June 23 - "The Museum of Whatnot"

“The Museum of Whatnot”
by Kevin Wilson
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth (2009)

* * * * * (Excellent) Realistic

Janey works in the Museum of Whatnot, keeping her life free from clutter and attachments until a doctor with a fascination for the spoon collection shakes her from her lonely, Spartan life.

Whimsical, romantic, and just strange enough to completely capture your attention. After finishing this story, posted as part of Harper Perennial’s story-a-week project, I find myself desiring Wilson’s collection of short stories. If all the other stories in the collection are only half as creative, half as entertaining, then I’m still in for an awesome reading adventure. I have a tremendous fondness for misfit characters – of which Janey is a prime example – and their unique jobs, interests, and lives. I particularly enjoyed some of the ordinary – yet strange – items stocked in the Museum of Whatnot, from the baby teeth in mason jars that start the story to the garbage bag full of rubber bands that wrap the tale up. Strange as it all was, it worked and was wonderful.