Church Of Marvels: A Novel

By Leslie Parry

A ravishing first novel set in the vibrant, tumultuous world of turn-of-the-century New York, about four outsiders whose lives become entwined over the course of one fateful night.

New York, 1899. It's late on a warm city night when Sylvan, a night soiler who cleans out the privies behind the tenement houses, pulls a terrible secret out from the filthy hollows: an abandoned newborn baby. An orphan himself, Sylvan can’t bring himself to leave the baby in the slop. He tucks her into his chest, resolving to find out where she belongs.

Odile is the girl-on-the-wheel, target for the famed knife thrower, in a show that has long since lost its magic. Odile and her sister Belle were raised in the curtained halls of their mother's spectacular Coney Island sideshow, The Church of Marvels, but the sideshow has burnt to the ground, their mother lies dead in the ashes, and Belle has run away to Manhattan.

Alphie wakes up groggy and confused in Blackwell’s Lunatic Asylum. The last thing she remembers is a dark stain on the floor, her mother-in-law screaming. She had once walked the streets as an escort and a penny-Rembrandt, cleaning up men after their drunken brawls. Now she is married, a lady in a reputable home. She is sure that her imprisonment is a ruse by her husband’s vile mother, and will do anything to prove her own innocence. But then a young, mute woman is committed alongside her, and when she coughs up a pair of scissors from the depths of her agile throat, a plan is hatched to save them both.

On a single night, these strangers’ lives will become irrevocably entwined as secrets come to light and outsiders struggle for acceptance. From the Coney Island seashore to the tenement-studded streets of the Lower East Side, from a spectacular sideshow to a desolate asylum, Leslie Parry makes turn-of-the-century New York feel alive, vivid and magical in this luminous debut. In prose as magnetic and lucid as it is detailed, she offers a richly atmospheric vision of the past marked by astonishing feats of narrative that will leave you breathless.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781443438148

Leslie Parry

Leslie Parry is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her stories have appeared in The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Missouri Review, The Cincinnati Review, and The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, among other publications. She was recently a resident at Yaddo and the Kerouac House. Her writing has also received a National Magazine Award nomination and an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2013. She lives in Chicago.

Reviews for Church Of Marvels

[cathishaw · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is very unique and unusual tale. Shifting points of view through a myriad of characters, Parry tells a story full of mystery and intrigue centred upon a circus family.Odile and Belle are the twins daughters of the mother who started the Church of Marvels, a Coney Island sideshow. And they are both performers in her show. But when an accidental fire destroys the Church of Marvels, killing their mother, her beloved tigers, and the girls' childhood friends, Belle packs up and leaves while Odile is left to cope with the details.After a mysterious letter arrives for Odile, she goes in search of her sister, unsure of what she will find. At the same time, Sylvan - a nightsoiler - finds a baby girl from a privvy he is cleaning out. The infant appears dead but revives after a few minutes. Unable to simply drop her at an orphanage, he sneaks her home and starts the search for her family, certain that no mother could abandon a baby like that.What follows is a surprising action-packed adventure. The pacing in this book is perfect. And the characters are fully developed individuals with their own unique perspectives on what is happening in their lives. Parry doesn't shy away from difficult subjects and approaches them with a clear and authentic voice. The intertwining of narratives and the interconnectedness of the plotlines are brought together masterfully in the finale.The only weakness in this novel is its dark tone. This is not a happily-ever-after, feel good novel. But that's what makes it so real.Highly recommended!

