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The Hum Bug by Edgar Allan Poe
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Mass Market Paperback
Reader Reviews
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Well researched, butø, July 16, 2003
Reviewer:
Marc Ruby
from Warren, MI USA
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.
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
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