Church of Marvels audiobook

put it on a t-shirt - 2015 is officially the year of spectacular carnival/sideshow debut novels by women.this is a great contrast and companion to the other circussy book i recently read: The Book of Speculation. they are two very different treatments of similar themes - family seeecrets and the lives of sideshow performers. The Book of Speculation has a lightness to it - where its magical elements give it a fairytale feeling, despite some potentially bad things happening to its characters. this one?? there is no magic to be found here; this is a dark dark world. and i do so like the dark. this is manhattan and coney island - 1895, and the story has four major characters: the twins odile and isabelle, sylvan, and alphie. it's a tricksy book, and at first, it is unclear what connection these characters have to each other, as the narrative jumps from one to t'other, but have faith - things wind up tight as can be, with many unexpected revelations along the way. even the surprises you can half-predict will have unexpected details that are shiveringly good. it's got a sarah waters quality in its breadth of historical detail, and parry never shies away from gruesomely vivid descriptions. whether it be the brutal conditions of women consigned to an asylum or the details of the sex trade or waste removal in turn of the century new york, or how to make absolutely sure a secret is kept - nothing is spared. and yet it isn't gratuitous for all that - there's a matter-of-factness to her prose that prevents it from veering into that shock value territory that lingers unpleasantly over the gory details. it's a hard world on display, but it feels utterly, howlingly real. this one requires a little bit of patience and attention - it's not a difficult read, but it simmers for a while before the rolling boil. but it's a great simmer, and the eventual boil is just frosting. i may have gotten lost in my own metaphor there. i don't want to give any details away with this one - you will forgive me. but this is a book whose reading experience i feel can be negatively impacted by going in knowing too much. all you need to know is that it is a brilliant debut that's not always pretty, but is incredibly well-crafted.i liked this one more than The Book of Speculation, but i am someone who skews dark. potential reader - know thyself. i predict that The Book of Speculation will appeal to a wider audience, but this one is a little more ambitious and a lot more gritty, which is what appeals to me. they're both outstanding - if you have room in your life for two circussy books, you should absolutely read them both. if not - gauge your mood and assess whether you are feeling magical realism-y or bleak realism-y.i have only one word: alphie.come to my blog!