[fhudnell-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like stories set in old New York and I loved this book from the very first sentence of the prologue. This is an amazing first book by the author. It is extraordinarily polished with a delicious, twisty plot that is full of surprises, memorable characters and vivid historical details. Set in 1895 New York City, the story is told in alternating chapters by the various characters. Their histories are revealed very gradually. What the reader knows from the beginning is that the twin sisters Belle and Odile have just lost, in a fire, both their mother and the Circus of Marvels on Coney Island where the three performed. Sylvan, the orphaned night soiler, has just found an infant in a privy. Alphie has just (mistakenly?) been carted off to an insane asylum, where she waits for her husband to come rescue her. Those are the basic details, but how these people are eventually brought together is a mesmerizing, almost dreamlike, tale. I would never give away any of the secrets of this book, but I suggest that you pay attention to every detail. One revelation that I will share is that, before her marriage, Alphie had one of the most unusual jobs I've ever heard of. She was a penny Rembrandt. For a penny she applied cosmetics to men who had been carousing in order to hide the signs of their debauchery. You don't read that in a lot of books. The descriptions of how NYC felt and smelled during the sweltering summer during which most of this story takes place were really splendid. A room smells "like the damp of a ship, wet fur and raw potato" or like "the sweet rot of flowers, a wet flintiness, and then something bitter and earthy, like vegetable root".This was a wondrous book and I felt like reading it again as soon as I finished it to see what I had missed (and I never reread). I hope the author writes many more like this. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[scot2-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. The characters came to life on the page. They were young people who had been rejected by society; some worked in a circus and others at lowly jobs where they could earn enough to survive. The story is cleverly woven and reveals how their lives intersect. The detail was wonderful and I truly cared about the outcome. There were a couple of surprises and all is eventually explained.

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, but alas, I didn't. There were characters that were well defined, but the writing style was way to rambling, switching back and forth, back and forth until my head was spinning. Too often, I had to go back and re-read to try to find the thread.The setting is New York, NY at the turn of the century. This is not the New York of fashion, museums, stores with glitz, and jaw dropping architecture. This is lower East side gritty, urine in the street, begging to find food, hard scramble, knock down drag out of the gutter, only to be shoved back down again New York. A baby is found by a young man who cleans toilets. The baby, is covered with excrement.The man who found the baby takes us through the back alleys of opium and prostitution.A woman is institutionalized and wants to find her baby. Her surroundings are tattered, dirty and filled with women guards who tie hands and feet and spit at faces. A carney whose mother owned the operation seeks to find what happened to her twin sister. Aware of a fire that destroyed the Church of Marvels, she knows her mother died in the ashes. Endlessly roaming with memories of the Coney Island seashore, she strives to find the other half of her soul.All three eventually come together, but it takes a long, long time to get to the conclusion.One little star for a debut book written by an author who might try describing a tad of sunshine now and again.

[jreynolds1959 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A baby is found in a privy by a night worker. He brings that baby girl to a friend and this whole story begins. Four main characters lives become so intertwined that you would think that they were known to each other, but that is not the case.This was written so well. Small tie-ins with each character keeps you interested in how the story will meld and you do not want to stop reading until you get those answers.

[toobusyreading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seemingly unrelated stories come together in this turn-of-the-century story. A woman's daughters carry on her sideshow legacy. A man finds an abandoned baby. A woman marries the man she loves and gets a nasty mother-in-law in the bargain. But this is more than a period pieces. There are mysteries to be solved, and there is a good deal of heartache. The characters, nothing like me, are nevertheless relatable. I enjoyed the period flavor of the story and I came to like and care about the characters. This story was a nice change from the books I've been reading, and I would read more by this author if it is written.

[jjaylynny · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A pretty deft story with intertwining threads (starting so disparately that I was quite confused) set in one of my favorite historical periods. One of the twists (not too gimmicky) actually left me open-mouthed for a bit.

[porch_reader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up at Prairie Lights after reading some intriguing early reviews of it, and I was not disappointed. Set in 1895 in New York, Church of Marvels tells the story of Belle, a contortionist and knife swallower in her family's show at the Church of Marvels on Coney Island. But after the Church of Marvels burns down, she disappears, leaving her sister Odile behind. Meanwhile, a man cleaning privies behind tenements in New York City rescues an abandoned baby, and a woman wakes up disoriented in Blackwell's Lunatic Asylum. These stories are told in alternating fashion until their paths begin to cross. Secrets are gradually, but steadily revealed, and that was one thing that I liked about this book. Just when I thought that all was resolved, another twist was revealed, right up through the epilogue. This is a well-crafted story. Although it is Parry's debut, I felt as though I was in the hands of a pro. Perhaps because of the subject matter, it reminded me a bit of [The Night Circus], but it also has elements of a good mystery. I'm glad I read this one!

