The Dime Museum: A novel in stories

"A vibrant, terrific novel" - Joan SilberHinnefeld’s web of characters are bound by legacies, genes, philanthropy, and chance but gravitate largely around Charlie, a rich, white, college graduate who ends up in Venice.He’s struggling to understand how his significant privilege has destroyed a romantic relationship, but he draws unwanted interest from other quarters with his interest in the writing of Ezra Pound.His Dreamer ex-girlfriend, Min, becomes a nurse and is overwhelmed by caregiving and loss, including the untimely death of a Vietnam veteran who works as a gardener for Charlie’s mother.In this novel that spans generations, though, it is Charlie’s great-great grandmother, who cherished a forbidden love for a Vaudevillian male impersonator, that defines his life.She is the source of his wealth but also mother to his lonely great-aunt, who in the end controls how he's raised.Hinnefeld writes about harsh realities, the importance of connection, and tender hearts in a fragile world.