"I am Moth, a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street, born to a slum-house mystic and the man who broke her heart."
This opening sentence hooked me and I was loathe to put this book down at any point in time following. Ami McKay's writing has a way of not just putting you there (in this case New York in the 1870's) but actually delving into the place in time in a way that you really believe you know this place, it becomes familiar - that's quite a talent. I found this a fascinating book for that reason. Most of this story was told from Moth's point of view, but interspersed were notes from Dr. Sadie (a female physician serving in the Bowery), and notes from various publications of the times (both real and fictional).
There were points of this story that brought me back to Moulin Rouge (one of my favorite movies - though set at a slightly different place and time).
I was not prepared to love this book as much as I did. I read it over the course of 2 days - the first beginning once my children were in bed for the night and continuing on until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I will now have to go backwards to Ami McKay's first novel, The Birth House (I don't know how I missed it).
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