Little: A Novel

What an entertaining, imaginative novel! Carey's narrator/protagonist is Marie Grosholtz,better known today as Madame Toussaud. The story begins as Marie, an unattractive, tiny seven-year old who loves to draw, describes her parents. Marie embellishes the pages of her tale with pencil drawings: when she describes her mother's large nose (which Marie inherited) and her father's upwards-thrust jaw (which she also inherited), she draws these body parts in the margins. Little Marie has two treasured belongings: a faceless doll that her mother made and her father's silver jawbone (a soldier, he lost the original in a battle). When double tragedies befall the family, Marie becomes apprenticed to Dr. Curtius, a reclusive anatomist whose job it is to make wax replicas of human organs for the local hospital's training purposes. Together, they begin the business of taking wax impressions of heads. As things prosper, they are convinced that they must move to Paris, where famous heads are more plentiful. The two take lodging with a tailor's widow and her odd (perhaps autistic) son. When the business prospers, they purchase The Monkey House, the former site of a simian exhibition, and it soon becomes the rage for the rich, famous, and powerful to have their heads cast in wax. This is only the beginning, but I don't want to give too much away. [Little] (the derogatory nickname she is given by the widow) is not only a fictional biography of Marie, it is her first-person account of the court of Louis XVI and of the French Revolution--and a fascinating account it is. From Versailles to the streets of Paris to prison, Marie takes us along on a journey that is both glorious and harrowing, and her encounters with a wide cast of characters, from a feral boy to the king himself to Napoleon, opening a window onto the Reign of Terror and beyond. Throughout, her account is accompanied by her marginal drawings, making it all the more believable that this is Marie's own journal. However great the events and personages, we never forget that this is, indeed, her story. Carey has given his protagonist a unique viewpoint into history and a compelling voice. I loved Marie, and I loved her story of hardships, successes, and survival. I will definitely be looking for other works by this author.

This is why I love book club: I would not have picked up this book on my own, but so glad I read it. It was not my typical jam and sounded a bit strange…and boy was it strange – an oddity – BUT I couldn’t stop turning the page. You really want to know what happens to all these characters; although I hated me some Widow Picot, what a wicked character. I was a bit fascinated by it all. It is loosely, and I mean loosely, based on the life of Madame Tussaud. A young girl in France during the French Revolution who would learn how to create wax molds of heads (some dead! I didn’t even know that was an actual thing people did!) from her “master.” I think one would call it a novelization (I had to keep remembering it was fiction). I did find myself believing many of the tales or thinking they were at least somewhat truth. Afterwards, you will find yourself scouring Anna Maria Grosholtz’s (Madame Tussaud) Wikipedia page for her life history, and learn what was dramatized and what was real. Either way, author Edward Carey, did an expert job of weaving a tale that although out of my comfort zone kept me turning the page. I needed to read this book in time for book club and had 4 days to read 433 pages, so I alternated between the audio and book every chance I got. I thought the narrator was perfect and it certainly helped with all the pronunciations as I kept reading throughout the book. I do hope you enjoy Little as much as I did, if you decide to read it.

