This book has an extremely confusing format. While taking place over the course of 24 hours, there are no real chapters and you are constantly bouncing from a load of characters. I enjoy character driven stories, but this didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to a single person.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

A twisty turney mystery, all wrapped up in one day at a museum. It was a bit confusing at first, with a breakneck pace and concept, but I ended up really enjoying the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books (Washingtons Square Press) for a copy of this ARC! This book was a crazy ride from start to finish!

When I read that Mona Awad blurb this book, I knew immediately that I had to read it and after perusing the first few pages and seeing a character list was provided, I knew I was in for a wild ride.

Diane Schwebe is the director of a famous New York Museum. Supporting her are a whole array of other Museum workers: Chris, her steadfast and reliable assistant; Henry, the Museum’s lawyer; Shay, the Museum’s head of security, and many more. Friends of the Museum takes place over the course of 24 tumultuous hours on the day of the Museum’s annual Gala - meant to woo donors for their continued patronage. But as tensions mount over the course of the day, each of the characters break in their own way, one of them with their life.

This book was such interesting concept, both in topic and design. There are no chapters, which may be dismaying to some readers. Instead, this book is laid out in a sort of minute-by-minute breakdown that span approximately 24 hours. Another thing unusual about this book is the way McGowan tackles dialog. There aren’t quotation marks and words are often intermingled with action. It’s like a whisper of a screenplay that’s been novelified. It took a little bit getting used to but once my brain wrapped around the strange approach, it felt more organic and realistic than what you normally get in a book. This book is a masterclass in storytelling - specifically showing not telling.

This story also follows a very large cast of characters. At first I was concerned that I’d never be able to tell them all apart but McGowan does an incredible job of giving each character their own voice. By about half way through the book I had a strong grasp of who each person was. That said, I appreciate that the beginning of the book starts with a quick summary of the cast because I referred to it often (I thought this would be annoying but surprisingly it didn’t bother me much). These characters are all riddled with flaws, weighed down by their personal and work-related dilemmas.

I also really enjoyed the atmosphere. Over the course of the day you can feel the stress building across all the characters as they suffer mishaps both in the workplace and in their personal lives. This story is an incredible pressure cooker of a novel, a delicious slow burn tension that you can feel is building up to some sort of tragedy and McGowan does not let down. This story is gritty, uncomfortable and unapologetically human.

This book will not be for everyone. The departure of traditional dialog and chapters will no doubt worry some, as will the massive cast of characters. But I strongly encourage readers to push past these concerns and give this story a try. It’s a fantastic book!

Rating: 4.5/5
Review will be published on my website on April 7th, 2025 at the following url:
https://mishmashedmagic.com/bookblog/friends-of-the-museum-by-heather-mcgowan

I was really intrigued by the idea of this, but honestly, it was a bit hard to follow. There are so many characters and different perspectives that I got lost a few times, especially with how the dialogue jumps around. I'm not the biggest fan of a character-driven plot and it felt a little chaotic and hard to stay engaged.

While I think the setting of a museum would be ripe for conflict and story - somehow, these characters, over one day, began to lose me one by one. It was so difficult to track who was speaking when due to the nature of how this was written, and perhaps for someone else, it would have landed better.

Holy crap this is SO GOOD!!!!!! This is so fun and engaging and unlike any book I’ve read. Set over the course of one day, you’re immediately drawn in. I was worried there would be too many characters but I did feel like it worked. It took a bit to get them all straight but then I was following. As an anthropology major, this totally worked for me :)

This book has far too many characters and side characters that jumble the plot. The book is a real slog that takes more than a hundred pages to get into. While you empathize for our fraught director, you lose the impact of her plot with all the side characters.

A meandering slice-of-life novel told from many perspectives over the course of a single day. This is the type of book made to showcase both the absurdity of normal life, and the everyday tragedies humans endure. It thoroughly accomplishes that. The story is firmly grounded in its setting, a (unnamed but large) New York museum, and revolves around a major gala being hosted on the day in question. We follow a wide cast of museum employees as they go about their personal daily duties and contemplate their own lives and relationships.

I sometimes found this a little hard to follow, partially because stylistically this book is very unique. In keeping with the high art mentality the narrative is handled almost more like a screenplay than a work of literary fiction. The focus on the character studies of each narrator is far more present than any descriptive prose. I wasn’t initially expecting this but more and more felt it suited the story as I read on.

