Ms. Umrigar has a knack for comparing American culture to others without making either feel less than. This time, the main character has returned to his home in Bombay thinking he is going to adopt a baby but his trip is changed so dramatically that I, as the reader, had forgotten about the adoption at one point! That is how immersive the character and story building are in this book! For most of the book, Remy is the only character that gets full development, but as the book gets closer to the ending, both his mother and father become clearer and Remy is forced to face what is life is as a result of choices made before him. I loved how even minor characters were in positions to made a big impact on the main characters and the storyline, and I loved that the concept of the title was woven throughout the story.

This was a gripping, emotionally charged novel about family and how family dynamics are affected by personalities and situations. It was thought-provoking and very well written. The characters were well-developed.

Thirty Umrigar never disappoints. As always, her characters seem so real, her stories so rich. This one, exploring family secrets, was particularly moving for me in this moment, as I recently lost both my parents, and am keenly aware of the questions I never asked. I loved this book, and will certainly be recommending it.

I went into this totally blind, trusting that Thrity Umrigar would tell me a story that would connect with my heart, and she did just that.

Remy, born and raised in India now lives in the USA with his American wife. He returns to India with the hopes of adopting a much desired baby from a family friend and perhaps he should swing by and see his aging mother...Upon arrival things to do not go as planned. As things slowly devolve, he finds his mother quite ill and in the hospital and non responsive. During his 2 week stay in India, many things come to light regarding his families past along with him trying to work out this adoption plan.

I quite enjoyed the plot of this story. It touches on the humanity of people in the light of pain, secrets, forgiveness, embarrassment, kindness and love. The story has many layers and I was touched by the ugly truths shared.

The book started out strong, but had a bit of an intermission in the middle but then ended with a strong ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the advance e-copy of this book.

I was transported to modern day Bombay while reading this book. I love the ability of books to transport us to another place. We meet Remy who was born and raised in Bombay to a Parsai family. He travels to Bombay from the US to adopt a baby after he and his American wife have been unable to conceive. He quickly finds out that his somewhat estranged mother is ill. The story moves forward from there.

Remy learns a family secret that has had a profound affect on his memories and familial relationship. While the news is devastating Remy begins to heal and takes the time he needs to make connections and handle some of his grief.

I thought this book dove into the realities of life in Bombay with many different characters and situations. I appreciated an emotional male voice in Remy. We often hear from the female side and I found a male voice refreshing. I enjoyed how the story came together and I thought the ending was quite satisfying.

I think anyone who likes to read about other cultures, travel and family drama would love this book. Thank you Netgalley.

NetGalley Advanced Copy | Thrity Umrigar is one of my all-time favorite authors. I absolutely loved The World We Found and Honor - plus The Story Hour.

Unfortunately, I just could not get into The Museum of Failures, and it felt a bit like "trauma porn," which is so very 2023 publishing right now - as well as rubbed me the wrong way on the presentation/discussion of multiple topics.

The first quarter of the book drew me in, and there's no denying Umrigar's beautiful prose and ability to capture the hardest parts of the human spirit. Her writing is always stunning.

Plus, I was personally here for a story about a son who never heads home to India, only to be met with an aging parent facing health issues. The guilt is palpable, and Remy quickly learns that his dad wasn't quite the hero he believed.

Unfortunately, the story felt repetitive and lost its speed. There's a lot of judging and preachy parts. Then, I got straight out bored. There is so much slow filler to slog through, it really ruined the beauty of the story.

When I got to the big "reveals" - it just felt like shock for the sake of shock, and tying in everyone's stories felt overly contrived.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Love itself was a mytsery, wasn’t it?

from The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar
Remy had a nearly perfect life. He had a loving marriage. He had built a successful career. He had left India for Columbus, Ohio for school and stayed after meeting his wife. He did not become a poet, his early dream, but runs his own advertising business.

Remy was in his later thirties and he and Kathy had hoped for a child. Now, he was back in Bombay to meet a friend’s pregnant and unmarried niece who willing to give up the baby.

Remy had not returned to his homeland since the death of his beloved father. He had made an arrangement for a couple to care for his mother. He had always had a fraught relationship with her. He didn’t look forward to seeing her again.