All great shows, she told me when I was little (and still learning to flex the tiny muscles in my esophagus), depend on the most ordinary objects. We can be a weary, cynical lot—we grow old and see only what suits us, and what is marvelous can often pass us by. A kitchen knife. A bulb of glass. A human body. That something so common should be so surprising—why, we forget it. We take it for granted. We assume that our sight is reliable, that our deeds are straightforward, that our words have one meaning. But life is uncommon and strange; it is full of intricacies and odd, confounding turns. So onstage we remind them just how extraordinary the ordinary can be. This, she said is the tiger in the grass. It’s the wonder that hides in plain sight, the secret life that flourishes just beyond the screen. For you are not showing them a hoax or trick, just a new way of seeing what’s already in front of them. Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up. The show is about to begin. See the four-legged dancer, the half-man-half-woman. See the wheel of death, where knives fly toward a spinning lass. See the sword swallower (no, not that sort, puh-leez) and watch as one of our performers eats actual glass. But you had better be quick. This Coney Island sideshow, the Church of Marvels is about to burn to the ground. "1996.164.5-10 bw SL1" by H.S. Lewis - Brooklyn Museum. Via Wikimedia Commons - Remnants of a 1903 fire at Coney Island. Sylvan Threadgill is 19 years old and living on his own in the bowels of end-of-the-19th century New York City. He earns a meager living as a night-soiler, cleaning up the remains of the day, and picks up some extra cash as a boxer. It is while at the former job that he comes across an unusual discard. Sylvan is a (mostly) good-hearted sort, and he takes the baby in, intending to find it's mother.Odile Church, the spinning girl on the Wheel of Death, having lost so much, including her mother, worries about what became of her twin, Isabelle, the star of the Church of Marvels. Belle had vanished before the fire. Odile sets off to the never-seen far away land of Manhattan on a quest to find Belle, following a single clue. Alphie, a “penny Rembrandt,” and sometime sex-worker, is in love, having been swept off her feet by an undertaker. His old-world Italian mother does not approve, but he marries Alphie anyway, making for a very tense household. Alphie suddenly finds herself a virtual prisoner in Blackwell’s asylum on what is now Roosevelt Island. It is a lovely place, specializing in order over humanity, with generous doses of cruelty tossed in. Charles Dickens actually visited the real Blackwell’s in the 1840s and did not have anything good to say about it. Alphie encounters another prisoner (who never speaks) with unique skills and they plot their escape. Sylvan pursues the truth about the found infant, as Odile tries her best to track down her sister. Truths are discovered, both wonderful and horrifying and all converge to a thrilling climax.Leslie Parry - from Missouri ReviewLeslie Parry has written some wonderful characters, people you will most definitely care about, and she has placed them in a marvelous setting. The New York City of 1899 must have been a particularly bleak place for those at the lower end of things. But it is a marvelous place to read about. Parry has painted a colorful portrait of the time, offering chilling images of the era. She has a Dickensian penchant for naming her characters. A noseless street urchin is Sniff. A servant girl is Mouse. A nightsoil foreman is Mr. Everjohn. Another night-soiler is No Bones. A "widow" working in a bordello is Pigeon. There is much here about seeing what is in plain sight, but it is also clear that the author has done considerable digging to bring to light things that were hidden, or at least only slightly known. Opium dens among other things. The treatment of asylum inmates is as appalling as one might expect. The profession of night-soiler was news to me, as was the presence of a civil-war era floating ship hospital. You will enjoy learning of the professions of penny Rembrandt and JennySweeter, and of the significance of a north star symbol on the facades of local businesses. There are sundry images that permeate the story. Tigers figure large for the girls, from the quilt their mother made for them as kids, to carnival tigers grooming Odile, to a literal take on Blake, to a notion of the secret in plain sight being a "tiger in the grass." Church references extend beyond the family and family business name. A floating "church" serves as a venue for boxing matches, complete with a preacher and prayer cards. A sense of divinity is summoned on occasion as well. You might keep an eye out for crescents. Parry offers some passages on passages that certainly remind one of birthing and a sort of Campbellian descent. …for a moment Sylvan had the dreamy sensation that he was swimming through the vein of a body, toward a lush, warming heart. Ahead of him the man was lumbering and stout, so large he had to duck beneath the doorframes, but he moved quickly, almost gracefully. The passage seemed to turn and fold back on itself, and then it came to an end. The man pulled aside a blue curtain and beckoned Sylvan inside. One consistent concern is being seen for who one is, being appreciated, or at least, being accepted. To be seen but not known was perhaps the loneliest feeling of all. While I adore this book, I do have some gripes. There are enough orphans here to cast a production of The Pirates of Penzance. While lost or missing parents may have been a much more common thing in 1899 than it is today, it seemed to me that the rope being used to lower the bucket to this well was getting a bit frayed. Mickey Finn is put to considerable use as well. There are two concerns that are heavily spoilerish, so I urge you to pass these by if you have not already read the book. Ok, you have been issued fair warning. (view spoiler)[We are to believe that Isabelle was de-tongued by one person. But how might that have been possible? Did Belle's assailant grow extra arms? One set for holding Belle down, another for wielding both tongs and knife, and a third set for holding Belle's mouth open? Nope. Did not buy that one. Also, we are to believe that Siamese twins, joined at the head, were successfully separated by a non-doctor in the 19th century? I doan theen so. (hide spoiler)]Church of Marvels offers a richly colorful landscape, although the hues tend to the dark end of the spectrum. The story is riveting and moving. The main characters are very interesting and mostly sympathetic. And there are enough twists to keep a contortionist bent out of shape. The image that Parry conjures of the time is richly detailed enough without being overwhelming, and the whole is presented with a warmth and charm that reminded me of The Golem and the Jinni. No, there is not here the literal magical element of that other book, but both look at a historical New York and their characters with warmth and charm. In this case, presenting early New York as a kind of sideshow in and of itself. I am not a regular attendee at any church, but I can heartily recommend Leslie Parry’s debut novel. This church is both unforgettable and marvelous. Can I get an "Amen?"Publication date – 5/5/15Review first posted – 1/30/15=============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Facebook and Twitter pagesA 5 minute sample of the audio version, read by Denice Stradling Flashback: When Roosevelt Island Was Blackwell's Island Ten Days in a Madhouse, by Bill De Main – about Nellie Bly’s 1887 undercover commitment to Blackwell’sSome of Bly’s report is available hereSome of Bly’s report is available hereAn intro to Nelly Bly on PBS["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

Contortionists, sword swallowers, a 4 legged human, a half male half female freak. Welcome to the church of marvels. A carnival sideshow at the turn of the century. It's a gritty story where 4 lives converge through mysterious passages, underground opium societies and an asylum for the mentally ill. It's a mystery within a mystery and a story so outlandishly shocking, it's fascinating. A little slow paced at times but lyrical in nature. I'm giving 4 ★ and am surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. Well done, Parry.

This is not a happy Circus tale! It is also not a perfectly written novel. Know this...The Church of Marvels is freaking fantastic! The story is so so good! That's why I'm giving it 5 stars! I'm not going to say much about this one in fear of spoiling it for the reader. I just wanted to say that even though it takes time to develop, and might seem confusing, it all comes together at the end and has one of the best epilogue's, EVER!!!Put it at the TOP of your to read list!!!

