The Museum of Failures set in India
The Museum of Failures – Thrity Umrigar
The name alone of this book made me want to pick it up. Turns out it’s a very clever title. The character talks about this AND there’s a very real life significance to it too!
Confused? Don’t be – it’s a strange and very quirky story! And that’s before you get to the novel…..
Map of locations in The Museum of Failures
BOARDING PASS INFORMATION
Destination : Bombay/Mumbai, Navsari
Author guide: Thrity Umrigar
Genre: Emotional!
Food and drink to accompany: nothing, save a cup for the tears
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A novel to transport you to India
Map of locations in The Museum of Failures
This novel is one of two parts – it’s a literary guide to Mumbai/Bombay with its sights, smells and culture lovingly evoked and its also a very moving account of reverse culture shock, returning home to a dying relative and what family means.
Remy is the man who returns to India to see his dying mother. They have never had the best of relationships and now he lives in the USA, they never seen each other. However, she is now very old and frail and he returns to her. What a shock it is both in the family sense and culturally. The title of the book comes from the name Remy gives his old home – it’s a museum of failures the city of Mumbai with its memories and shadows.
I also googled this ‘museum’ and turns out a museum of failures did exist in the early 2000s in Sweden. It closed. That gave me a new angle on the true meaning of the title!
On top of all this emotion, there is a moment, a secret to share that will change both of their lives forever. Remy was an interesting character as I met him as he is returning to his mum, and little by little, I discovered his reasons for leaving, what he hopes from this visit and how life changes when you least expect it. He was a complex man, a troubled man, and one divided in his own mind by religion and the religious tapestry in a changing India.
The themes of religion and history blended into the very heart and soul of Bombay/Mumbai was a cultural experience that was a work of art.
A tapestry of colour and emotion in novel form.
Map of locations in The Museum of Failures
Postcard details: Access The BookTrail’s Map of Locations and travel guide here
More books set in India
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Museum of Failures
Twitter: @ThrityUmrigar