Returning home becomes a reckoning with the past, with revelations that turn upside down everything he believed and felt about his family, but resulting in acceptance and love.

It is a journey across time and continents that transforms Remy.

Although specific in location, with a Parsi family at the center, giving insight into another culture, the story explores universal themes. The consequences of secrets and the healing of truth-telling, the immigrant experience of never completely fitting into his birthplace or new home, forgiveness and acceptance. And most of all, how far parents will go to protect the children they love.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

I love books that explore the relationships we have with our parents (especially because those bonds can often be super complicated). It can be comforting to know that we’re not the only ones who experience that messiness. “The Museum of Failures” by Thrity Umrigar follows Remy Wadia as he tries to reconnect with his mother – a woman who filled his childhood with sadness and disappointment. The novel opens with Remy back in his home country of India (years after he’s immigrated to the US). Initially, he’s made the trip in order to adopt a baby but ends up working on his relationship with his mother instead.

I’ve read one other book by Umrigar (“The World We Found”), so I do know that she’s a strong writer, particularly when it comes to how she describes the human experience. However, there were some serious issues with pacing in this novel. I didn’t feel any urgency to the plot until about 70 percent into it. There were definitely some parts that dragged for me. On the other hand, these characters easily came to life and even though the reader doesn’t know their complete backstories right off the bat, you can feel their beating hearts.

When you just condense this book down to its story, the plot is a remarkable one. There’s heartache, drama, love, and loss. But Umrigar does meander a bit too much with side stories and secondary characters, so I felt disconnected from the story at times. I would still check out her other novels but the slowness of this one did detract from my overall appreciation of the novel.

Thrity Umrigar is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Her ability to transport the reader to an unfamiliar land, immerse us in an unfamiliar culture, and challenge us to rethink stereotypes is simply unparalleled. The Museum of Failures, as was the case with Honor, was not an easy read, but I feel as though I am changed and blessed by reading it. It is a story of forgiveness. Of taking the time to get to know the reasons for attitudes and actions. Of the dangers in assuming or putting our own values and ideas on someone else. Of restoration. Of understanding. And - of love.

Remy Wadia left Bombay for America to go to college. He left behind a father, whom he adored, and a mother, whom he resented. A potential life-changing event for Remy and his wife, Kathy, returned Remy to Bombay - referred to by Remy as the Museum of Failures. Remy's father has passed away, and his mother is hospitalized and very sick. Events transpire that expose family secrets and challenge all that Remy thought to be true. As Remy wrestles with reconciling all of this new information, he decides how this will change who he is and who he will be.

My thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the early e-copy of this book - publish date 9/26/23.

I was delighted to be approved to read and review this novel, and I'm glad that "The Museum of Failures" lived up to my hopes. It's a very emotional novel, filled with twists and turns, each of which carries a different wrench of the heart. It is very hard to put this book down because you will really want to know what is going to be revealed next.

Remy Wadia now. lives in Columbus, OH, but he was born and raised in Bombay. He's home to arrange the adoption of a friend's sister's baby. His doctor wife has remained at home because he thinks he'll be able to navigate the process more easily alone. He hasn't been back since his father's death three years before, and he has a difficult relationship with his distant, critical mother. No one has told him, but his mother is in the hospital. Things are already piling up on him, and, dear reader, that is just the beginning. In order not to spoil your experience, we'll leave it at that.

The end is a little contrived, but who cares? This is a gripping novel about family secrets, love, friends, and cultural similarities and differences. It's very satisfying, and you might find yourself devouring it in one sitting because you can't stand the suspense.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Another great read from Thrity Umrigar! This story is about a close to middle-aged Indian-American businessman, Remy, who goes back to India to adopt a baby and to visit his estranged mother who he discovers is sick. While there, he unearths secrets and events that shaped his family’s life and his relationships with his mother and father. The story is about human frailty, parental love, loss and forgiveness.

