So absolutely, I’ll go out on a limb and say that Extraordinary Things is one of Alice Hoffman’s best. The novel weaves actual historical events and the author’s signature magical realism so deftly that it’s difficult to guess where one begins and the other ends. Her portrayal of 1911 New York—an extraordinary year in its own right—is nothing short of masterful.
Shortly after finishing the book I was lucky enough to catch a documentary about the Triangle Fire on PBS, a significant historical event that figures very prominently in the book. In fact, according to Hoffman, an article she wrote about the fire for the LA Times was the original impetus for the book, though it evolved into so much more. I mention the documentary because so complete is Hoffman’s sense of place in this book that I found myself looking for the faces of the book’s characters in its reels and photographs. Reading this book will make you feel as though you’ve woken from a dream, and it may take some time to come to grips with the reality that you weren’t really there.
There’s a moment in the book when one of the young main characters, Eddie, experiences a personal, political conversion after hearing the carefree laughter of Triangle Shirt Waist factory’s boss’s children. All the while, a stone’s throw away, the exploitation of immigrant factory workers as young eleven and twelve continued on, fourteen hours a day, six days a week. At her signing, Hoffman explained the idea for this moment of epiphany came from her grandfather’s own journal, written in Yiddish as a Jewish immigrant during turn-of-the-century New York. His journal, which had yet to be translated, was lost by the family before its contents could be deciphered. Almost miraculously, it reappeared online many years later as part of a university project aimed at translating as many works in Yiddish as possible. An amazing story, and a good example of how her incorporation of historical detail helps give Hoffman’s fiction an air of believability, even at its most fantastical.
As much as I’d love share a plot summary that shows how amazing Hoffman is at tying so many incredible details together, I wouldn’t want to spoil anyone else’s fall down the rabbit hole. It’s simply too beautiful a novel to take this away from anyone. If you have a chance, try to catch her at one of her book signings for Extraordinary Things. According to Hoffman it will be her last book tour. She's been touring for close to 40 years, and in her words, "40 seems like a good Biblical number." Outside of the occasional literary festival, this may be your last chance to hear her speak about her writing process, which is an experience in and of itself.
