The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno

Title: The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Rating: 3/5

Bartholomew Fortuno is the world's thinnest man. After working for P.T. Barnum's American Museum as a human curiosity for nearly a decade, he's content with his life. That is until a new performer arrives shrouded in secrecy, provoking Fortuno's curiosity and enthralling both him and Barnum.

Ellen Bryson's The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno is an intriguing look at P.T. Barnum's famous museum and the human curiosities that he surrounded himself with throughout much of his life. Before reading it, I'd known that "gifted" individuals toured with circuses but had no idea that Barnum and Bailey's circus had been preceded by a museum of these curiosities.

The protagonist, Fortuno, is an interesting character. He takes great pride in his thinness and doesn't know who he is beyond his gift. He holds great disdain for those who don't come by their talents naturally and is obsessed with the new performer, Iell Adams, a bearded lady who actually looks feminine. As the story progresses, he begins to understand that his fellow performers are more than the impressions he'd conceived based on their gifts and performances and that there's more to his own gift than he realizes.

Bryson did a fantastic job with the setting. She avoids overly long descriptive sections and instead weaves bits and pieces of historical information in to provide authenticity to the story; Abraham Lincoln's assassination and funeral, the ringing of the bells of St Paul's chapel, the smell of the over-flowing sewage system and the horse trolleys on the street.

Unfortunately, I found that the book dragged a bit in the middle. There were a few times when I was tempted to skim through sections, though I resisted the urge. However, the revelations that concluded the book more than make up for the duller sections.

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno is a good book and while I don't think it's a book for everyone, it's one I'd recommend to those interested in historical fiction or those looking to be intrigued.

Thanks to Henry Holt and Company for the Advanced Reader's Edition of The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno. A positive review was not a requirement and the views expressed above are my own. For more information on The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno, check out the Macmillan website.