Returning to Bombay to adopt a baby and see his elderly mother, Remy Wadia, stumbling upon a photograph that reveals shocking family secrets, reevaluates his entire childhood, his relationship to his parents and his harsh judgment on the decisions and events long hidden from him. - (Baker & Taylor)

"Remy Wadia left India for the United States long ago, carrying his resentment of his mother with him. He has now returned to Bombay to adopt a baby--and to see his elderly mother for the first time in several years. Discovering that she is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life, he is struck with guilt for not realizing just how sick she has become. His unexpected appearance and assiduous attention revives her and enables her to return to her home. But when Remy finds an old photograph from his adoring late father, shocking long-held family secrets surface"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

From the bestselling author of The Space Between Us comes a powerful story about family secrets, a mother's power, and the importance of forgiveness.

When Remy Wadia left India for the United States, he carried his resentment of his cold and inscrutable mother with him and has kept his distance from her. Years later, he returns to Bombay, planning to adopt a baby from a young pregnant girl—and to see his elderly mother again before it is too late. She is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life.

Struck with guilt for not realizing just how ill she had become, Remy devotes himself to helping her recover and return home. But one day in her apartment he comes upon an old photograph that demands explanation. As shocking family secrets surface, Remy finds himself reevaluating his entire childhood and his relationship to his parents, just as he is on the cusp of becoming a parent himself. Can Remy learn to forgive others for their human frailties, or is he too wedded to his sorrow and anger over his parents’ long-ago decisions?

Surprising, devastating, and ultimately a story of redemption and healing still possible between a mother and son, The Museum of Failures is a tour de force from one of our most elegant storytellers about the mixed bag of love and regret. It is also, above all, a much-needed reminder that forgiveness comes from empathy for others. - (Grand Central Pub)

Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of nine previous novels, including Honor, which was a Reese's Book Club Pick, as well as three picture books and a memoir. Her books have been published in over fifteen countries and in several languages. A former journalist, she has contributed to the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and other newspapers.  She is a recipient of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard, and winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Seth Rosenberg prize and a Lambda Literary award.  She is currently a Distinguished University Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University. - (Grand Central Pub)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* When Remy Wadia returns to Bombay from his home in Ohio to adopt a baby and visit his mother, he learns that the baby's birth mother, Monaz, is rethinking her plan to give up her child for adoption, and discovers that his own mother, Shirin, has been hospitalized for pneumonia. These quick plot turns highlight life's unpredictability, a theme that runs through the book. As Remy learns harsh truths about his parents' choices and comes to understand how they determined the course of his life, he also gets an opportunity to define the man he wants to be. Remy's fractured relationship with his ailing mother provides a strong story arc, and his complicated love for his birth city makes for a meditative study of Bombay in its many moods. The story of the Wadia family is a sensitive exploration of love in its different forms—romantic, maternal, filial, platonic—and forgiveness. Umrigar's fluid prose and well-wrought characters capture the milieu of the Parsi community past and present. Paired with the emotionally demanding story line, this is a compelling read. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.