The Museum Of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle – Blog Tour Review.

About The Book

Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she’s ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold.

But when in the process Jess stumbles across the mysterious Alex, together they become custodians of a strange archive of letters, photographs, curios and collections known as The Museum of Ordinary People.

As they begin to delve into the history of the objects in their care, Alex and Jess not only unravel heartbreaking stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long buried secrets that lie much closer to home.

Inspired by a box of mementos found abandoned in a skip following a house clearance, The Museum of Ordinary Peopleis a thought-provoking and poignant story of memory, grief, loss and the things we leave behind.

My Review

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I have never read a novel by Mike Gayle before and the first thing I did after finishing this lovely novel was look for his back catalogue. He is an author I had heard of via other readers but with being in a genre I never usually read I never looked at closely. More fool me!

When Jess has to deal with the heartbreak of losing her mother and followed very closely by the necessary task of house clearance she is overwhelmed by the memories that it brings. It is something that I have never had to do, thankfully, but know many who have and many of them have said how it feels.

There are items she reluctantly has to let go, but there are a few that she can’t bear to part with, even though she has no room for them in the home she shares with her boyfriend Guy. And that is where the museum comes in, who agree to take in her encyclopaedias and which consequently takes over her life. Jess, Alex and the small group of people who all work closely together never see the items as junk. They appreciate that everything they are looking after meant something to someone during their lives. But not all of them have happy memories for their former owners, which at first Jess and Alex hadn’t considered.

I loved everything about this novel. The lifelong friendships, the new friends met through the museum and the way that the stories connected to the items were revealed. The realisation that not everybody wants the same thing from a relationship, and the dignity in the way that was handled. I also liked the way that Jess was towards Alex, seeing his personality rather than his scars.

I feel that this is one of those novels that everyone will enjoy, it is one of those where everybody will feel differing emotions whilst reading it. Some may have regrets, some may remember events from their own family life that had long been forgotten and I would hope that every reader will realise that all of us can give a loved one something to reflect on in throughout their own life.

I thought this was a wonderful novel.