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Never stop reading. (Content originally posted at Blogger.)

Orphans of the Carnival, by Carol Birch

Orphans of the Carnival: A Novel - Carol Birch

Carol Birch’s novel, Orphans of the Carnival, follows the short, strange life of nineteenth century performer, Julia Pastrana. Pastrana sang and danced on stages from New Orleans to St. Petersburg, Russia, but she was most known for her appearance: Pastrana had hypertrichosis and gingival hyperplasia (diagnosed in the twentieth century). Birch puts us into the head of this lonely woman, showing us how alienated her appearance might have made her feel from the rest of humanity. This is an affecting but strange read...

 

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.