Returning to Coney Island...a review of Church of Marvels

I have a blast every time we go to Coney Island.  We like the rides at Luna Park, and the New York Aquarium is right next door (almost fully recovered now since Hurricane Sandy nearly leveled it).  We're eagerly awaiting the day my son is tall enough for the Cyclone roller coaster there.  The best part (a bit of sarcasm here) is hearing your little one ask "Mommy, what does 'real, live women' mean?"  Yeah, he really asked that when he about 5 as we passed a strip club.  Coney Island has experienced a resurgence in popularity recently as an amusement park attraction.  A long time ago, though, it was a haven for carnivals and freak shows. 

One of my favorite books of late is The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman.  In the novel, a "mermaid" (really just a girl in a costume who can hold her breath a really long time and has a hidden breathing tube at the back of her tank) falls in love with a budding photographer, Eddie Cohen.  The Russian immigrant is hiding from his heritage and ethnicity when he takes an incriminating photo at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire.  I suspect my high rating of that book led to Amazon recommending Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry to me, which is currently on the bestseller list as well. 

In this story...

Two sisters appear in their mother's Coney Island circus in the 1890s.  Isabelle is able to bend herself pretty much every way possible and swallow swords.  Her sister is somewhat physically handicapped and has knives thrown at her.  A terrible fire brings down the Church of Marvels, killing their mother and several performers.  Shortly thereafter, Belle disappears into Manhattan with just a short note to her twin.  This doesn't sit right with Odile.

Sylvan Threadgill is a nighttime port-o-potty cleaner, for lack of a better description.  One night he finds a infant near death in one of the toilets.  Vowing to not let the child be abandoned like he was, he takes the little girl home and then to a friend to look after her.  He then promises to find the baby's mother and offer his help to either reunite them or place the infant in a good home.

Alphie is a former prostitute who falls in love with a rich mortician.  Nothing she does is good enough for her new mother-in-law.  When Alphie fails to get pregnant within a few months, she finds herself desperate.  One morning she wakes up in an insane asylum and has no idea how she got there (side note: although it is never named, this "island" is likely Roosevelt Island, where parts of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was filmed.  There was a massive hospital and asylum there and you can still visit them as historic sites via a really nifty air tram).

You've probably heard of the mole people of New York City--people living underground in old subway and train tunnels, deep in the electrical and sewer pipes.  They make an appearance as well.  You've probably also heard of homes for young unmarried women going to have their babies, who are then sold to wealthy families unable to conceive.  We visit one of those too.

In short, the novel takes us through Brooklyn and Manhattan's underworld of the past.  These lives--Belle, Odile, Sylvan, Alphie, the baby girl, and others interweave to tell a fascinating story.  Definitely a recommend! 

Note, some profanity and sexual allusions.