I loved this gentle and beautiful story that explores family, getting older, and memory. It’s masterfully told in a somewhat sparse manner that evokes feelings in the reader based on their own experiences and memories. This is a perfect read for a rainy day.

I did not read the description close enough when I requested an ARC from Netgalley and was expecting a full novel, but instead I got a short but sweet little tale that moved me to a surprising extent. The less you know, the better.

Such a gentle, tender and perceptive short story, an outwardly simple tale of an elderly man at a family gathering who takes a group of assorted children on a trek to see the eponymous quirky Museum of Rain which he created many years before. Funny, charming, but with an unescapable core of sadness, it’s an ultimately uplifting and generous story, a small gem.

The Museum of Rain is a great short story about a man taking a group of kids to see the museum of rain he created years ago. While it is very short it is also very good. I loved the main character and the dialogue. Very funny at times. I have not read anything by this author before, they are fantastic and I can't wait to read more.

Published by ‎ McSweeney's Publishing on June 15, 2021

Humans are motivated to act for many reasons. We want to make a profit. We want to create a legacy. We want to impress others. But might there be motivations that are less easily understood? Might we do something just for the sake of doing it? Because we had an idea, no matter how pointless or silly, and transformed the idea to reality for the simple satisfaction of contributing to the human story?

Oisín is 72 years old. When he was young, he began to collect jars of rain from the places he visited them. He placed them on a shelf in the shade of a manzanita tree. He even engraved the words Museum of Rain on a piece of wood to mark the spot. And then, as he got older, he left the project behind. How many projects have we all started and abandoned as our lives moved forward?

Patrick Mahoney has turned 75. On the second day of a family reunion to mark the occasion, the Mahoney adults are hungover and the kids are bored. Patrick suggests that Oisín take the kids to see the Museum of Rain, a three-mile hike that will give the adults time to recover. It takes Oisín some time to remember the museum and a bit more time to be persuaded to take the kids there, but he eventually teaches the kids to make walking sticks and leads them on an adventure to find the lost museum.

Patrick told one of the kids that the Museum of Rain was Oisín’s monument to tears, but Oisín explains that he made the museum because he had the idea and followed it to its completion — or at least, he gave the museum a start as a work in progress before he abandoned it. If we insist on a “dramatic origin story” for every human endeavor, Oisín tells the child, “we deprive our species of the ability to simply conjure an idea. To just make stuff and do things.”

Eggers creates a sense of wonder in the ending, after building tension with Oisín’s fear that, after all these years, the shelf will have rotted and the jars will be broken or long gone. Even if the museum is still there, he suspects that the kids will be underwhelmed by a collection of labeled jars of ordinary water. Without resorting to the supernatural, Eggers infuses the ending with magic, exploring the miracle that is an idea and how one person’s idea can endure by being shared with people its creator never met. Given the story’s simplicity, the story’s ending is surprisingly profound and moving.

“The Museum of Rain” is a short story. Given the dreariness of most stories collected in annual “Best Short Stories” anthologies, "The Museum of Rain" will certainly merit inclusion. Maybe Eggers won’t allow it to be anthologized since McSweeney’s is publishing it as a pocket book. Whatever a reader must do to acquire it, “The Museum of Rain” is worth finding.

RECOMMENDED

What a fun, oddly endearing little story. Even though I own a couple Dave Eggers books, this is my first read by him and I was not disappointed and will be bumping the books I have by him up in the TBR list. A story about the older generation and the younger, thrown together [and not all-together willingly], it is about learning from each other and shoving expectations out the door. In the end, it is a lovely, short read that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dave Eggers, and Scribd Originals for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up

A short but sweet story about ageing and memory told through the eyes of an army vet in his 70s, Oisín Mahoney, who on a summer day takes a group of his young relatives to 'the museum of rain', a collection of vessels holding rainwater he collected a number of years ago from various locations he travelled to. Oisín is a bit of a curmudgeon, but the poignant ending really made this for me. Recommended!

A short story that has the descriptive capacity of a beautiful photograph, a good Eggers, that lasts not enough.

