Title: The Museum of Forgotten Memories
Written: 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
The cover of this book said “Gripped me utterly... Superb”, Kate Furnivall. I agree with this. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I had a deep emotional agreement with Leo. He was, in the novel, born with Downs. I had worked in Taupo (New Zealand)’s IHC a few years ago where a young man died from his Downs. I also had an uncle, many years ago, who was epileptic and died during his seizure. I could relate to Cate a lot. If you’ve ever been to a museum and found it so full of information and history, then this tale is certainly about that, but it’s also about Cate and Leo and surviving after husband and father.
Cate and Leo are the family of Richard Lyons-Morris (pronounced Lee-on Morris: they used to get upset when people called them Lions Morris). That was why Leo, their son, was named Leo – people should pronounce his surname correctly. Except Richard didn’t like his surname, just used Morris.
Richard had what could be called a DNA problem – he became very depressed, lost a lot of weight, and killed himself. Just as his own father had done. Cate found out a lot of history about Richard from the woman who looked after the museum, Araminta Buchan – not particularly good at the start; Araminta was, Cate felt, stuck up with herself.
After Richard had died Cate and Leo were left homeless – or would have been, if they weren’t given a home at Richard’s family museum. It was supposed to be for a “real descendant”, and that was Leo, even though the Trust didn’t think he was “real” because of his Downs. Cate, and eventually Araminta, supported Leo and kept them there.
At the start Cate didn’t really like the museum, but, because it was her home now, she helped Araminta to get it ready to re-open. Unfortunately there were some protestors that same day who threw paint around in the diorama, covering the glass and the floor. Later that same night a fire burns inside, not caused by protestors yet almost as devastating. Curtis, a new friend of Leo’s, calls out many neighbours who come and help lift things out of the library and the diorama and other areas of the museum, but Cate burns herself, quite seriously. Many volunteers come and help them to clean and get everything back inside, where it needs to be.
Araminta Buchan tells Cate stories of the family and how she fits in. Her job is to keep this museum running, her admiration of the person who started it, Colonel Hugo Lyons-Morris, and her love of other people in the family. Why?
Cate’s love tales include Richard, Simon and Patch. Read the excellent novel and feel sad, feel happy, feel involved with Cate and her son, Leo. It’s a wonderful novel by Anstey Harris.
No comments:
Post a Comment