Little by Edward Carey tells the extraordinary, fascinating origin story of the real Madame Tussaud: Marie Grosholtz. Some people may not know that Madame Tussaud was a real person, as she seems more like a legend given the various wax museums around the world bearing her name. Marie was real (referred to by the nickname “Little” in Carey’s book) and lived through amazing events that essentially shaped the success of her career as a wax artist. At a very young age, Marie becomes housekeeper/apprentice to Doctor Curtius of Berne, Switzerland. There, Marie learns first hand about human anatomy by way of preserved organs and autopsies. Although socially awkward and unorthodox, Curtius raises Marie up by recognizing her talent for the arts at an early age. He encourages her to draw everything she sees in his laboratory: medical instruments, organs, bones, dead bodies…any of these things would no doubt scare any other child. However, Marie herself was unorthodox in that she finds refuge and comfort among the macabre and grotesque. Carey’s description of the macabre and grotesque is vivid and wonderfully dark. Carey keeps that line throughout the book, never shying away from the imperfection. Never sugar-coating. While most authors would paint their ingénue as beautiful and virtuous, Carey’s Marie is not physically attractive and mostly lacking in romanticism save her love of the artistic quality of her work: i.e. human heads and body parts. Rather than serve as a romantic lead, Marie’s career ambition and love of her work drives her life forward and takes her to places no one of her station ever dreamed, like Versailles. Marie becomes the wax sculpting teacher of Princess Elizabeth, sister of the king himself, and lives in a cupboard (yes, a cupboard for our diminutive Little) at Versailles for ten years. During this time, we get a peak at Marie’s budding teenage sexuality as she carries on what is alluded to as a physical relationship with Elizabeth despite them never being socially equal. Marie’s work drives her through the terror and violence of the French Revolution, where she finds business to be booming in casting molds of freshly severed aristocratic heads. People near her may come and go, but her work always remains. And Marie remains strong, practical, and passionate about her work. Little reads like a movie, and I hope it someday gets adapted to the screen. I knew nothing about the real Madame Tussaud before this book and if you are in the same boat, you will not be disappointed. I can’t rave enough about Carey’s talent for making the grotesque beautiful and fascinating, all the while highlighting the imperfections that make life beautiful–an embodiment of the idea that both Dr. Curtius and Marie passionately believed while creating their sculptures.

I really enjoyed the writing and the concept of this novel, however it starts off depressing and just kind of stays that way throughout. I realize not every story should be uplifting, but somehow I kept wanting something good to happen to Little to change the tone even for a brief bit, but it never happened. Apparently she has success later in life but that's skipped over here in the last few pages. It would've been nice to have experienced some of that with her after the long, downer of her early life.

I was not sure what to expect when I purchased this book. A lot of the discounted books listed on the BookBub emails I receive seem to be amateur writing or poorly edited attempts. This was not one of those. I had not read any in depth reviews of the book, just the short blurb by Gregory Maguire on the Amazon page, so I did not know going in that this was about an actual person. (I will not say who as I would not like to spoil the pleasure of a reader finding out.) The author, Edward Carey, has some of the most unique ways of describing events, places, people and objects that I believe I have ever read. A lot of the book reminds me of various fantasy works I have read over the years. The story is about a little girl growing up in France in the 1700s and taking in the entire scope of her life from age 6 to her death. The pace of the book is quick and lively, the phrasing and word usage unique, the characters are likeable or despicable depending on their role in the story, and the story has sections that will make you laugh and some that will bring a tear to your eye. I would highly recommend this book as a must read inclusion on your reading list.

In the late 1700s in Bern, Switzerland, Marie Groholtz’s father has died, and her mother has taken a housekeeping job with Philippe Curtius. Dr. Curtius models human organs out of wax, and Marie’s mother cannot abide what she considers to be macabre surroundings. Marie, on the other hand, assists Dr. Curtius in his work and becomes basically his ward after her mother’s death. The two move to Paris and take lodging with the Widow Picot and her son Edmond, where Dr. Curtius starts a business enterprise making wax replicas of human heads. The Widow Picot detests Marie, who eventually has the good fortune to become the sculpting tutor to Louis XVI’s sister at Versailles. This is a historical novel in every sense of the word, with lots of famous people crossing paths with Marie, including Voltaire, Robespierre, and Napoleon. Marie, of course, becomes a wax sculptor in her own right—the famous Madame Tussaud. It’s a great story, although the novel drags at times. Marie is a spunky kid, and I laughed every time she asks Dr. Curtius if she is going to get paid. The answer is always “No,” but she finally reaps the monetary rewards of her craft, her ingenuity, her fearlessness, and her ambition.

Excellent writing and terrific choice for book club report! ~~ Trish

This book held me throughout after a long period of not feeling like any book was not holding my focus. For that I am grateful. I love reading. It isn’t a great book, chock full of nuggets of wisdom and surprises, but it is good. Four stars worth.