Interview: Ellen Bryson, author of the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno

I'm so excited!!!! You might recall how much I loved "the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno" by Ellen Bryson. Well, Ellen was SO kind as to answer a few questions I had for her, and I am thrilled to be sharing them with you today! I hope you'll read, as she gave some great answers! Let's give her a big, warm welcome!

BBB:Hi Ellen! Thank you SO MUCH for taking time to answer a few questions for Brizmus Blogs Books. I was incredibly impressed by the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno, and I am so excited to be hosting an interview with you.

First question: I know that the inspiration for the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno came from a dream/vision you had after reading Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus. Were there other things that also inspired it? For example, I read that you used to be a modern dancer. How much of this experience went into Fortuno?

Ellen Bryson:While being a dancer taught me a lot about being a performer, what really inspired me was being 13 years old. You can’t walk down a junior high school hallway in a borrowed skirt and a new haircut without knowing you’re a freak. That feeling of omission. Separation. It was terrible. And I was a quiet and strange girl, which didn’t help. So I found others like me and had my little group of likeminded kids and we bonded against the world. Not so dramatically as Barnum’s Curiosities, perhaps, but the feeling has to be the same.

BBB:It seems to me that you must have done a lot of research about P.T. Barnum (and circus “freaks” in general) in order to make this book come to life. What was the most interesting thing you learned about him? What was the most exciting thing you discovered, in general?

E B:The most obvious surprises about Barnum were that he did not say, “A sucker is born every minute” and that he wasn’t involved in the circus until he was in his 60s. But what was amazing was how formative a force Barnum was and how modern his sensibilities. The idea of popular culture did not exist in the mid 19th century, only small, personal entertainments: the theater, the saloon, card games and books at home. Barnum created a central location, stuffed it full of marvels and silliness, and lured in folks of all types and sensibilities and classes. To get them there, he made things up. He tapped into the delight people get from being tricked. For example, he had a sign in his museum saying THIS WAY TO THE EGRESS, and as most folks did not know that egress meant exit, they follow the sign in search of the egress, only to find themselves out in the street, forced to pay another quarter for readmission. He moved people and created the very first buzz. I shudder to think what he would do in today’s world.

BBB: I know I for one was SHOCKED to hear that Barnum didn't get into the circus until he was in his 60's. He sounds like a really amazing, inspiring human being.
Anyhow, next question. As a character, Fortuno really came alive for me. He just felt so real! How much of his personality and his beliefs were based on the known personality of Barnum’s actual human skeleton, Isaac Sprague?

E B:I have no idea about Isaac Sprague’s personality or his circumstances. The only thing I know was what he looked like. Interestingly, I found next to nothing on the lives of people like my characters. As far as I know, nothing was written about how they managed, how they aged, how they lived. Fortuno sprung fully from the imagination, and once sprung, exerted his personality on the text.
4) I read somewhere that the book didn’t start off as being Fortuno’s story. Is this true? And what I am really curious about: Fortuno’s belief that his body was his gift. Did you start off knowing that he would believe this or is it something that developed as you got to know your character?
The book started out as Iell’s story, but once Fortuno came alive, the writing was on the wall. His was the voice, and who better to see and appreciate a creature like Iell than Fortuno. From the very beginning, it was his adoration of the unique self that made him the perfect narrator. He was so sure of his place in the world and his entire sense of pride came from being different. From his eyes, Iell could only be seen as perfection.

BBB:While I thought the book was amazing from Fortuno's point of view, Iell was a prominent, well-developed character, and I think the story from her point of view would have been amazing as well. Perhaps that's a story of another time. That said, are you working on anything else right now? (I know I’m already excited about your next book!)

E B:I am working on a concept that keeps changing. Suffice it to say it’s a modified ghost story.

BBB:A modified ghost story - exciting! Now, for something totally unrelated to writing: You lived in Buenos Aires. What was life in Argentina like?

E B: Buenos Aires was crazy. Living there was a little like living in New York but it’s not a first world country so the sidewalks were treacherous (and they still don’t have the concept of cleaning up after their dogs) and the traffic had a life of it’s own. Its’ also very European with it’s cafes on every block and a 10:00pm dinner hour (family in tow), but in essence it’s Latino. The best part was how creative the people were, and what book lovers! Everyone was a reader.