Each scene is woven together throughout the day strictly chronologically (practically minute by minute) as narrative is passed carefully back and forth. Because of this you’re thrown pretty quickly into the workplace politics and personal problems of each character while the more overarching plot lines of scandals surrounding the museum’s management take awhile to slot together. That said, at around a hundred pages in, the many POVs do begin to coalesce and from there the book starts to fly by. Overall I have to say this book was fascinating- If I felt it had a rocky start it was because there’s a lot of ground work that went into establishing the many minute details that eventually make the crux of the plot. I’d definitely recommend this, and I feel like it’ll be one that continues to pop back into my mind randomly for a long time to come. Wonderfully written.

DNF I was having trouble connecting with the characters and the story itself. The writing felt clunky. I might pick this up again eventually because the premise is interesting to me but for now it’s just not hitting.

Maybe I’m in a reading slump or maybe this author just isn’t for me, but this felt tedious to read. I gave myself a few days to read this and I just wasn’t finding myself excited to get further and further into the story. There were personally too many characters for me and I just wasn’t thrilled with this

Witty and smart page-turner! I loved reading through each character's perspective on the unique environment that is a museum staff.

DNF @20%

The premise of this book sounded so fun, but it was not at all. I had no idea who was talking or what was going on. There was a significant amount of swearing which wasn't really needed. I felt like I hadn't gotten to know or care about any of the characters by this point in the book.

The concept of this book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, the execution fell short. The novel centers on a group of employees working at a prestigious museum, following their daily routines as they maintain the institution and go about their jobs. While this kinda seems right up my alley, (no plot just vibes/crazy shit), I just found myself distracted and struggling to stay engaged.

A museum is such a rich and dynamic setting, yet the characters felt underdeveloped, and the museum itself almost served as a mere backdrop. I'm just left feeling quite puzzled and unsatisfied with this book. The writing style was rather flat, and the formatting was confusing at times. I found it difficult to follow conversations or even know who was speaking at certain points.

It just wasn't for me. The fact that I have so little to say about it, given how much I usually talk about books, basically tells you everything.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a great, yet hectic read. So many well thought out characters that kept me interested in the plot.

Friends of the Museum by Heather McGowan was a fun read to put it bluntly. Very character driven and it really puts you in the middle of everything. The fast paced dialogue using hyphens was a little unusual at first but understandable considering how fast paced the conversations are. The cover grabbed my attention first and will do the same for others on the shelves in stores and online.

DNF @ 20%

This book has put me in a major reading slump and I have to call it. Way too many characters for me to follow and way too little actually happening in the 24 hours the book supposedly covers. 2 stars may be generous but there wasn’t anything wrong with the writing for me to give it a 1-star.

Thank you for the eARC NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This had so much I thought I was going to love. The fact that my favorite author, Mona Awad, loved it made it seem so promising. Unfortunately, I had to DNF. Like many other reviewers, the writing style was a real detriment to the story. It made it so difficult to understand what was doing on, and honestly was a headache to try to read and remember all the characters.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Washington Square Press for an ARC of this book.

“Friends of the Museum” is the very definition of wonderful idea, poor execution. This novel follows a group of coworkers at a prestigious museum, and a day in their life as they maintain the museum and do their jobs. This is a book that has to be read in a short period of time, in fact I believe my lower rating of this title is due to the fact I did not read this book quickly enough. Sometimes when I picked up this book I felt unable to put it down, but the majority of the time, the book failed to hold my attention and I was left distracted.

One element I wish there was more of in this book was more ties to the characters with their setting. The setting of a museum feels like a gold mine of material, yet the characters felt quite flat, and the museum was merely a two dimensional backdrop. A piece would occasionally be mentioned, where it felt like the author was more name dropping than anything else. There was so much opportunity for the characters to interact with the art around them, and I wish we got more of that!

Friends of the Museum by Heather McGowan is a captivating exploration of human relationships, told with wit and emotional depth. Set within the walls of a museum over a single day, the novel weaves together the lives of a diverse and quirky cast of characters, each dealing with their own struggles and secrets. McGowan's decision to use time as a structural framework creates a fascinating rhythm, with each hour bringing new insights and unexpected twists. The absence of quotation marks made the dialogue flow like a play, immersing me in the scenes as if I were watching them unfold in real time. The humor, especially during the museum’s rich-people shenanigans, was spot on, and I found myself both laughing and reflecting on the deeper themes of art, life, and human frailty. It's a rich, thought-provoking read that fans of ensemble casts and character-driven stories will love. Highly recommend!

*Friends of the Museum* is a beautifully crafted novel that delves into the complexities of friendship, memory, and art. With rich characters and a poignant narrative, it explores the connections that shape our lives in unexpected ways. It's an emotionally resonant and thought-provoking read that captivates from start to finish.