Customer Reviews

The Hum Bug

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Set in the 1840's this mystery story combines the talents of Edgar Allan Poe, newly moved to New York with his family, and P. T. Barnum, who has been implicated in a murder that imitated one of the exhibits in his American Museum. As the pair investigates, others are revealed to have suspicious connections to the victim, from the very wealthy to the impoverished.

Be prepared for many twists in the plot before anything resembling a resolution appears on the horison. Yet, competing with Barnum's own expansive character and the colorful personalities of his crew of 'freaks,' the plot often disappears into second place. Often, readers will wonder if they are reading a detective story or a comedy of manners. To be honest, I found this omething of a weakness.

The problem with recreating a literary force like Edgar Allan Poe is that, somehow, one must provide for the dark images of Poe that have been imposed on the general populace through high school, and well into college. Especially when turning the poet and writer into a detective and logician. If not done exactly right, the character will fail to ring true, and the story will read more like a parody than a product of its subject.

In this case, I'm not sure that Schechter didn't set out to write a wry imitation of Poe. Even the title of this work is something of a pun. P.T. Barnum, Poe's cohort in the effort to solve a gruesome crime that is in itself a parody, is depicted as original master of humbug. But Poe is equally guilty, using his place to puff himself up a bit and portray himself as perfect husband, brilliant artist, and finder of truth. Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, if you will, reincarnated as a mid 19th century creative writer. And Schechter himself is not above a bit of 'humbuguity' of his own.

Even so, this story is beautifully researched. Countless details of Poe, New York City, and Barnum's American Museum (one of the many 'cabinets of curiosities' that preceded the establishment of the great natural history museums) abound. Unfortunately, research does not make a compelling story. As such, 'The Humbug' is more interesting than affecting, and a bit over-written.

I can accept the story, and some of its wilder escapes from the world of 'willing suspension of disbelief' as a parody of Poe's own writing style, but I would have been happier with a more natural Poe who showed more of the little defects of character that eventually undermined him. The freshness of 'Nevermore,' Schechter's first effort in this series, pardoned its inherent problems. But 'The Humbug' is simply too much of a good thing. Thus, I cannot give it a wholehearted recommendation.

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word," said Mark Twain, "is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."

Twain's insight is brilliantly illustrated in Harold Schechter's new novel, The Hum Bug, in which Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) joins forces with P(hineas) T(aylor) Barnum (1810-1891) to track down a psychopath.

The most impressive feature of Schechter's novel is not the tale itself, but rather the author's uncanny ability to find precisely "the right word" for every circumstance.

Longtime admirers of Poe (among whom I include myself) are cognizant of Poe's idiosyncratic style: the subtle nuances of his diction and vocabulary; the cadence and rhythm of his sentences; the haunting, melancholy mood of his essays, short stories, and poems; the aesthetic beauty of his poetic prose.

Beyond doubt, Schechter has immersed himself in Poe's world. As one reads The Hum Bug, one suspects that the real Poe, as opposed to Schechter's fictional Poe, is actually narrating the tale. Indeed, one wonders if Schechter has purchased a Ouija board and is receiving direct messages from the Great Beyond!

For example, here is one of many passages I could cite: "As the workmen commenced to lower the casket into the yawning pit, I was seized with a sudden paroxysm of dread. Every fiber of my being recoiled from this all-too-vivid demonstration of the hideous end that awaits every mortal. To lie, for all eternity, within the confines of a narrow box, deep inside the earth, surrounded by the unseen but all-pervading presence of the Conqueror Worm! The mere thought of this awful eventuality caused my heart to quail--to cringe--to sicken. I gasped for breath--perspiration burst from every pore--my soul was possessed with a vague yet intolerable anguish!"

In lesser hands than those of Schechter, such an audacious first-person narrative by the author of "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" would degenerate into maudlin purple prose--a ludicrous parody of Poe. On the contrary, Schechter succeeds with remarkable aplomb.

The time is 1844 in New York City. The venue is P. T. Barnum's American Museum, a vast assemblage of oddities, curiosities, and monstrosities. The plot centers around the search for a fiendish serial killer who is decapitating beautiful young women and leaving a long-stemmed crimson rose clenched between their teeth.

In addition to the well-developed characters of Poe and Barnum, the story features "Sissy" (Poe's wife: Virginia Clemm Poe); "Muddy" (Maria Clemm: Poe's aunt and mother-in-law); and the bizarre people who inhabit Barnum's menagerie.

