A Cabinet of Wonders by Renee Dodd Buy book: $16.46
Set in 1927, this marvelous tale confronts the spectacle of the Freak Show and steps through the curtains and out the other side, taking readers to a candid, complex, and human space where they can know outsiders as intimates.
I'd be hooked on this book already if my reading list weren't so long. I'll keep reading the posts, but I think this book is going to make my list soon.
Isn't it amazing how ignorant we were back in the time of this book setting - 1927 - and even into the '50's - remember my dad taking me to the carnival and walking past "the freak show" with the man outside as in this book, trying to lure everyone in, and some on the outside stage giving us a taste of what was inside - and how far we have come or think we have come - but in reality, there is so much farther we have to travel -
After just the first read and the book jacket, sounds to be an interesting book -
Doris you are so right. I had polio as a child and was always goggled at because I walked with crutches and braces for all my life. When I was young the hospital brought us to the circus and there was a side show. I wanted to go in because it sounded like fun. The nurses kind of looked at me and I got the impression they didn't think it was a good idea. I didn't understand. When I went in I was so shocked that I never forgot it. The people there where not unlike some of the people I had met in the hospital and they where not monsters. I never got over that experience. Amazing how time has changed things. There are still gogglers but it isn't as bad as it was back then. Not sure I'll be able to read this book.
This is not typically the type of book I would continue reading beyond the dustcover, however I find the writing style captivating, so I might actually end up getting this one. I'll wait for a few more chapters before I make that call...
I'm new to this forum as of yesterday. When I read yesterday's excerpt of this book, I wondered how relative the overall selections would really be to my interests. After today, I can say I have already learned something important by joining this great group of readers: my habit of quickly judging my interest in a particular book may have caused me to miss some good books in the past! The second excerpt and the comments about this book have helped my interest peak, and I feel that I am already a better reader for having joined!
Glad to hear that! I feel the same way. Reading the synopsis or dust jacket just never did it for me. I always at least read the first paragraph before I buy a book, but even then, sometimes I am disappointed. A couple of chapters is just right to get a proper feel for the book. I've been in various book clubs for 13 months now and it really is a great way to find new reading material. Chatting about them with others on the forum is helpful too. Thanks to Suzanne and everyone who participates in the forum! Happy reading!
Hello everyone.
I'm not as hooked on to this book as you are abigail. Don't get me wrong, the book is interesting, it's just that I don't know how this story is going to be about. Is going to look that people shouldn't be mean to other people because of how they look. Or is going to make it out that it's ok to do so. Or is it people putting on make-up and getting into costumes to look like they are freaks? This book dose also, reminds me of a other book that I was reading back in April of 2006. It was by Darren Shan. It too was about Freak Shows. But the people in the show were very much real. I still have not finish reading all of the books in that series. I will this April.
Okay, I know there are conjoined twins which our medical doctors are much more able to separate than back in the time of this book - and also morphodites (sp.) - the definition being a baby being born with both make and femake genitals -(saw a very interesting program on tv a while back about that and whether to make the decision of what to do at birth or wait until they were older and see what tendencies they showed pertaining to gender before they made the medical decision) - but wolf girl? - my first reaction is that is definitely a "fake freak" of nature -
Think I'll check out the book you mentioned, Zoe -
Don't think I will read more of this one after this week's reads -
Oh, my g - d - After just a bit of this fourth read, and going back and rereading as I was not sure I understood what was happening - (it is late, you know) - I had to squeal inside my head - ENOUGH, ENOUGH - DELETE, DELETE - FINITO !!!
(as if anyone cares what I think anyway,) but I must ask "do any of you believe in this furry fox/person?" - If so, please enlighten me - until then, I put this book in the completely rediculous category -
There is a medical condition known as hypertrichosis which causes this hairy condition. I've seen a documentary on this. The author seems to have taken it to the extreme, but there may be some cases that exist to this extent. You can do a little research and discover the condition is genuine.
