The Museum of You

The Museum of You by Carys Bray tells the story of Clover and her father Darren from the point of view of both of them. Both are stuck in a a no-man's land caused by the death of Clover's mother when she was a baby. One hot summer, after years of waiting for her father to tell her about her mother, Clover takes things into her own hands. Her mother's things have been left in a room following her death, Clover decides to implement the curating skills she learnt on a Museum trip to tell the story of her mother's life.

The book then takes on a third voice as we see the real story behind the different artefacts that Clover unearths in the cupboards and boxes.
The book is about memory,grief, guilt and pain but it also explores the idea of what is a family. Clover has an uncle with issues, a stubborn grandfather, and a surrogate grandmother in her next door neighbour.

Clover is an entertaining character and the childlike innocent view that she brings to her mother's things is an interesting slant on the actual real-life story.
It is a quiet story but there is plenty to discuss in this novel for book groups exploring the issues of family, grief and misunderstandings.