The Museum of Ordinary People: The uplifting new novel from the bestselling author of Half a World Away
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By Mike Gayle
avg rating
2 reviews
The superb novel from the bestselling author of Half A World Away and All the Lonely People.
‘A joyful celebration of life’ – Heat
‘Filled with warmth, tenderness and character. It really made me think, too – I love that it encourages us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. A gorgeous novel’ – Beth O’Leary
‘A keenly observed and warm-hearted tale of how people cope with loss and keep their dreams alive against the odds . . . a delightful read’ – Ruth Hogan
Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she’s ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold.
But when in the process Jess stumbles across the mysterious Alex, together they become custodians of a strange archive of letters, photographs, curios and collections known as The Museum of Ordinary People.
As they begin to delve into the history of the objects in their care, Alex and Jess not only unravel heartbreaking stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long buried secrets that lie much closer to home.
Inspired by a box of mementos found abandoned in a skip following a house clearance, The Museum of Ordinary People is a thought-provoking and poignant story of memory, grief, loss and the things we leave behind.
‘This author’s books just get better and better’ Good Housekeeping
‘Mike Gayle is the king of touching, human stories’ Heat
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Overall, the story was a slow start but I did enjoy it
I did inwardly groan when it was apparent that the main character Jess was with the wrong man and predictably she would get together with Alex. However, putting this aside, this is a good light read and had underlying themes of grief, hurt, acceptance, blame, forgiveness and what we treasure most. I thought the historical element was really well put and made me think about how simple objects can bring us comfort or reminders of a past life whether happy or sad. Everyone of us has a story to share through the simple objects we surround ourselves with and this was well put in the novel. I would recommend this book and am looking forward to discussing at our book group, Rather Be Reading.
I really enjoyed this book, although it was a little slow to start and somewhat depressing.
However, I loved the idea of the Museum and wanted to see how it would all enfold.
The character of Guy was particularly loathsome and I longed for the heroine to ditch him.
I thought the treatment of Alex's character was very sympathetic and the budding romance sensitively handled.
An easy read with lots of drama towards the end, which made you want to read on quickly to find out how it would all be resolved.