BBB:EVERYONE a reader?!? That sounds amazing! Okay, now give me some quick one-word answers!

Favorite place to write: Bed.
Literary Idol: Too many.
Favorite music to listen to while writing: Silence.
Favorite food to eat while writing: Ha!
Favorite place to which you have traveled: Iceland or Oman.

BBB: Again, thank you SO much for answering my questions! I know I said 7 was the last, but is there anything you’d like to add? Anything you wanted to be asked but weren’t?

E B: I think you covered it!

I think my favorite answer was the "Ha!" about the food she eats while writing. I also love that she loved Iceland, as I've been dying to go there!
Once again, thanks so much, Ellen for answering some questions for me! It's been so much fun having you here today, and I know I'll be first in line to buy your next book when it comes out!

Review: the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson

Title: the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno

Author: Ellen Bryson

Rating: 1/2

Who Should Read It? If you liked Water for Elephants, definitely read this book! Even if you didn't, if you've ever felt like an outcast, this may just be the book for you! I loved it, and I highly recommend it!

What I Have to Say:
Let me just start off by saying "Go Ellen Bryson!" With "the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno" she has created an easily readable, easily enjoyable story that touches on the one thing from which, at some point in time, all humans have suffered: the feeling of being an outcast. And she has done it well. This book, though it be a first novel, makes it obvious that, when it comes to writing Bryson knows her stuff. I had almost forgotten how pleasant it can be to read a genuinely well-written book. This book has been compared to "Water for Elephants," and the circus feel and pseudo-autobiographical point of view paired with the unique yet plain writing style make this view, in my opinion, right on. Though I would stay that Bryson takes it a notch up stylistically. Her prose is so fluid and vivid that I am still wondering what parts of the story were true and which not.

Bryson's book is told from the point of view of Bartholomew Fortuno who, at 6 feet tall, 67 pounds, is the self/Barnum-appointed skinniest man in the world. He lives in Barnum's museum in Manhanttan along with Barnum's other "curiosities." He, unlike his best friend, Matina, the token fat woman, believes that his body is a gift. He knows that he is a freak, an outcast, but he loves his body despite this, and he believes that it is his job to teach others with his gift. By showing all of himself, he believes that people will take a deeper look into themselves.

When the bearded lady comes along, though, his entire world is turned upside down. Through conversations with her and about her, he begins to see the world in a slightly different way and to question his beliefs about himself and his body. Does he have a choice? And if he does have a choice, can his body actually be a god-given gift?

Through her use of such an extreme as the "freak" circus, Bryson has really captured what it means to be an outcast. Through Fortuno, his friends, and his transformation, we see the world from all of the different possible points of view of "outcast." We see that it is possible to accept and love ourselves no matter what our situation. As all people have at some point in time felt different, it will be hard not to find something or someone to relate to in Bryon's medley of curiosities. Through the questions asked and the transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno, we see just how possible it is to feel stuck without even realizing it. We also see just how possible it is to unstick ourselves.

As you can tell, I loved this book, and I will definitely be looking forward to Ellen Bryson's next work! My biggest problem with this book, though, was that the end just seemed to easy. It seemed like there was all this build-up and then she just sort-of took the easy way out. I also found Forutno's ridiculous obsession with the bearded lady to be at times frustrating, especially in regard to how it caused him to act (or not act) with Matina. It was an integral part of the book, but I thought that it could have been better explained.

This book was a joy to read. It was incredibly simply written and yet, at the end of each chapter, I stopped to think about what I had read. It wasn't necessary, but I feel like I got so much more out of it this way. This book has been billed as a love story, and maybe that's what the author meant it to be, but I didn't see it that way. I almost feel it is a degradation of the book's worth to call it such. It, as the title says, is a book of growth, development, TRANSFORMATION. It is a story of beauty and love and uniqueness, but I fear that if you go in expecting a love story, you will be disappointed. And this book is so great that I really wouldn't want that.

Thanks, Ellen Bryson, for such a new, refreshing read! Now, go out and read this book!

