Elizabeth Buchan – The Museum Of Broken Promises

‘The Museum Of Broken Promises’ by Elizabeth Buchan is a beautiful if rather poignant story of love, loss and all the things inbetween.

It begins with Laure, in the present day, running a Museum Of Broken Promises in Paris. It is full of objects that the public have donated that represent their losses, betrayals and also their grief. Laure has her own items ensconsed with the museum also, hiding her unknown tragic past.

Then we move into alternate timelines, the present day and Prague 1985. Laure has stopped her studies due to the loss of her father and decides to take a job as an au pair within Communist Prague. She finds life hard there, not entirely realising how much freedom she will lose AND working for a hardline party man also! Being behind the Iron Curtain is worse than she imagined. Laure makes friends with a dissident group and soon finds herself being torn apart between them and her employer. She then finds herself falling in love with the leader of the group, Tomas, a young musician and goes to great and dangerous lengths to be with him and she suffers the consequences.

The museum is founded on Laure’s life and she sets it up with help from a generous donor with the hope she can at last, let go of the losses and bitterness she has ezperienced throughout her life..
As I say it is a beautifully written novel with fantastic research for the historical detail. I felt the supression in Prague, the tension is almost touchable and Paris is so light and happy in comparison!

With thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours, @CorvusBooks and @elizabethbuchan for allowing me to be a part of this #TheMuseumOfBrokenPromises blog tour.