Scan barcode
A review by mishale1
The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I love magical realism, it’s my favorite genre yet it feels so hard to find. There aren’t a bunch of magical realism books that come out every year, you know? So I was very excited about this one and I found it to be a very enjoyable, unique story.
Myra doesn’t have many ties to the outside world. She’s very dedicated to her own private world and her best friend encouraged her to share that world and her stories online.
Myra has a minuscule mansion (do not call it a dollhouse, that infuriates Myra). This beautiful house was given to her when she was a small child by her grandfather, it belonged to his wife Trixie. Myra didn’t have much time with her step-grandmother, she entered Myra’s life at age 3 and passed away on Myra’s 5th birthday. But Trixie made an impact and she left Myra with a lot of memories.
As an adult, Myra spends all of her time caring for and redecorating the miniature mansion. She works online. She doesn’t leave her house. She barely knows how her phone works. Honestly, this aspect of the story is quite sad.
Myra’s best friend encouraged her to write stories and post pictures of the mansion online. Myra’s site is incredibly popular.
One day, something unthinkable strange happens: a man named Alex reaches out to Myra. His family’s actual house looks exactly like Myra’s mini mansion. Exactly. Even the Toni details in Myra’s mansion, little pieces of artwork or furniture, exist in full size in the real mansion.
There’s something magical going on here. Myra has always known there’s some magic to the mansion but she doesn’t know anything more than that.
There’s also a third character in the story that we meet in the past, her story is threaded throughout this story and she has ties to the mansion.
Very unique story. It was sad at times. I do think the story ended somewhat suddenly, I could definitely have gone for some extra explanations at the end. But there’s magic involved, I shouldn’t expect explained, right?
Myra doesn’t have many ties to the outside world. She’s very dedicated to her own private world and her best friend encouraged her to share that world and her stories online.
Myra has a minuscule mansion (do not call it a dollhouse, that infuriates Myra). This beautiful house was given to her when she was a small child by her grandfather, it belonged to his wife Trixie. Myra didn’t have much time with her step-grandmother, she entered Myra’s life at age 3 and passed away on Myra’s 5th birthday. But Trixie made an impact and she left Myra with a lot of memories.
As an adult, Myra spends all of her time caring for and redecorating the miniature mansion. She works online. She doesn’t leave her house. She barely knows how her phone works. Honestly, this aspect of the story is quite sad.
Myra’s best friend encouraged her to write stories and post pictures of the mansion online. Myra’s site is incredibly popular.
One day, something unthinkable strange happens: a man named Alex reaches out to Myra. His family’s actual house looks exactly like Myra’s mini mansion. Exactly. Even the Toni details in Myra’s mansion, little pieces of artwork or furniture, exist in full size in the real mansion.
There’s something magical going on here. Myra has always known there’s some magic to the mansion but she doesn’t know anything more than that.
There’s also a third character in the story that we meet in the past, her story is threaded throughout this story and she has ties to the mansion.
Very unique story. It was sad at times. I do think the story ended somewhat suddenly, I could definitely have gone for some extra explanations at the end. But there’s magic involved, I shouldn’t expect explained, right?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Cancer