How does the novel treat its bit players? What do you think Marra was trying to say about whose stories matter? Is there a minor character that really appealed to you?

How does the novel treat its bit players? What do you think Marra was trying to say about whose stories matter? Is there a minor character that really appealed to you?

This novel gives descriptive attention and respect to ALL of the bit players. It is evident that Marra is a firm believer that all stories matter and wants his readers to take note of them. For example, Anna the miniaturist at the studio, is obviously a minor character but returns later in the book with her adventure in Utah as the military employs her to assist in building actual life size replicas of Berlin so they can learn how to burn the real Berlin down with a furious firestorm.

All stories matter, no matter how big the part. I loved the detective obsessed with Sherlock Holmes (Ferrando) who treated police reports as opportunities for fiction. He was not a good detective, except on paper. But he did have a heart. He tried to do what was right, even when it was not possible. I felt for him. I liked many of the minor characters in the novel. Each had a purpose and story. Each brought something new to the book.

I think Marra's treatment of his minor characters is one of the elements that makes the book a true standout. He gives depth to every single character that takes the stage, even if it's only for a scene or two. I loved his treatment of Bela Lugosi, who supplemented his living with gigs where he impersonated himself, as well as Prince Michael Romanoff (aka "Harry Gerguson of the Brooklyn Gergusons").

And then there are the "mid-range characters," who aren't main characters but who have larger roles than just the occasional "walk-on." The two that really struck home with me were Eddie (a talented actor continually type-cast in roles beneath him) and Anna, the miniaturist. I thought Anna's story was particularly gut-wrenching, especially for such a minor storyline. I also loved the aunts.

I loved how everyone in the book was given a story which made even minor characters seem important

I was impressed with how Marra was able to present so many fully realized minor characters. Each one was fully realized and memorable. My favourite was Concetta Cortese, the fierce mother of the real Vincent. She was a strong resilient woman who lived a hard, mostly tragic life and yet somehow manages to find kindness and forgiveness.

I don’t think there are any minor characters in the novel.Marra gives the same attention to each character since they together make the novel feel alive. For example, the description of Eddie’s frustration as an Asian actor racially profiled in the parts he is allowed to play….longing to play a Shakesperian role when he’s forced to play “a servile houseboy, a white slaver, or a pigtailed opium peddler.” On some soundstages “ he was a Chinatown nobody working for change while a white man behind a megaphone told him how to act.” Eddie’s life, dreams, frustrations and hopes are every bit as carefully presented as those of Art,Ned and Maria… the headliners of the novel.

I think each character that might considered a bit player or minor character in other novels has a significant role in the is novel thus the author wrote the novel with all the characters considered important and significant to the plot. The minor characters throughout the book provide a lens to how we the major characters. It is hard choice which bit or minor character was my favorite but I agree with ruthea with the selection of Concetta because of her determinism.

Life a story - your story - which Marra brilliantly show in his characters' stories. He creates the people who play the bit parts in the movies like Eddie (the casting of white actors as Asians shows how discriminatory movies where - I have a series of Charlie Chan movies in which Charlie is played by the Swedish actor, Warner Oland, which has documentaries about Hollywood's portray of Asians that is enlightening to watch) and even uses the real Bela Lugosi (one of my favorite actors who got type cast - but ironically as Marra points out gets an Academy Award through another actor portraying him in the movie, Ed Wood) to develop their life stories. I think these and other characters give such richness to this novel that without them there would be less of a story. Loved how Marra captured 40s Hollywood!

I agree with the nominations of Anna and Eddie. It has been over a year since I read this book so my memory is a bit fuzzy. But I vividly remember Anna and Eddie. Marra does a great job with his characterizations, both for the major and the minor characters.

My favorite minor character was Louis Harrington who was imprisioned for a crime he did not commit. His role in building the model city of Berlin and his success after his imprisonment culminating in his trip to Germany were one of the highlights of the book for me.

I loved how the author would go off on little side stories about some of the more minor characters and tell what happened to them in the future. Such as Bella Lugosi, small character in the book, but so interesting and that part really added to the big picture, I felt. And I got to learn a little bit more about his life.

I didn't perceive any character to "minor" and their stories are all compelling and riveting. I can't imagine which character could be omitted from the novel because each is integral to the whole and the themes that Marra explores.

I was particularly fascinated by Anna, the women who said no to the Reich. It was a bold move that could easily have brought about her death. Instead, she died in a number of other ways long before Marra revealed her ultimate fate. She was such a tragic character in so many respects and every parent who reads the book will undoubtedly relate to her in myriad ways.