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The Transformation Of Bartholomew Fortuno (2010)

by Ellen Bryson(Favorite Author)

3.16 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0805091920 (ISBN13: 9780805091922)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Henry Holt and Co.

review 1: This was an interesting book about Barnum house of freaks. It gave a very personal insight to those who lived and worked in the house. The story is told from the "thin mans" point of view and is a story about transformation as Barthy falls in love with I.L. (the bearded lady) and makes some bold decisions. The story got way to weird and frankly disturbing for me. I wish I would have read a review before picking it up to read. If you do read it - listen to the book on tape because the actor is fantastic at telling the story.
review 2: The setting for this fictional account is based on historical fact. P.T. Barnum, America’s most famous showman, self-promoter and hoaxer did indeed own and run a spectacular museum of macabre exhibits and performances by wha... moret he called: “a cast of freaks and oddities”. Bartholomew Fortuno as “the world’s skinniest man” is part of Barnum’s theatrical events and this story of his experient relationship with the other members of the company such as Matina, the Fat Lady, Ricardo the Rubber Man and several others is rather interesting in the beginning---perhaps as the original show may have been--- but it gets old quickly. The book begins rather slowly and then slows down. Eventually, after a new act is introduced and Fortuno becomes besotted with unrequited love, the tempo increases slightly but it never truly gets off the ground. I’ll give it high marks for creating a sense and atmosphere of New York City of the 1860’s but the story of these unhappy people never really seemed to get underway or move me. less

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