A review by aaronrosenblum
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets by Oksana Zabuzhko

4.0

WHEW. Sprawling, epic, messy, psychologically astute, historically and philosophically rich, brave even when quavering, a lantern in the darkness searching for one honest person. Essentialist about gender and (Ukrainian) nationalism, which I found problematic but still interesting. So long. Mary Robinette Kowal did a great job narrating the audiobook.
I think I will return to pieces of this, particularly

Spoiler

Адріан's conversation with his father about how the pressure to succeed and provide for one's family continues even when it is comically impossible, like under the USSR; the NKVD officer's defenses of archival suppression and "not looking"; and the burying of "secrets" (foil and glass artworks) by young girls, a quasi-ritual game and evolution of burying ikons to hide them from the Soviets

Spoiler