a girl with webbed fingers who performs as a mermaid in her father’s Coney Island freak show, and Eddie Cohen, a Jewish immigrant and photographer who has fled his father's strict faith. Set against the backdrop of significant historical events, including the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Hoffman's novel weaves an interesting tale of love, mystery, and the quest for identity.

Having read four of Hoffman's books now, I can conclude that while she may not be my favorite author, I do generally enjoy her work. One consistent theme in her novels, including this one, is the presence of at least one Jewish character, which offers readers a glimpse into Jewish history and culture. One of the reasons I like her books is their combination of storytelling and education.

Hoffman's character development is, as always, a highlight. She has a knack for creating well-rounded and believable characters. However, despite her skill, I haven’t yet fallen in love with any of her characters, although I came close with Magic Lessons. This trend continued with this book...the characters were compelling, but none fully captured my heart.

One of Hoffman's strengths is the meticulous research she puts into her historical novels. As someone who loves New York City history, I particularly appreciated the detailed depiction of the Shirtwaist Factory fire and its impact on the city's landscape and labor movement.

While the plot was overall predictable, there were enough surprises to keep me engaged. I always appreciate when a story can still catch me off guard, even if I can see some twists coming.

I'd definitely recommend this book to any historical fiction lovers. Hoffman's blend of history, romance, and mystery makes for an enjoyable read, even if it doesn’t top my list of favorite books. Her attention to historical detail and her ability to create vivid, if not entirely lovable, characters, ensures that her novels are always worth picking up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Sexism, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Museum of Extraordinary Things was one of my favorite books as a teenager. I reread it recently to see if it's still holds up. I didn't remember Coralie being so religious as a child, though it tracks with the conservatism forced upon her by her father.

I didn't remember how it ended when I went into the book. I read another review or somebody said that the epilogue ruined it for them, but I think that might be the nicest way that Alice Hoffman could have tied up the loose ends. All Coralie ever wanted was to live a normal life. What she got was a normal life that she did not have to change herself to achieve, a husband who loves her, and a skill in fiber crafting that the part of herself she'd considered a deformity makes her exceptional at. I wish Maureen the world and then some. She's a wonderful character throughout the novel, but to know that she came to the professor beautiful and unscarred, and then stayed to raise Coralie after professor threw acid in her face makes her all the stronger mother figure, regardless of whether or not Coralie is biologically hers. I am glad for the implications in the epilogue that Eddie reconnected with his father and to some extent his religion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Genocide

shoham's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

I liked all of it, it was wonderful! And then... The ending came to ruin it all. I listened to it on audiobook and I was fucking devastated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Misogyny, Self harm, Slavery, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol

and this is clearly a very weird book, so beware of that

justagir1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

joensign's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

booksbooks1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

its slow at first, but picks up later

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

livlostinstereo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

After reading the Owens' Family books from Alice Hoffman (which I highly recommend!), I was recommended to read The Museum of Extraordinary Things over all of her other books. When I saw that my library had it, I just couldn't resist.
What a fantastic book. I struggled to put it down. Once again, Alice Hoffman delivers a masterclass on writing characters that feel so vividly real. Coralie and Eddie are wonderfully well-rounded characters.
The ONLY reason this isn't a 5 from me is because the ending felt slightly rushed. That's not to say it wasn't good - it just felt a bit rushed in comparison to the pace of the rest of the book.
But nothing will stop me from rereading this with the same love I have reread The Rules of Magic with time and time again.
The historical fiction of this story is truly immersive and just makes you want to read and learn more about the various events referenced.
If you read anything this winter, please let it be this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

meg_elyse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Murder

wildestdreams's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty