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purplepenning's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This got just a little melodramatic for my tastes, but it's an engaging, well-written, community-oriented story that stands well with the author's previous book, All the Lonely People, and should work for fans of Anxious People, The Authenticity Project, and Maame. Despite, or maybe because of (grief is a funny thing) having lost my mom relatively recently, I didn't find this one quite as unexpectedly charming and touching as All the Lonely People.
The Museum of Ordinary People is sort of a late coming-of-age tale about grief, losing and finding oneself, the people we're meant to keep in our lives, the people we're meant to let go, and the extraordinary ordinary people and things we could all see a little more clearly and think about a little more deeply. Populated with realistic and relatable characters (main character Jess is, in particular, perfectly written and developed), the book is also given a suitably simple, warm tone by the audiobook narration.
The Museum of Ordinary People is sort of a late coming-of-age tale about grief, losing and finding oneself, the people we're meant to keep in our lives, the people we're meant to let go, and the extraordinary ordinary people and things we could all see a little more clearly and think about a little more deeply. Populated with realistic and relatable characters (main character Jess is, in particular, perfectly written and developed), the book is also given a suitably simple, warm tone by the audiobook narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Antisemitism, Cancer, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism
Minor: Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Violence, Abortion, and Hate crime
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