The sense of place is well conveyed - I felt like I was in India with the characters - and I really enjoyed that this novel was told largely from the son’s (Remy’s) point of view. It was interesting to explore the mother-son relationship from his viewpoint and to see him struggle with finding a balance between his life in America with his memories of his childhood growing up in India. His view of India is that of a ‘museum of failures’ filled with unfilled dreams and broken promises, this view colored by his fraught, challenging relationship with his mother. Revelations that unfold force Remy to rethink his past, his parents and his future. Highly recommend this novel as well as others from this author!

Thanks to Algonquin Books and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

There’s no denying that Thrity Umrigar knows how to write about the heartache and healing of being human. After loving HONOR, I was eager to pick up THE MUSEUM OF FAILURES. This family drama follows Remy, an Indian man married to an American woman who are struggling with infertility. Remy returns to India to be with his ailing mother and hopes to grow his family through adoption.

My biggest qualm with the story is the plot really didn’t pick up momentum until about the 70% mark. As a result, my emotional investment in the characters was a bit lacking. I was hoping for a gut-punch of a story and Thrity certainly went there, I just didn’t feel the same level of connection to the characters I did in her previous books.

I did enjoy the cultural aspects of the story and am always eager to learn more about places in the world I’m not as familiar with. If you enjoy a slower-paced family drama you may find deeper enjoyment.

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: September 26, 2023

Many thanks to Algonquin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

More of a 4.5 star read.

An emotional study of a mother and son finding a way to reconcile after a childhood of family discord and deeply buried secrets. Characters are fully imagined and plot is totally believable. The dialogue in a few places seemed stilted considering the way the characters had been portrayed. But there is such insightful language by Ms Umrigar that her passion for the story and it’s setting are obvious. The idea of “love” is deeply explored.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the ARC to read and review.

4.5 Stars!

“This was the power of India: it whittled you down, stripped you, made you believe not in the promise of the future as America did, but in the firm hold of the past. In America, a man could become what he dreamed; in India, dreaming could undo a man. But that’s not true, he argued with himself. You are free. You escaped this museum of failures. You are the one who got away.”

A son, long removed from his childhood in India returns to adopt a baby and bring him or her back to the US, to his adored American wife. Remy Wadia unexpectedly finds his mother in failing health and mute when he lands in Bombay. He begins to uncover some hard and painful truths about the mother she once was and discovers a family secret that could tear them apart forever. His dilemma of choosing between addressing the torment of the past or forging ahead into the future delays his return to his home in Ohio, maybe indefinitely. The journey to become a parent is as complicated as the backstory of his childhood and his initial departure from India. Within the narrative, flawed and lovable characters with histories of their own come into play.

Ms. Umrigar’s compassionate voice is layered into each passage, as she invites the reader to explore their own past and realize how hard fought forgiveness might be the most rewarding endeavor. Her lyrical novel Honor was one of my absolute favorites and it came as no surprise how I was drawn to her latest work. The rich texture of the Indian landscape and culture provides a foundation for a sometimes painful character study of loss, love, and family.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I've enjoyed everything I've read from Thrity Umrigar and this book was especially satisfying. I thought I understood the relationships between the family members until Umrigar threw in a huge twist near the end of the book that changed everything. Books set in India are almost always fascinating with the different cultural representations and descriptions. This is a quick and satisfying read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Another success!

A long hidden secret is at the center of this book. Family relationships and perceptions are based on the fallout from a secret well kept. I confess that the title was off putting and I would not have read it if not for the author Thrity Umrigar. That would have been a shame since the book is well written and spectacular in its depth of characters and emotions.

The adoption storyline of The Museum of Failures is unlike anything I've ever read, truly making this a stand out text. This also didn't read as much like trauma for the sake of trauma and I enjoyed this a whole lot more for it! I highly recommend reading this. You won't be able to put it down, AND you will learn something.

You can always rely on Thrity Umrigar for a good family drama and this is no exception. This one casts a spotlight on culture, family secrets and relationships. A good read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar!

I find stories that take place in India so compelling especially when done well. I think the contrast of rich culture to some of the issues of the caste system is hard to look away from,Here the story of a man trying to understand his mother and his home country was very heartfelt and beautifully written. I think I enjoyed this even more than Honor. A wonderful read and one that covers a lot of topics from forgiveness to understanding self.