There's something alluring about a story that tells of seemingly disparate individuals, each of whom have there own history and day to day life challenges . There's something alluring , knowing that their lives will converge at some point, leaving you wondering what impact they will have on each other . This is one of those stories . It wasn't just the discovery of how they would meet that grabbed me . The writing pulled me in from the first sentences and I immediately liked all of the main characters . Belle and Odile, twin sisters raised at Coney Island where their mother , Friendship Willingbird Church ran her side show , The Church of Marvels before the fire . Odile leaves Coney Island for Manhattan in search of Belle when she runs away . Nineteen year old , Sylvan ,a privies cleaner and fighter has only himself in this world until he discovers a baby girl as he is cleaning the privies one night . Then there's Alphie, disowned by her family at fourteen , making a living on the streets until she meets and falls in love with Anthony.It's the seedy side of New York City in the late 1890's and these broken and alone people, each bearing their sadnesses find and help save each other .Through flashbacks of their pasts, the author skillfully develops these characters and slowly we find out who they really are but it is not until close the end and in the epilogue that we know all of the secrets about them . But from beginning to end it's one amazing ride .It's difficult for me to say much more without giving the story away so I'll just say that I definitely recommend this book about that time and place and about family , belonging, acceptance.I love when a first novel is this good because it leaves me with the possibility of perhaps more from this author .Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley .

Yup, this is one crazy book. 19th century carnivals, freak shows and so much more. In the beginning there are three different stories that eventually come together. A feat this author delivered in an extraordinary way. I loved the feel of the dark atmosphere, but also felt it was overly descriptive. This is a book that requires one to pay attention! Not only was I taken back and forth in time, but also piecing together how the characters come together. I confess, I became bored around 50% and missed an essential plot twist at around 60%. One that is so subtile, if you miss it, (like me!) the story loses it's OMG,WHAT? factor. I was even talking with a friend as we went to the exact three sentences...(three sentences!) that changed so much. Oh well, I soldiered on, as I still found the story interesting. At 80% I wasn't sure I wanted to continue, but that's too far in to quit! Well guess what? The rest of the book was so good, I literally could not put it down, and had to rate it a 4! All I can say is enter at your own risk. It really is a ride in more ways than one!

A lot of reviewers are focusing on the circus-y aspects of this book. But for me, 'twas all about the people and the time period. Yes, there's a classic Coney Island circus location, and yes, it's part of a few of the main characters' lives, but I wouldn't call this a circus book.What I would call this, however, is an AMAZING book. The beauty of the prose, even when describing the profane and/or deplorable, is striking. The slow, delicious build-up of events and stories coming together is written so well. And gosh, but the New York of the late 1800's is fascinating to read about.Highly recommended for people that like things that are good, and books that are great.

New York City, the end of the 19th century. A young man cleaning out a privy finds an abandoned baby, and is driven by compassion to save its life - and to try to find out whose it could've been.Meanwhile, Odile, a young woman from a family of Coney Island performers, is dealing with the tragic loss of her mother in a fire that not only killed the woman, but destroyed the family business. Odile would expect her twin sister to be her comfort at this time - but instead, Belle has disappeared, off to Manhattan. Fearing her sister will come to a bad end, Belle sets off to find her.In a third plot thread, Alphie is imprisoned at the women's lunatic asylum on Blackwell's Island. Fragmented memories resurface of a mother-in-law's vicious revenge...At first, the different points of view feel fractured, unconnected. But each of them is filled with colorful, interesting characters (almost, but not quite to the point of being larger-than-life)... and gradually, the disparate lives of these people are braided together into an intricate knot - with a tightly-crafted mystery and a few wholly unexpected twists and kinks along the way.I picked this up due to an interest in old New York, and was not disappointed at all. For those who want to find out more about the time period portrayed, I'd recommend Luc Sante's Low Life (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...).Many thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion's solely my own.

To be seen but not known was perhaps the loneliest feeling of all.An amazing debut! I only read this book because I was told it was similar to Night circus (which it's not at all) but I'm so glad I did. This is a dark and disturbing story, featuring some damaged characters, my favorite being Alfie. All of these characters are living at the edge of society, and they all share a longing for a place to belong and fit in. Church of Marvels also reminds us that living in the late 1800's was difficult, and very different from our lives now. The author takes us into opium dens, brothels, insane asylums and underground prize fights. The story itself slowly unfolds, and I found myself gasping with surprise at some of the revelations. If you're not intimidated by the ugly things in life then read this.The Story: Church of Marvels tells the story of Sylvan Threadgill, a dogfaced, twice-orphaned night-soiler and bare-knuckled boxer who discovers a newborn baby abandoned in a lower east side privy; Belle and Odile Church, a disappeared sword-swallower and her knife-throwing sister from a defunct family-run Coney Island circus sideshow called the Church of Marvels; and Alphie, a trick-turning Bowery Rembrandt haunted by a terrible secret.

Opium dens,freak shows,houses of ill-repute,baby brokers,insane asylum....turn of the century New York/Coney Island. This book was fantastic.Evocative prose,characters that stay with you long after the last page,at times brutal yet beautiful.Read this book.