Google hypertrichosis. There is a family in Mexico that I've seen a documentary or news feature about and I think they are in the Guinness book of records. Also there was a CSI episode (fictional of course) about a woman with this condition - it definitely exists and I'm convinced Saffron is realistic.
I'm still not sure myself, that I would read this one too. This book dose give you an good feel for what it's like back in the 1927. Doris, you are so true about how people can be still ignorant even today, just like we were back then. We still have so much more to travel.
Okay, I must wave the white flag of surrender - I was wrong and learned something new -Thanks to you, Judy, for the name of the condition which I did google and found info including the article below - was struck by the use of embellishment by the owner of the show in this book which was also used by Barnum in his "real" show - (guess the author did some research as well) -
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Fedor Jeftichew
Fedor Jeftichew, (1868-January 31, 1904) better known as Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy, (later Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Man) was a famous sideshow performer. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1868. He suffered from the medical condition hypertrichosis. He toured with his father, Adrian, who suffered from the same ailment and had performed in French circuses. He continued to tour with his son before his death. Fedor eventually signed a contract with P.T. Barnum, who brought him to the United States in 1884, when he was sixteen.
Barnum created a story that involved a hunter in Kostroma who tracked Fedor and his father to their cave and captured them. Barnum described Adrian as a savage who could not be civilized. Barnum made a point of stressing Fedor's resemblance to a dog, and explained that when he was upset he would bark and growl. In the show, Fedor obliged by doing so.
Fedor spoke Russian, German, and English, and toured Europe and the United States extensively.
I think the story should have got going more before getting so intimate with Dugan. It's very convincingly real but a bit too sensational right off the bat.
I figured there was some sort of condition to explain the female lead (even if the author may be playing up the condition a bit). Thanks for all the info everybody.
Hi everyone.
I just joined the book club this week. So this is the first book I have read. I am fasinated by the whole plot. I watch all these medical documentarys and have seen real cases of the said conditions. Although, I agree that the reader might be going to the extreme. And I know that there are simamese twins and they're not as rare as every one believes. In fact the day my mom told me that she watched the seperation of simamese twins while in labor with me. But, I have heard that it would be unlikely for simamese twins to live past infancey without being seperated. Sadly one twin sometimes dies shortly after.
Unlike most who have posted, I found this week's selection in poor taste. I could not identify with the "you" of the first couple of installments, nor do I find the characters sympathetic. Lust may be a human trait, which the author may be using to humanize the dwarf, but it is in no way admirable. I feel as if the author is trying to make me sympathize with a bunch of voyuers. I prefer characters who are fallible, but who feel badly that they are, and who strive to be something more. I want a read that makes me want to be something more as well. Give me characters who make mistakes and learn from them, like Jane Austen's Emma. Or, characters who strive to be peacemakers in a troubled family, as in Anne Tyler's The Clockwinder, or Saint Maybe. This book in comparison leaves me feeling smarmy.
Well, not everyone has to be the epitome of morality. Sometimes people feel dirty and have sexy thoughts and there is no reason to feel ashamed about that. Please do not dismiss a potentially delightful read because you don't feel an attraction to the more absurd characteristics of life. This is fiction about "carnies" in 1927 after all. Please forgive a stereotype. :) P.S. This girl is proud to be a voyeur. That is why I love fiction so much. It allows you into the minds and hearts of people you might never have had the chance to know otherwise.
I am waiting for this book from my library - My take on the book from the five reads is that we have just read an intro and that the real story/stories will begin when the carnival folds because of lack of money and each character will have to make his/her way in the world of "normalcy" -
I'm with you Doris. I requested this one from my library after the first installment. It reminded me of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which I loved. They are both books that I would never have selected from a shelf; the subject matter just didn't interest me. But, you just never know what lies between the covers of a book! I'm hoping this one pans out to be as good as Water.