Una breve storia che ha la capacitá descrittiva di una bella fotografia, un buon Eggers, che peró dura proprio troppo poco.

I received a digital complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

It’s no secret, anyone who knows me well, that I read Dave Eggers books, and his wife’s - Vendela Vida - (both), with so much joy, and excitement - it’s almost a religious experience. I love this couple - their humanitarian work in the world, their humbleness, their intelligence, kindness, goodness, and humanity.

I’ve already pre-paid for Dave Eggers new novel coming out later this year: ( thank you Cheri for the heads up)....
His new novel is called:
“The Every”, (794 pages I can’t wait to read),: release date will be November 16th on Amazon. It’s a sequel to “The Circle”.

In my mind - I was still ‘just becoming’ a passionate reader - still in the toddler stage of my new lifetime self-comforting pleasure (reading), around the same time Dave Eggers wrote “A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius”....(has a special place in my heart)...
That said....
Dave Eggers continues to grow as a writer. I continue to grow as a reader.

So....
I’m here to review “The Museum of Rain” (44 pages - due out in June)....
Want my TRUTH?
I want share - SHOUT OUT.....tell EVERY FRIEND I KNOW....”DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, AND READ THIS GEM”.
44 pages of your time is not a huge investment....but the returns are > a HUGE REWARD!
READERS WILL BE GIFTED A TREASURED REWARD....
Then.....if you have children or grandchildren- read it to them!

BEST...NOT TO READ ONE MORE WORD OF THIS REVIEW....
GO IN BLIND.
But ....
since a responsible reviewer (ha, since when have I been a responsible reviewer?), I’ll drop a few nuggets....
But honestly- JUST READ IT....
SOAK IN THE subtle and powerful messages .... and at the end ....if you experience this story like I did..... you’ll be mixed with warmth, joy,
sadness, love, ....and ultimately happiness ( maybe the hardest emotion to ‘really’ feel).....
My heart melted for this little BRILLIANT STORY — for all the love, and beauty in the world - ‘allowing’ my own feelings to float to the surface -like cream from fresh milk- very aware of the grief/ sadness/ regrets/ loss/ death/ hurts in life....
but the term “WE RISE UP”.... has some a hell of a lot of truth.
We RISE at the end of this story!

Taken straight from the blurb:
“Oisin Mahoney is an American Army vet in his 70s who is asked to lead a group of young grand-nieces and grand-nephews on a walk through the hills of California’s Central Coast. Walking toward a setting sun, your destination is a place called “The Museum of Rain”, which may or may not still exist, and Hughes origin and meaning are elusive to all. In one of the most elegiac stories, Eggers gives as a beautiful testament to family, memory, and what we leave behind”

So....
....... I’ll leave a couple of non-spoiler excerpts ....(teasers) ....

“Where are we going? Caitlin asked”.
“The Museum of Rain, Rebecca said”.
“It’s not a Real Museum, Caitlin said”.
“Yes it is, Rebecca said. You’ll see”.
“Is it true you were in the war and got shot? Caitlin asked”.
“More or less, yes, Oisin said”
“But you didn’t die? Caitlin asked. Oisin laughed. No, I didn’t die”.
“So is the museum about the war? She asked”.
“No, he said, it’s not about the war”.
“Satisfied that there was nothing interesting about Oisin or where they were going, Caitlin skipped ahead to catch up with a larger group”.

“Sometimes people simply do things. They get an idea and do it, and it’s not tied up with any love or childhood trauma. If we believe there’s a dramatic origin story for every human endeavor, we deprive our species at the ability to simply concur an idea. To just make stuff and do things”.

It’s powerful - irresistible- loved it - and it’s a treasure for all ages.

Thank You Netgalley, Scribd, and Dave Eggers

If you like Dave Eggers, I highly recommend this new story. It's a wonderful tale about an aging loner who takes a group of children up to place he hasn't visited in years. The protagonist is funny, charming and this story will leave you feeling a bit more hopeful about the state of the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Netgalley provided me a free e-book in return for this review.