The Museum of Ordinary People: The uplifting new novel from the bestselling author of Half a World Away

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Jess after losing her mum hasn't got room for the things she would like to keep and it brings her to the museum of ordinary people where they can be stored. My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Museum of Ordinary People”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Am I going to think too hard on that and try to figure out if the book actually deserves a lower rating?

Jess Baxter has just lost her mum and has had to clear out her childhood home, which is by far one of the hardest things any of us will ever have to do. Bits and bobs are given away via Facebook, furniture goes out the door, clothes are donated to a charity shop but what about things that come attached with a multitude of memories? What about this set of encyclopaedias Jess was gifted by her mum, for instance? You can’t just throw something like that away, can you? But Jess doesn’t have any space for it anywhere. This story is about Jess who loses her mum and in the process of dealing with the practicalities following death, she comes across the ‘museum of ordinary people’. The book focuses on Jess and how her life changes after her loss but also touches on the complexities of the things we leave behind. This made it a very easy and approachable read without becoming inaccessible to those without a degree in counselling or literature. Not sure it needed the epilogue though as nice a story as it was. I was also born in Birmingham — in my humble opinion the greatest city in the world with the nicest people too. Many parts of the story were predictable, like Jess's relationship with her boyfriend and the new owner of the Museum, but what made the predictably tolerable was Jess'' dialogue and how she chooses to navigate those moments. Filled with warmth, tenderness and character. It really made me think, too – I love that it encourages us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. A gorgeous novel’– Beth O’LearyA keenly observed and warm-hearted tale of how people cope with loss and keep their dreams alive against the odds . . . a delightful read' - Ruth Hogan The Museum of Ordinary People is a heartwarming, addictive, charming story about a young museum curator and her discovery of everyday items that carry great meaning for people. Her efforts to start her museum and wade through her personal loss have the reader cheering her every move. The story also raises the interesting question about whether some truths are better left uncovered. I loved this! Highly recommend for all lovers of life.

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. Narrated by Witney White - beautiful narration that brought this story and especially Jess to life. In addition to the characters being problematic, the writing was also repetitive in places (for example - the word “anyway” was repeated at so many points in the story that I lost count after the first couple chapters), there was way too much “telling” rather than “showing” (the writing actually came off awkward in places), and the plot was a bit too contrived for my liking (there were some “twists” added near the end that were convenient but unnecessary in my opinion).The Museum of Ordinary People is a unique, honest portrayal of love and loss. Jess Baxter lost her mother to cancer and must assume the difficult (often gut-wrenching task) of going through her belongings. From the get-go we know the relationship between Jess and Guy is going to fall apart. The author has made that clear for the reader, so no surprise there.