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The Autobiography Of Mrs. Tom Thumb (2011)

by Melanie Benjamin(Favorite Author)

3.64 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0385344155 (ISBN13: 9780385344159)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Delacorte Press

review 1: This book was really interesting. It opened up my eyes to a world I never really thought about--"curiosity" shows in the 19th century. The idea of this is pretty hard to imagine in the 21st century. It was interesting to learn more about P.T. Barnum as well, who was always a character I recognized while growing up in his home state of Connecticut. Reading about Vinnie Warren, a "miniature woman", was also fascinating. She is someone we wouldn't really see today--a properly proportioned woman who simply stopped growing during her toddler years. Today, her condition would have been treated by growth hormones. So Vinnie truly is a character uniquely from the past. All in all, this book made me think more about what it means to be a "curiosity", and how show business can be in... moretoxicating.
review 2: I really, really wanted to love this book. I recently participated in a production of the musical BARNUM. I loved Barnum and his story, and I was very much looking forward to more of the same in these pages. However, I found Vinnie to be entirely self-centered, spoiled, and sometimes cruel, and I did not enjoy spending the time with her. In addition, I feel that the book is simply too long by about a third at least. The parts of the book I enjoyed were the ones that gave insight into Barnum himself, or were touching examples of life and times in the mid 1800's. I'm glad I read the book because I was looking forward to it, but in the end, it was a disappointment. less

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