[thealtereggo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book had very vivid descriptions, in that I felt like I was on the streets with the characters. The smells and imagery gave a full picture of the setting. I would have liked to have seen a bit more development of the characters, they felt a bit 2-D at times. That being said, I read this book fairly quickly, and it kept me interested the whole time. It was a unique story with some surprises along the way. The overall story was reminiscent of "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen.

[jolynne-4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A glimpse into the world of New York City around the turn of the century. The author told a vivid tale of the grittiness of life for the poor and the inhumane treatment of human beings in insane asylums. A bit far-fetched but still an enjoyable story line.

[seeword · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An ok read, circus performers, an undertaker, a night-soiler, a baby broker, stumble around the seedier parts of turn of the century (19th to 20th) New York. Full of strange people, weird coincidences, and grim locals; it didn't really work for me. Library book.

[poetreegirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A novel set at the end of the nineteenth century in New York follows the lives of several of societies misfits. Strange tales of the underworld are intertwined making this an unusual but readable novel.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first started reading this I found it hard to follow, four different story-lines and I was confused, couldn't figure out what was going on nor who was who. My advice is to just enjoy the story let it lead where it takes you, don't try to figure out where it is going. Eventually that is what I did and soon found myself feeling like I was in the dark underbelly of New York at the turn of the century. The atmosphere of this novel is very dark, a part of the city that is inhabited by baby sellers, children for hire, dog boys who clean out privies, opium dens, freaks of all kinds and a journey to the insane asylum. Not a pretty, clean spruced up city. The characters though are amazing, full of depth, flawed and anguished, searching for a better life. Capable of great kindness and a great capacity for love. The twists, seriously did not expect most of them, couldn't have guessed for all the money. They kept coming, especially in the last third of the book, and I was amazed at the author who put this all together. Totally different from any other book I have read. A very good read, though dark, be warned and some of the things are not easy to hear or read, though not horribly graphic. Found it memorable and am very glad to have read it.

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Church of Marvels by author Leslie Parry in set in New York in the late 1890s. This is a world of dirt, disease, noise and squalor, opium dens, brothels, and fight clubs, and where children are often commodities. The tale is told from several different perspectives:-Sylvan, a night-soiler, someone who cleans out the privies in Manhattan. The only thing that makes the job bearable is the many treasures he has found on the job but he has never found anything like he has found this night – a live baby girl. Although he is told by the boss to abandon the baby, he cannot – up until now he has felt lonely and isolated but finding the girl’s family gives him purpose.-Odile who was raised in a circus called the Church of Marvels on Coney Island. Thanks to a physical handicap, she has always lived in the shadow of her twin sister Belle who is a sword-swallower and a shapeshifter. But when the circus is burned down, killing her mother and several of the performers, Belle disappears and Odile follows the only clue she has to the slums of Manhattan.-Alphie who was thrown out by her strict religious father at the age of twelve for kissing a boy. She was forced into prostitution but found a job doing concealing makeup for men on the way home after a night of drinking, drugging, and brawling. She met Anthony, an opium smoker and undertaker, who, despite his mother’s protests, marries her. But Alphie has secrets that, when discovered, will have devastating effects for her.These may be the main characters but Parry has created a huge cast of characters who are often outcasts due to no fault of their own living lives at the edge of proper society but who are all complex, diverse, and fascinating – even the villain of the piece has shades of grey that make the reader, if not empathize, at least understand. Parry’s Church of Marvels is a beautifully written novel, haunting and memorable. It is both very colourful and exceedingly dark, full of wonders and tragedies but in the end, a very satisfying read.

