The Museum of Failures: Your Next Powerful Book Club Read

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A riveting story about uncovering family secrets and the power of forgiveness, set in India and the United States, from the bestselling author of Reese's Book Club pick Honor

Remy Wadia left India for the United States long ago, carrying his resentment of his mother with him. He has now returned to Bombay to adopt a baby from a young pregnant girl-and to see his elderly mother for the first time in several years. Discovering that his mother is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life, he is struck with guilt for not realizing just how sick she has become.

His unexpected appearance and assiduous attention revives her and enables her to return to her home. But when Remy stumbles on an old photograph, shocking long-held family secrets surface. As the secrets unravel and Remy's mother begins communicating again, he finds himself reevaluating his entire childhood, his relationship to his parents, and his harsh judgment of the decisions and events long hidden from him, just as he is on the cusp of becoming a parent himself. But most of all, he must learn to forgive others for their failures and human frailties.

The Museum of Failures is a deeply moving story of secrets and family, and a reminder that forgiveness comes from realizing that the people we love are usually trying to do their best in the most difficult situations.

Reviews

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'The Museum of Failures is a compassionate and insightful exploration of judgment, forgiveness, and understanding. A skilled chronicler of family secrets, Thrity Umrigar reveals the reverberation that decisions can have over generations and the impact of distance, both geographical and psychological, on the relationship of one mother and son' - Lisa Ko, author of National Book Award finalist The Leavers

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'There's no powder keg like a family secret. And when it explodes, nothing in the past is ever as it was, and nothing in the future is ever the same. The Museum of Failures is a symphony of secrets and lies, love and hate, regret and forgiveness' - Marlon James Booker Prize winning author

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'Family secrets are constellations made of falling stars. When scattered across the vast expanse of our lives, they lead us, guide us, but often in the wrong direction. With Thrity Umrigar's signature blend of emotional depth and compassionate storytelling, The Museum of Failures is a poignant and profound exploration of what happens when someone's entire life, their entire journey, has been spent off-course. I feel this book. You will too' - Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

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'Wrenching and uplifting, lighthearted and profound, The Museum of Failures is a suspenseful, beautifully plotted tribute to the complicated yet steadfast love between parents and children' - Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning

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'Umrigar skilfully weaves threads of cultural identity, family values, history, memory and forgiveness into this vivid tapestry of modern Indian life ... a deeply moving portrait of a mother's self-sacrifice for love' - Daily Mail

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Author Bio

Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of The Space Between Us, which was a finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, as well as ten other novels, a memoir, and three picture books. Her books have been translated into several languages and published in over fifteen countries. She is the winner of a Lambda Literary Award and the Seth Rosenberg Prize and is a Distinguished Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University.