The Museum of Failures
A Novel
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4.0 • 84 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the bestselling author of The Space Between Us comes a powerful story about family secrets, a mother's power, and the importance of forgiveness.
When Remy Wadia left India for the United States, he carried his resentment of his cold and inscrutable mother with him and has kept his distance from her. Years later, he returns to Bombay, planning to adopt a baby from a young pregnant girl—and to see his elderly mother again before it is too late. She is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life.
Struck with guilt for not realizing just how ill she had become, Remy devotes himself to helping her recover and return home. But one day in her apartment he comes upon an old photograph that demands explanation. As shocking family secrets surface, Remy finds himself reevaluating his entire childhood and his relationship to his parents, just as he is on the cusp of becoming a parent himself. Can Remy learn to forgive others for their human frailties, or is he too wedded to his sorrow and anger over his parents’ long-ago decisions?
Surprising, devastating, and ultimately a story of redemption and healing still possible between a mother and son, The Museum of Failures is a tour de force from one of our most elegant storytellers about the mixed bag of love and regret. It is also, above all, a much-needed reminder that forgiveness comes from empathy for others.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Umrigar (Honor) returns with another rich and emotionally gripping story about familial love and the destructive power of secrets. Remy Wadia has returned from the U.S. to his hometown of Bombay for the first time since his father's death three years earlier. Having arrived to adopt a baby from a pregnant teenager, Remy is shocked to learn that the mother-to-be is having second thoughts about giving up the child. Making matters worse, his elderly mother's health has suddenly declined. Remy, who has a turbulent relationship with her, is guilt-ridden for having left India to settle with his American wife in Ohio. Umrigar deftly explores the complexity of caring for an aging parent as Remy stretches himself thin trying to nurse his mother back to health. Meanwhile, he's preoccupied by grief over his beloved father. After his mother begins to recover and comes back home from the hospital, Remy tries to forgive her for verbally abusing him as a child, until one morning when a photograph falls out of his mother's prayer book, leading to a series of revelations about Remy's parents that change his perceptions of both of them. The story of family secrets takes on emotional resonance as Remy contends with his own anxieties about becoming a parent. Umrigar continues to impress.
Customer Reviews
Terrific Read
I loved how the author portrayed the various relationships in the book, especially between the mother and son. So much heartbreak, but also so much love. It was interesting to see how everything the son thought he knew was proven to be false. I will read more from this author!
A lovely, well written story of love and fortitude
I give the book 4.5 stars, taking a half point because the main character often got on my nerves. But mostly, this was a great read: beautifully written, thoughtful, with rich, well developed characters who provide insight into the immigrant experience, both at “home” and in a newly adopted “home.” Highly recommend.
Had enough
Really was enjoying this book. But I am tired of the non stop criticism and political pandering in books I read to escape. Won’t finish this book and won’t purchase another by this author.