Summary: Water for Elephants meets Geek Love in this riveting first novel, an enchanting love story set in P. T. Barnum's American Museum in 1865 New York City

Bartholomew Fortuno, the World's Thinnest Man, believes that his unusual body is a gift. Hired by none other than P. T. Barnum to work at his spectacular American Museum—a modern marvel of macabre displays, breathtaking theatrical performances, and live shows by Barnum's cast of freaks and oddities—Fortuno has reached the pinnacle of his career. But after a decade of constant work, he finds his sense of self, and his contentment within the walls of the museum, flagging. When a carriage pulls up outside the museum in the dead of night, bearing Barnum and a mysterious veiled woman—rumored to be a new performer—Fortuno's curiosity is piqued. And when Barnum asks Fortuno to follow her and report back on her whereabouts, his world is turned upside down. Why is Barnum so obsessed with this woman? Who is she, really? And why has she taken such a hold on the hearts of those around her?

Set in the New York of 1865, a time when carriages rattled down cobblestone streets, raucous bordellos near the docks thrived, and the country was mourning the death of President Lincoln, The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno is a moving novel about human appetites and longings. With pitch-perfect prose, Ellen Bryson explores what it means to be profoundly unique—and how the power of love can transcend even the greatest divisions.

Cover Story: I think this cover, with the curtains and the bird escaping from the cage, is oddly appropriate. Through it's lack of too much detail, it manages to convey the deeper meaning of the book. I love it!

Disclosure: This book was sent to me for review by the publisher. This in no way affected my review.

Review: the Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

Title: the Left Hand of God

Author: Paul Hoffman

Rating:

Who Should Read It? This book is for anyone who loves a great, epic, heroic fantasy. I can't recommend this book enough, though I think you should know going into it that it does move rather slowly.

What I Have to Say:
I can't even remember the last time I was so immediately drawn into a book. Seeing the cover, my brother said "That looks good." My response was "It's the best book I've read in a long time." I was only on page 8. And as the book continued, I felt more and more that my initial response was right on.

The Sanctuary, with the Redeemers and the Accolytes, is gruesome and dry, creating a fearful and fearsome world I know I won't be forgetting for ages. Life in the Sanctuary, placed in the middle of an endless, freezing desert, is horrifying and gritty and would have been unrealistic if Hoffman's descriptive writing hadn't been so vivid as to make me a believer. Boys are raised to be killers in a mad, religious war against the Antagonists. Who are the Antagonists? The boys will never know; most are too afraid to ask. Questions mean beatings, as do most other things in this horrific "sanctuary." Cale, a boy of merely 14, though after living in the Sanctuary you would never know, unwittingly sets off on an epic journey that will lead us to discover the rest of Hoffman's amazing world.

Really, the only part of this book that fell flat for me was its nonchalant attitude to cigarettes and smoking. At one point, IdrisPukke even assures Cale that "once he got over his initial dislike, smoking would be both a great pleasure and one of the few truly dependable consolations that life had to offer." I was disgusted, even though Hoffman did slightly redeem himself later. IdrisPukke's other life philosophies, though, were frequent, somewhat drole, and immensely enjoyable. He came out with some brilliant little gems. For example: "to desire love is to desire to be chained to a lunatic." In IdrisPukke's attitude, the reader will find a nice reprise from Hoffman's horrific world.

Lord Vipont, Arbel Swan-Neck, and most of the other characters were all extraordinarily alive, each of their stories weaving its way into the bigger picture so that everything, right down to the smallest blade of grass in the world, just breathed with trueness and life. Hoffman's style of writing ranges everywhere from extremely gritty to breathtakingly beautiful; so beautiful it brought images of cherry blossoms and white winters from old Japanese poetry. Love, hate, war, religion, and politics all blend together in "the Left Hand of God" to create the first 1/3 of what is sure to be one of the most memorable heroic trilogies of the decade. Because, when it comes to heroic fiction, this book is ACE. I'm dying for the sequel!

Summary: "Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie for there is no redemption that goes on there and less sanctuary."

The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place - a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose - to serve in the name of the One True Faith.

In one of the Sanctuary's vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old - he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die.

His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt.

But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price… not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.

Cover Story: Could this cover be any better? It's dark and gritty, just like the book, and, in a way, it's also creepily beautiful.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publisher for review, which in no way affected my review.