Unless you are an astute detective, The Hum Bug will keep you guessing until the end, when the identity of the killer is revealed. Containing many allusions to classical works of literature, The Hum Bug is a crackling good yarn that both amuses and entertains.

Edgar Allan Poe is unable to feed his family on the wages he makes as a journalist/editor in Philadelphia. He relocates, with his family, to New York City where writing opportunities are much better. When he sees a handbill for the P.T. Barnum's American Circus, Edgar turns irate because he knows that at least one falsehood exists on the handbill he was given. He confronts Barnum, but obtains nothing but blarney from the glib talker.

Barnum is very impressed with Poe and visits the writer in his home when the media blames Barnum's American circus for causing a murder to happen. Poe who has solved murders before (SEE NEVERMORE) agrees to investigate. When the victim's missing arm is mailed to Poe's home, he concludes he is on the correct path and if can stay alive long enough he will solve the case.

Poe is clearly the star of this book as he uses his belief in his superior brain power to slice and dice everyone using self-deprecation so nobody will be offended. The HUMBUG is a serious historical mystery though Barnum lightens up the atmosphere with his unique brand of showmanship. Though a nineteenth century who-done-it, mystery lovers of all sub-genre persuasions will enjoy Harold Schecter's tale.

Harriet Klausner

I was at first hesitant about picking this book as my next read, especially seeing some of the author's rather vulgar non-fiction titles and covers. However, as a lover of historical fiction and mysteries, I easily give this book all FIVE stars. The story is tightly paced with many a suspenseful "cliff-hanger" at the end of the chapter, making it hard to put down. Also, he is able to write in a first person narrative, channeling his protagonist, Edgar Allen Poe, with great skill without resorting to caricature. I read the books a bit out of order (I believe Nevermore was the first of this series), but that doesn't hinder one's enjoyment or understanding at all. I noticed only a couple of small anachronisms, which is always a threat to the veracity of the historical novel, however these were minor indeed. The plot finale, does require a suspension of disbelief over a major plot device, however that is the book's own "hum bug," if you will. I am a great reader of historical fiction (Saylor's Ancient Rome books, Frank Tallis's Vienna novels just to give two examples) and I am sold on this series as well, and can't wait to read more.

There's a small sub-genre of mystery novels, historical ones, that turns characters from our past into detectives in one fashion or other. Ben Franklin, "Bertie" the Prince of Wales, even Jane Austen, have been turned into detectives. Heck, if memory serves correctly, someone made Conan Doyle a detective a few years ago. If you think about it, that one actually makes pretty good sense.

This current book gives the same makeover to Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is a rather famous literary figure, more known for a few cliches ("Nevermore") than understood by the public. I'm not an expert, but I am aware of what he wrote and tried to do. He clearly had talent, and clearly was feeling his way, so to speak, writing experimentally of things that hadn't been dealt with much, heretofore. The results were sometimes startling. I think the Murders in the Rue Morgue to be the first real murder mystery (The Purloined Letter doesn't count, because no one died; Marie Roget has been shown to be a close pastiche of a case that Poe was following, and which he didn't understand very well). So the idea of turning the writer of that short story into a detective himself...that's intriguing, and I thought I might enjoy it. I was right.

In this current novel, Poe's arrived in New York City, having been unable to earn a living in Baltimore after being fired from the magazine he worked on. He arrives with his wife, mother-in-law, and a large amount of ambition, and of course soon has to see the sights in the city. One of the attractions is the "American Museum" run by P.T. Barnum, and soon Poe and Barnum are working together, trying to solve the murder of a young woman who has been slashed to death horribly in her apartment.

This is one of the better books of this genre I've read. The author has replicated Poe's wordy, over-descriptive style of writing pretty well. The one thing Schechter couldn't do is repeat Poe's habit of creating a situation, and then letting it lie without further plot. While in the mid-19th Century, when no one else was writing like Poe was, it made some sense, or at least stood up...now it wouldn't fly. So there's a plot, even if at times its a bit slow getting where it's going.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, and would recommend it to others.

Truthfully, this was one of the most entertaining books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I was searching the library for a mystery in the spirit of the upcoming Halloween holiday and found this gem.

I, too, was a little confused about the author's tone toward the story: the subject matter is serious, but the characters and Poe's overwrought language are often ridiculous. But the end result was me flipping eagerly through the pages to solve the mystery and laughing along the way. The conflicting moods in the book are like Poe's character. As Virginia observes, he writes such dreadful stories while retaining a sweet character.

This was a fantastic premise for a series and I can't wait to read the next installment!