2011; 288 pages. Full Title : The Midget’s House (A Circus Story … A Love
Story … A Ghost Story) New
Author? : Yes. Genre : Contemporary
Fiction; Cozy Paranormal. Overall Rating
: 7½*/10.
Old
Aunt Enid has died. She’s left her home
to her niece Marisa. It’s an old,
somewhat rundown house, but it has its charm.
And its gopher tortoises. And,
rumor has it, its ghost. Despite this,
when Marisa arrives, she finds that several people want the place.
There’s Enid’s cousin Otto, who lives on the grounds of the estate and
who was Enid’s caretaker in her final years.
And Nicholas Young, an investor who owns the tax lien on the place. If Marisa doesn’t come up with a bunch of $$
quickly to pay off those taxes, the estate will be his. Then there’s the land developer John
Guinness, who’s interested in both the land and Marisa. Finally, the Sarasota Green Coalition who, on
behalf of the endangered gopher tortoises, will sue the pants off of Marisa if
she turns one shovelful of dirt on the grounds to disturb their habitat.
But
Marisa feels curiously drawn to her newly-acquired house. She’s going to keep it (if she possibly can), and learn
its history (if
she possibly can). After
all, there must be some reason for a ghost to be hanging around.
What’s To Like...
The book’s subtitle says it all: The
Midget’s House is an ambitious blend of a circus story, a love story,
and a ghost story. While there is a
paranormal element, the story isn’t particularly scary, and I don’t think Anita
Bartholomew intended it to be. The book
is a lot closer to Marley And Me (if we
‘borrow’ The Christmas Carol’s Marley) than
to Poltergeist.
The
storyline alternates between the present (told in the 3rd person and from Marisa’s POV),
and the 1920’s (told
in the 1st person and from Lucinda’s POV). Lucinda is now a ghost - that’s not really a
spoiler – but back then she was alive, vertically-challenged, and eking out a
living in the circuses and freak shows.
Plotwise,
not much happens in the Lucinda chapters until the second half of the book, but
the early 1920’s were the glory days for the traveling shows, and you get a
very nice ‘feel’ for the life of a carney back then. I found Lucinda’s story to hold my interest
more than Marisa’s, even though the latter had a storyline from the start.
You
will meet a slew of interesting characters in both timelines, and it was
difficult to guess which ones were the good guys, and which ones were the
baddies. I liked that. Also, Marisa’s New Age friends were a hoot to
get to know. This is a standalone novel
and the odds of there being a sequel seem small.
Kewlest New Word...
Chumming (v.)
: the practice of luring animals, usually fish such as sharks, by throwing
“chum” into the water. “Chum” is fish
parts and blood, which attract fish due to their keen sense of smell.
Excerpts...
Louder now, she
chanted:
“Gatta, gatta,
peragatta, perasatgatta, bodiswava.”
Rena repeated it
several times then held her hand up for silence.
“Follow me,
repeat what I say and do as I do.” The
nun-turned-psychic grabbed a handful of seed from the bowl. Marisa and Kelly each did the same. Scattering a few seeds in front of her, Rena
intoned, “Feed the hungry ghosts … feed the hungry ghosts.” (loc. 2552)
“Gib’town may not
look like much to you now, but we used to have us a tight-knit little community
here, the freak capital of the world.
Did you know that? I mean, we had
a giant for our fire chief, a constable who was a dwarf, and the Monkey Girl
called out the Bingo numbers on Tuesday nights.
That girl, I tell you, fur all up and down her face and body but, damn,
she had the prettiest voice. I’d go to
Bingo just for the pleasure of hearing her call out ‘B5’.” (loc. 4800)
Kindle Details...
The
Midget’s House sells for $3.99 at Amazon. At present, it is the only full-length novel
that Anita Bartholomew has available for the Kindle.
Like my brother Albert would say, I was plum goshbustified. (loc. 1907)
The
two storylines converge slowly but steadily, and the action picks up in the
latter stages of the book, building towards a tension-filled climax. Unfortunately, the ending is somewhat of a
letdown. Marisa’s financial crisis is
solved by the late introduction of a deus
ex machina, and when the paths of
Lucinda and Marisa finally cross, it is disappointingly brief.
Still,
it says something about Anita Bartholomew’s writing skills that I was left
hungering for more Marisa-&-Lucinda.
So who knows, maybe our two protagonists can be brought back for a Book
2 via some convoluted plot-writing. Hey,
they brought Bobby back from the dead in the old TV series Dallas. So
anything’s possible.
The Midget’s House is a satisfying read as long as
you recognize that it’s not going to be a Stephen King thriller. Pick it up when you’re in the mood for
something warm, fuzzy, and pleasantly paranormal.
7½ Stars. Add ½ star if
you were (or are) always thrilled to
find out the circus was in town and you’d get to go.
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