#BlogTour The Museum of Broken Promises – Elizabeth Buchan

“Welcome to The Museum of Broken Promises, a place of wonder and sadness. And hope.

Inside lies a treasure trove of objects – a baby’s shoe, a wedding veil, a railway ticket – all revealing real moments of loss and betrayal. It is a place where people come to speak to the ghosts of the past. The owner, Laure, is also one of those people.

As a young woman in the 1980s Laure fled to Prague, where her life changed forever. Now, years later, she must confront the origins of her heart-breaking exhibition: A love affair with a dissident musician, a secret life behind the iron curtain, and a broken promise that she will never forget.”

I was very lucky to win a copy of Elizabeth Buchan’s Museum of Broken Promises and what an absolute delight of a book it is! Laure is such a fascinating character and I really enjoyed reading about her experiences in Prague. I have visited several times so it felt familiar for me but I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been would be at all disadvantaged, indeed it may even bump it up your “must visit” list (albeit once the current crisis calms down). Prague is such a wonderful city and the during the 1980s had so much going on that was perhaps unseen to a lot of the world. Initially I felt she was frustratingly naive but I really warmed to her as the pages turned and I became more involved in her story. Having chapters set in either the present or the past really worked for me, I like the back and forth and feel it adds a lot of depth both to Laure is a character but more widely to the storyline.

The concept behind the museum design is so clever. I enjoy visiting museums as much as the next person, but have to say I can often get a bit tired and restless after an hour or two, even when looking at exhibits on people or places that really interest me. The idea of a really personal collection of items with stories which really meant something appeals to me greatly. I wish this was a real place that could be visited. It’s such a great scene to set the story around. I felt a lot of nostalgia and almost melancholy when reading

The Museum of Broken Promises is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.