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A review by angieoverbooked
The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
What I liked:
* The premise - Jess, mourning the loss of her mother and trying to figure out what to do with some old items, discovers an unofficial museum that holds items of sentimental value from ordinary people
* Uplifting, heartwarming, all around “feeling” moments
* Generally lovable characters
* A personal epiphany that maybe I’d enjoy being a museum curator in another life
* One of the big reveals
What I didn’t like:
* I enjoy multiple timelines but the “Then” chapters were repetitive and slow. I thought the prologue could have simply been extended to provide the same history. Other background details could have just been referenced in the “Now.”
* Jess’s relationship with her boyfriend, Guy, was not compelling or interesting AT ALL. It’s a major part of the plot and a. went exactly as predicted but b. I genuinely didn’t care.
* Another one of the big reveals
Overall, while components of this didn’t work for me, I appreciated the sweet moments and friendships and love the message that within every ordinary life something extraordinary can be discovered.
* The premise - Jess, mourning the loss of her mother and trying to figure out what to do with some old items, discovers an unofficial museum that holds items of sentimental value from ordinary people
* Uplifting, heartwarming, all around “feeling” moments
* Generally lovable characters
* A personal epiphany that maybe I’d enjoy being a museum curator in another life
* One of the big reveals
What I didn’t like:
* I enjoy multiple timelines but the “Then” chapters were repetitive and slow. I thought the prologue could have simply been extended to provide the same history. Other background details could have just been referenced in the “Now.”
* Jess’s relationship with her boyfriend, Guy, was not compelling or interesting AT ALL. It’s a major part of the plot and a. went exactly as predicted but b. I genuinely didn’t care.
* Another one of the big reveals
Overall, while components of this didn’t work for me, I appreciated the sweet moments and friendships and love the message that within every ordinary life something extraordinary can be discovered.