The Barnum Museum

I stand in awe of Steven Millhauser. He is a magician of words who casts a spell over his readers. Each of his stories is like a new magic trick that unfolds with precise timing and meticulous preparation. He skillfully constructs an ocean of detailed observation on which wave after wave of insight crashes on the shore of the reader's imagination. His aim is to enchant the reader, and he nearly always succeeds. The stories in this volume are marvelous, sometimes breathtakingly so. In "A Game of Clue," the characters and locations of the one-dimensional board game expand into their own sort of virtual reality world, with its own concerns and relationships, that is mirrored at another level by the sentiments and maneuverings of of the game's players. In "The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad," Sinbad exists on multiple levels: as a bored and anxious merchant doubting the reality of the marvelous tales about himself from The Thousand and One Nights, as the hero experiencing those tales in subjective real time, and as a character described by Scheherazade, who recounts the stories about him. "The Sepia Postcard" and "Rain" are dark fantasy pieces that have a whiff of H.P. Lovecraft about them. "Eisenheim the Illusionist," perhaps the best-known story in this collection because of the movie later made from it, left me stunned by its fantastic ending. The only story that didn't really work for me was "The Invention of Robert Herendeen," about a shiftless young man who invents a dream-girl; it seemed to go on far too long. The other nine tales, however, are beautiful and endlessly thought-provoking. To really appreciate these stories, you have to read them slowly and ponder the multiple levels of insight they represent. But those who are able and willing to give in to Millhauser's enchantment will be richly rewarded.

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The short story form is one of the most difficult to master, but Steven Milhauser does just that, become its master. This collection of short stories, including Eisenheim the Illusionist which became a fascinating film last year starring Edward Norton, was - for me - his crowning achievement. You'll want to go back again and again to read the stories and find each time something you hadn't noticed before, some nuance, perhaps, that opens the door a little more into Milhauser's fascinating world.

To add a different type of praise to Steven Millhauser's work.... I suggest "The Barnum Museum" to those who want to try reading a different style of writing. Not to say that his style is difficult because it is not. But his style is a enjoyable departure from the usual short story telling and his stories are a departure from the "usual." It is not appropriate to try to explain his style because it would detract from the discovery that you will have if you try this book. Try it, I think that you will be happy for the experiance.