The Museum of You by Carys Bray. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) from the publisher via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
“When you grow up in the saddest chapter of someone else’s story, you’re forever skating on the thin ice of their memories.”
Clover Quinn was raised by her Dad. Her mother died when Clover was a baby and Darren has done his best to be everything his daughter needs. Their relationship is close, but Clover doesn’t want to upset him by asking too many questions about her mother. She has lots of questions. Questions that cut to the heart of who she is and whether her birth really was the pleasant surprise her Dad says it was.
In a search for answers, Clover decides to spend the summer sorting through the second bedroom which is full of her mother’s belongings. Darren never quite managed to get rid of them and the room as remained untouched for years. Clover hopes to discover the type of person her mother was. She’s looking for the full story about her parents’ life and relationship before she was born. She’s trying to figure out what kind of person she will become.
The chapters switch between Clover and Darren’s points of view. This works really well and adds a depth to the father – daughter relationship that’s often missing from other depictions. They’re fully formed characters in their own right. As a reader you’re invested in them both. You want things to work out alright, even when you’re not quite sure what an alright outcome looks like.
The Museum of You is a thoughtful exploration of grief, family, mental ill-health and the role that memories play in our lives. Carys Bray’s writing is funny, clever, tender and at times heartbreaking. Clover is a character that will linger in my mind for a long time.