Thrity Umrigar is the author of HONOR, a Reese’s Book Club pick.

In Museum of Failures we meet Remy Wadia, who moved to the US from India leaving unsupportive mother behind. He makes a life in Columbus Ohio, but returns to Bombay ("The Museum of Failures"l) To adopt a child and see his mother who is gravely ill. He decides to care for her and unearths a family secret when he is in her home. Remy isn't the most likeable, but this book will make you think of your own family secrets as well as the caste system. You will feel at home with Northern Indian food and the urban noise of Bombay. Umrigar has done an excellent job of creating a harrowing novel of secrets and families that you are not soon to forget!
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a heart wrenching, emotional novel; thrity umrigar has done it again.

remy grew up in india with his loving, adoring father and his cold mother. his father did everything for him and loved him deeply. now, he lives in america with his american wife, kathy. unable to conceive, remy travels to bombay in the hopes of meeting a young pregnant woman and adopting her child. when he arrives, the girl has changed her mind, his mother is ailing and extremely sick, and his life is in shambles. a tale of family secrets, love, loss, and misconceptions about one's parents, this is "the museum of failures."

this novel is so emotionally gut wrenching. i read it in one sitting, unable to put it down. umrigar writes with such poetic diction. so much love went into this novel, that is clear. you will question your own childhood, your own upbringing, and your own parents. not everything is as it seems, and no parent is perfect. this novel captivated me, made me cry, and filled my heart with warmth.

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Museum of Failures is a moving story of family secrets, forgiveness, and understanding. It follows Remy Wadia, back in Bombay to adopt a child, and to check in on his estranged mother. But nothing is quite working out as planned. As necessary truths are finally shared, Remy is forced to rethink his entire life. It is beautifully written, heart-warming, and wonderfully welcoming into the Parsi community even while unraveling the reasons home is complicated for Remy.

I appreciated Museum of Failures the more I read it. Remy, who has a strained realtionship with his mother, returns to India to potelntially adopt a child from his friend's niece. The situation becomes complicated. While there, he learns that his mother is in the hopsital. As he helps her recover, Remy learns about a family secret that changes his perspectiveabout his parents.

Remy Wadia left his childhood in India behind when he started his adult life in the United States. Upon returning to India to adopt a baby, his relationship with his mother is haunted by their contentious past. Over the course of several weeks Remy must re-examine his memories and perspectives, overturning his perceptions as family secrets are revealed. Thrity Umrigar skillfully leads the reader through a journey of understanding and forgiveness. A tragic, yet uplifting novel, beautifully written.

I was happy to see a new Thrity Umrigar book, she is one of my favorite novelists. The Museum of Failures follows Remy Wadia as he travels from the United States back to Bombay. Remy is there to meet with friends and their niece who is pregnant. She would like to give her baby up for adoption to Remy and his wife.

While in Bombay, Remy is also there to visit his mother. He has always had a strained relationship with her as she can be harsh and difficult. Remy was much closer to his father, Cyrus, who passed away several years ago. Remy finds out that his mother is not well and has been hospitalized with pneumonia. As Remy spends time with his mother helping her recuperate, he begins to deepen his relationship with her. He makes a discovery that changes him and makes him reevaluate what he knows of his parents.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I loved learning more about India and the Parsi culture. It was interesting to learn about Remy and his family through current timeline as well as flashbacks into the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

4.5 stars

What we perceive as failures are just life's inverventions to breathe fully and reconstruct our present route.

Remy Wadia is on a mission. He's just arrived in his home city of Bombay. He and his American wife, Kathy, will be adopting a child. Kathy, a dedicated pediatrician, is back in Columbus, Ohio. She trusts Remy to finalize the adoption. The details involve the niece of one of his best friends who is giving up her baby at birth. At nineteen and a college student, Monaz feels it's the best thing to do. She also fears telling her parents of her situation.

But when Remy finally arrives, he's shocked to find his widowed mother, Shirin, in the hospital. She's in serious condition. She was suppose to be in the care of two distant cousins in the same building. Remy spends hour upon hour monitoring her care. Shirin has a tough nature and is curt with anyone within her range. This includes her son, Remy, who has never been able to find a comfortable space in her inner circle.

The Museum of Failures is a wide expanse of relationships between family members, social and cultural lines, and personal views of what life's dynamics should entail. Thrity Umrigar can write. If you want an example of her artful talent, I'd suggest picking up her previous offering, Honor. Honor was a 5 Star masterpiece for me.

This current novel is a knotted, complicated journey into knotted, complicated topics. Umrigar takes on life in current India and America. She goes deep.......so deep that she injects politics of America into her writing. Fictional writing is a form of escapism. Many of us don't wish to hear the author's slant through the voice of a character. Pro or con, I just want the purity of the plot, especially when those politics have nothing to do with the storyline directly. Authors just somehow want to become relevant in these tension-filled times. I get that.

The Museum of Failures is still a worthy read. It just went long in its telling revisiting situations again and again. The ending seemed a bit contrived as well. But I'm a solid fan of Thrity Umrigar and will wait for the next one with open arms.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Algonquin Books and to Thrity Umrigar for the opportunity.

The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

India has always been a museum of failures for Remy. His fraught relationship with his mother and the recent death of his father make this last visit no different, until he begins to reckon with his complicated past and discovers nothing is as it appears.

Umrigar is unparalleled in her ability to write about the complicated relationships we have with home. She did it with Honor and again, here. While this didn't have the same propulsive energy as Honor, I found much of the writing moving, and the story impactful.

Thanks very much to @netgalley and @algonquinbooks for the advanced copy. The Museum of Failures will be available on Sept 26, 2023!

An excellent read on multiple levels. A taste of Mumbai- its massive crowds , smog, pollution , poverty and privilege of some residents and how they live. Indeed the title refers to the city itself and how it can break your heart and crush your dreams.
A young man returns to India from his home in Ohio ostensibly to adopt a child. In the process, he learns of his true family dynamics and the events, previously unknown to him, that shaped his relationship with his parents. A journey of discovery and of love, of the value of true friendship, and a discovery of what’s truly important in life.

Emotionally gripping! This heart wrenching story will have you deep in thought about your own family secrets and relationships.

Several years after his father’s death, Remy Wadia returns to his homeland in Bombay, India while his American wife Kathy remains at their home in Columbus, Ohio. The reason for his trip is to meet with the pregnant teen niece of a friend who would like to relinquish her child upon birth to Remy and Kathy for adoption. However, his immediate attention gets directed to his mother Shirin, a difficult and harsh woman during his childhood years and who is now uncommunicative and hospitalized with pneumonia. As the days and weeks unfold, Remy makes a discovery about his family that will have him reevaluate everything he believed to be true about his parents and his relationship with them.

In true Thrity Umrigar style, the novel is written with great depth and understanding about family relationships within the Indian culture. We can almost feel the grit of Bombay, taste the cuisine and feel both the richness and the pain of the societal caste system and customs.

Thank you NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read this beautiful story in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: September 26, 2023

A beautifully written book - both heart wrenching and heart warming. An exploration of family, caste, class, and the power of love. Definitely in my top 10 of 2023.