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.

Growing up in Bombay, Remy Wadia's childhood was enviable. He wanted for nothing growing up. His father was his hero and raised him like a prince. Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, he could never get close to his mother and her unpredictable moods. He grew up idolizing his father and resenting the way his mother treated them both. Years later, he is married and successful in the US. He has avoided traveling to India to visit his mother since his father passed away. Now, the opportunity to adopt a child in India has come about, he and his wife are desperate to become parents, so he makes the trip. When he arrives, he finds his mother in the hospital and she has stopped speaking. While there he discovers a letter from his late father and a photograph that changes his entire perspective of his childhood.
I have loved every book I have read by Thrity Umrigar and this was no exception. She writes emotional narratives in such a relatable way, you feel such a connection with the characters and their plights. The twists are not just unexpected, but meaningful and heartbreaking, not just meant for shock factor. Remy comes off as a bit selfish at times, but when you consider how he was raised and his emotional predicaments, you almost feel a kinship. He struggles with his feelings of betrayal as well as wanting everything to just work out perfectly, but that's not how life works and his growth when realizing this is understandable. He is flawed and that is what makes him such a relatable character. I highly recommend this and any books by the author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

Remy is a married man living in the US with his American wife. He goes home to India in hopes of adopting a child, "that looks like him." He hasn't prioritized visiting India after his father's death, counting on his cousin to look after his aging mother. When he arrives and the adoption plans become complicated and his mother is in the hospital. He realizes he must do the right thing when it comes to both complications. But doing the right thing is not easy, especially when it comes to his mother, whom he has a strained relationship with. As he arranges for her care, he realizes the stunning truth about her mood swings and distant relationship with him and will do anything to set it right.

I was so moved by Umrigar's Honor so when I was offered a spot on the blog tour for The Museum of Failures, I was really looking forward to it. While our main character here is a male, the relationship between him and his mother was so deep and probed such sensitive topics, I couldn't help but be moved. It's hard to talk about the details of what I loved so much without spoilers but this one will definitely break your heart and put it back together again and you will be better for it.

Thanks to Algonquin Books for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

The Museum of Failures opens as Remy Wadia arrives back in Bombay for the first time in three years, since the passing of his beloved father, Cyrus. The reason for his visit is to negotiate the adoption of a baby from the relative of a close childhood friend, but he also makes a surprise visit to his semi-estranged mother and discovers that she is quite ill, and so helping her recover, while also recovering their relationship is the primary focus of this book.

Remy remembers his mother as being distant and often cold, and sometimes almost emotionally abusive. As a result, after the death of his father, he has been distant from his mother, but upon discovering that she is quite ill, after trusting family to help care for her, Remy becomes invested in helping his mother recover her health. In helping her heal physically, they are able to resurrect their relationship, and new family secrets come to light that change how he perceives both his parents and his childhood. While also dealing with these new discoveries, the planned adoption falls apart.

This book was another well written familial drama by Umrigar. I very much enjoyed her previous book Honor. The characters developed and changed over the course of the book as Remy becomes familiar with the secrets his parents kept from him as a young child. My only complaint is the conclusion is slightly too neatly wrapped up, but also left a couple loose ends that I would have liked tied up.

Thank you to Algonquin Book and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

This book was extremely thought provoking and very deep. I loved the writing, but I did not love the rushed ending. I felt it was very brisk.

An expert storyteller, Thirty Umrigar knows how to weave a tale of family secrets, relationships, tradition and acceptance. Layered and captivating, The Museum of Failures is just that story, in which a mother and son struggle to connect, understand and forgive.

Thrity Umrigar's "Honor" was one of the most impactful novels I read last year, so I was eager to get my hands on her latest work. In "The Museum of Failures", Umrigar takes us back to India from the perspective of Remy Wadia, a successful ad agency owner in Ohio who returns to his home country after many years of separation from his mother Shirin. As a child, Remy has had a difficult and precarious relationship with his mother, recalling her sternness in contrast to the love and affection his late father showered on him. However, Remy's main focus during his time in India is to secure the adoption of a child for Kathy, his wife, and himself after his good friend tells him of their niece's unintentional pregnancy.

Remy's efforts to finalize the adoption take a backburner to his attempts to reconnect with his mother after he discovers she's been hospitalized due to her poor health. Through numerous visits to her hospital bedside, both Remy and Shirin have a chance to re-evaluate their relationship with each other and even to make amends - but Remy's discovery of a devastating family secret turns his world upside down. He's forced to see his parents through completely different eyes; his caring father as a flawed individual trying to compensate for his mistakes and faults, his mother a woman struggling to be both a good mother and wife despite knowing the darkness within her own family.

Umrigar brings to light a number of weighty and difficult topics: the burdens of filial piety and obligation, the weaknesses and flaws of our parents (and the revelation of their children when these are seen), the double standard imposed on women in Indian society, and the secrets we keep from our loved ones - for better or for worse. While unveiling the truth in Remi's family, she's able to call out the unfair standards in place in Indian (and Indian-American) society, including the fact that racial biases in place within American closely parallel India's caste system. Nonetheless, I appreciated how Remi's story and family were slowly fleshed out in both the past and present time periods and the reconciliation he and his mother were able to have.

I have some minor qualms, including the fact that the concept of "the museum of failures" isn't terribly well detailed nor developed throughout; it's included in a few passages but could have used more focus given the title of the novel as whole. There were some final actions that Remi took towards the end of the novel that I didn't entirely agree with and seemed inconsistent with the overall themes and conclusions of the novel as well. However, 'The Museum of Failures" is a thought-provoking and emotional novel that I think will be important to many readers.

This is a very complex tale of a shattered family. It is mostly told from the point of view of Remy, a successful American businessman who has returned to his homeland of India to adopt a child.

Remy has always had a contentious, almost hateful, relationship with his mother but has never understood why. On this trip home he discovers many secrets. He gets the answers he didn't know he needed or wanted.

This story is both character-driven and plot-driven. Much of the backstory (including the secrets) is revealed through narration by Remy's mother. She is a character to be pitied, and also to empathize with. Remy is a nice man. But, his nature is to be a people pleaser, my observation. And, he while does not always make the right decision he means well. As a result, he carries a lot of weight on his shoulders.

Thrity Umrigar knows how to weave a compelling story. I have enjoyed many of her books. I got more and more immersed in this story the more I read. The story is about human fragility, it’s about forgiveness and acceptance. It's an emotional tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy

Remy moved from Bombay to the US as soon as he was a young adult. He went to university, met his wife and became a very successful businessman. During the times that he returned to Bombay to see his family, it was the love from his father that pulled him back. He did not have fond memories of his mother. After his dad died he did not return for three years. He left his mother in the care of cousins and felt like a good son for ensuring that someone would see to her. When Remy does return to Bombay, it is to look into the possibility of adoption. After he arrives he finds out that his mother has been hospitalized and the care she received from cousins has been substandard. As Remy navigates through his feelings for his mother, his desire for a child, and the different culture that he has married into, he discovers things about his family he has never known. This book is a slow mover for me. I just wanted to tell Remy to "get over it." This book did not appeal to me as much as some of the author's other books. Still a solid 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the digital ARC I received in exchange of an honest review.

This is a beautiful story that left me in awe of Umigar's writing. It's a book about families, secrets, relationships, and cultures. All of the things I'm drawn to! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Adoption was really interesting to read about from a bunch of point of views and across oceans! Five star read.