Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True Tale Of Intrigue And Innovation At The Dawn Of Modern Medicine (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
I'll admit it: I didn't finish this book. I got over halfway through and just couldn't hang in there. I wanted to love this book so badly! I love medical oddities, I love history, I love Philadelphia, I love the Mutter Museum - from the cover and the description, I thought this book was going to be perfect for me. But the book has some issues. First off, the narrative was disjointed in many places, skipping around and dropping storylines all over the place. I was like being in a car with a driver learning how to use the brakes.Secondly, there was hardly any mention of Dr. Mutter's actual "marvels". I got over halfway through the book and there was hardly a word of his amazing collection and the stories behind how he acquired them and what was wrong with the specimens. Sure, we learned of his amazing career, I really, really wanted to learn more about the amazing things in his museum. I didn't want to struggle through 50%+ of the book to get what the title promised me. Maybe had I hung in there I would have gotten to this??But most difficult for me was the writing style: it is barely acceptable for a biography and slightly off-putting. It tries so hard to capture the storytelling qualities of Erik Larson's Devil in The White City and just doesn't quite get all the way there. Instead, it comes across as amaturish, even for a pop history book. David McCullough and Erik Larson have really set the standard for popular history really high. This reminded me more of Gregg Olsen and M. William Phillips, really unfortunately. Watch out Erik Larson, you've got some serious competition in Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz. I thoroughly enjoyed her new book, Dr. M�tter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine, an excellent example of narrative non-fiction. lthough well-known in his time, I had never heard of Dr M�tter before reading this book. Aptowicz's story, however, made him jump off the pages. She followed the familiar pattern of short chapters with punchy endings that make you want to jump to the next chapter as quickly as possible. While many others have tried this formula and can make it seem tiring, Aptowicz really nailed it. The cliffhangers never seemed contrived and really did move the story along. I'm not sure I would characterize this story as one of "intrigue," but "innovation" definitely! And though mentioned briefly at the beginning, the "Marvels" of the title aren't really discussed until the end, but I enjoyed Aptowicz's narrative in her acknowledgements as she described how she learned about M�tter and his marvels. Now I think I'd like to see them, too--and that's how you know you've found a really good author. I'm looking forward to more, Ms Aptowicz!
What do You think about Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True Tale Of Intrigue And Innovation At The Dawn Of Modern Medicine (2014)?
Having been to the Mutter Museum it was very interesting to read the back story.
—Erica
9/1/14 - found it in the Wall St Journal Saturday review of books
—Thais