[shelleyraec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Church of Marvels is an atmospheric and haunting tale set in New York during the late 1800's that unfolds from the perspectives of four compelling characters, whose lives eventually converge.Leaving behind her twin sister, Isabelle Church fled to Manhattan in the wake of the Coney Island fire that killed her mother and destroyed the Church of Marvels, the carny show in which Isabelle starred. No one knows why she left, where she is, or what secrets she keeps."I haven’t been able to speak since I was seventeen years old. Some people believed that because of this I’d be able to keep a secret. They believed I could hear all manners of tales and confessions and repeat nothing. Perhaps they believe that if I cannot speak, I cannot listen or remember or even think for myself – that I am, in essence, invisible. That I will stay silent forever. I’m afraid they are mistaken."With her mother dead, and her twin sister gone, only Odile Church remains at Coney Island, the spinning girl on the Wheel of Death. When a letter from her sister finally arrives she heads to Manhattan, determined to find her."At first glance the twins looked alike - they were both freckled and hazel eyed, with thick blonde hair and the snub nose of a second-rate chorus girl. But that was where the similarities ended, Unlike Belle, with her lithe and pliant acrobat's body, Odile had a permanent crook in her neck and a slight curve to her spine."Sylvan Threadgill is nineteen, abandoned as a young child, he makes his living as a night-soiler, and boxes for a few extra pennies. One night he finds a baby girl half drowned in the effluent and rescues her."Under their breaths they called him Dogboy. He'd been puzzled over and picked apart all of his life - the skin of a Gypsy, the hair of a Negro, the build of a German, the nose of a Jew. he didn't belong to anyone. They started at him with a kind of terrified wonder, as though he was a curiosity in a dime museum. One of his eyes was brown, so dark it nearly swallowed the pupil, and the other pale, aqueous blue."When Alphie Leonetti, once a 'penny rembrandt', is first introduced she is waiting for her husband, Anthony, to rescue her from the notorious Blackwell's Asylum in the East River, the last thing she remembers is an argument with her disapproving mother in law. Desperate to escape she befriends a mute inmate with startling skills."Alphie curled up and covered her face with her hair, then cried her voice away. She couldn't bear it; she'd come so far from her days a s a girl on the street, a bony runaway with shoes made from paper, waiting there on the corner with her paint stand and jars. And here she was, through some cruel reversal, sent back to the anonymous hive, trapped in a room full of women who were not missed and not wanted, who would wear the same dress every day until it disintegrated on their hungry frames-a dress she too wore, formless and smelling of some previous disease..."With evocative phrasing Parry creates memorable characters and vivid settings, from the seedy shores of Coney Island to the dark, narrow streets of inner Manhattan, and the bleak horror of the asylum marooned in the middle of the East River.A novel that demands attention, the lyrical prose of Church of Marvels tells a complex, suspenseful mystery that sometimes appears scattered, but is eventually brought to a stunning resolution."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."

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry is set in New York in 1895. Sylvan Threadgill, a night soil cleaner (cleaned out the outdoor toilets), finds a baby girl. He takes it home to care for it and find out who the baby belongs to. Isabelle “Belle” Church has fled from her home on Coney Island after the Church of Marvels burned down. Her mother, Friendship Church, and another performer died in the fire. Belle was the main attraction in the show. She is a contortionist and can swallow a number of objects. Her twin sister, Odile, wants to find her sister. She misses her and takes off to Manhattan to find her.Alphie was married to Anthony until one morning she wakes up in an insane asylum. Alphie keeps waiting for Anthony to show up and rescue her. When he does not show up, Alphie sets out to escape and gets help from Belle. Belle ended up in the asylum the same night as Alphie. At first Alphie does not remember how she ended up there and her story (along with Belle’s) is slowly revealed throughout the book.Odile starts looking for her sister and runs into Sylvan Threadgill. Sylvan helps Odile look for Belle. The Church of Marvels is a very strange book. I do not want to give anything away (spoilers), so I have tried to keep my summary brief (for me at least). We get to find out about life for the people that are different in 1895 New York (people born with deformities, work as actors, work in circus acts, girls that end up unwed and pregnant). I give Church of Marvels 2.5 out of 5 stars. I just did not enjoy this book. It lacks a nice flow. It is disjointed and confusing. Everything makes sense at the end of the book, but it is a long trip to get to that point.I received a complimentary copy of Church of Marvels from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.