The Museum of Broken Promises
Paperback Published on: 02/04/2020
Price: £9.99
Synopsis
'Enthralling and beautifully written.' The Times'
'Shot through with the white heat of first love' Daily Mail _________
Welcome to the Museum of Broken Promises,
a place of wonder, sadness ... and hope.
Inside lies a treasure trove of objects - a baby's shoe, a wedding veil, a railway ticket - all revealing 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 ADORE cold-war novels and I live for love stories - The Museum of Broken Promises is a perfect combination of both. It's a gem of a book... beautiful, elegant.' Marian Keyes
Publisher information
- Publisher: Atlantic Books
- ISBN: 9781786495310
- Number of pages: 416
- Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 27 mm
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
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A museum like no other!
A fable for our times...“The Museum of Broken Promises,” asks us to consider what we have lost in our lives. Buried secrets, hidden trinkets and unforeseen... READ MORE
A beautiful journey through the history and a touching story of lost love
"Why a museum devoted to broken promises? Which one of us has not experienced a broken promise in our lives? Ether we made it and broke it. Or, someone mad... READ MORE
Broken promises
I was looking forward to reading this book as the premise of it captivated me. But sadly it failed to deliver. The story is very slow developing and I lost... READ MORE
Mixed feelings
I was sent an uncorrected proof copy of The Museum of Broken Promises by Elizabeth Buchan to read and review by NetGalley.
I was really keen to read and re... READ MORE
A beautiful fiction
Laure has built a museum unlike any other, one where you can donate the most simple objects and it what they symbolise that counts. The symbol being a brok... READ MORE
Beautiful story
I must admit, I was drawn into this book by that beautiful cover - but as it turns out, the story inside was just as lovely!
The story follows Laure right... READ MORE
The Vlatka
This is a deceptive book as the initial chapters lead you to believe that the bulk of the story will take place within The Museum of Broken Promises in Par... READ MORE
Emotional
This is the story of Laure. It looks between her life in Prague in 1985, and her life in present day Paris where she is curator of a curious museum. As cur... READ MORE
Something to get your teeth into!
I loved this book it was so well researched and both sensitively and intriguingly written.
Set in three time periods, each in a different European City sh... READ MORE
Moving, memorable and thought-provoking.
Halfway through her first year at university twenty-year-old Laure, feeling overcome with grief following the death of her father, breaks down and knows sh... READ MORE
Impactful
Elizabeth Buchan has created an extremely impactful and unique story with 'The Museum of Broken Promises'. Museums are places that have always fascinated m... READ MORE
It had the potential to be so much better
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book, but I felt like it could have been so much better. The book's main character is Laure, a museum curator currently l... READ MORE
Fabulous Book
I absolutely loved this book.
It pulled at my heart from the opening and took me vividly into the city of Paris to a unique museum that explores simple and... READ MORE
Must read
Set in Austria, this charming book ventures into the idea of self redemption and acceptance making this a feel good book in my opinion. This book is very m... READ MORE
Simply superb
A simply superb read which is beautifully written and crafted; it has effortlessly made its way onto my list of the top books of 2019. This is a novel that... READ MORE
Historical but hard going
Laure is the curator of The Museum of Broken Promises, a place where objects hold significant meaning to the person who donates them. Although Laure seems ... READ MORE
Gorgeous Book
This is an absolutely gorgeous book. I was absolutely charmed by the cover and title, so simple but with hidden depth. The story depicts the life of Laure ... READ MORE
Beautiful and captivating read
This novel takes us to the streets of modern day Paris, Communist Prague and post-Cold War Berlin. What really drew me in is the hauntingly beautiful idea ... READ MORE
A good read
This is the first Elizabeth Buchan novel that I have read and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. I had one or two niggling doubts about it but overall I lik... READ MORE
Charming trip to Paris
Right from the start, this book is sure to pull at your heart strings! It will transport you to a super quirky museum in modern Paris where the exhibitions... READ MORE
Beautifully written...but not quite what I expected
The Museum of Broken Promises follows the life of Laure Carlyle across three different time spans: in present day Paris, where she has set up her Museum of... READ MORE
Hmmmm!
I thought I was going to enjoy this book more than I did. The history in the book is certainly fascinating and well written and I like how the story unfold... READ MORE
Very captivating
The book starts off with a prologue, which in my opinion, was so intriguing I am a little sad it ended there. I wanted to know more of what happened immedi... READ MORE
A beautifully written, fascinating story with a historical heart
The concept behind the Museum of Broken Promises immediately captured my attention and is something I could imagine there being in real life. The museum co... READ MORE
An original concept but a disappointing execution with a cast I struggled to invest in.
Although I wouldn’t consider myself a typical audience for a love-story, I was drawn in by the original concept of The Museum of Broken Promises combined w... READ MORE
A museum I want to visit
The concept of a museum where people donate items symbolising a broken promise frames the central story of life in the later years of Czechoslovakia. It ha... READ MORE
Enjoyable read
I really enjoyed this book. There is a sense of place and time that the author creates while taking us from Prague in the 1980's, Berlin in the 90's to pre... READ MORE
Unexpected story
The museum in this book collects objects that belonged to people who've had promises broken, quite an interesting and usual thing. At the start, we follow ... READ MORE
:)
I have to admit that this book is actually quite challenging to get into the start, but I promise - once you do, you will be very happy with the award. I m... READ MORE
Cold War Love
This book is written in such a poetic and beautiful way. It really transports you to the places described. It is a story about Laure, the curator of the Mu... READ MORE
i won this book
i won this book in one of the competitions and it has only just arrived so i haven't read it yet but i can't wait to read it and it looks like an amazing b... READ MORE
Betrayal, passion and rebellion under Cold War oppression
The Museum of Broken Promises is one of those beautifully clever and poignant books that should be savoured, but I found it difficult to read slowly.
The... READ MORE
A really good book
This book reels the reader in straight from the start. The Museum is a curious place full of all sorts of weird and wonderful items. All of these different... READ MORE
Intriguing Read
I enjoyed the novel's unique settings - the protagonist curates an unusual museum and it's interesting when members of the public bring in weird objects fo... READ MORE
great historical fiction
I really liked this book, the cover was absolutely brilliant, I had to have it as soon as I saw it. ... READ MORE
A stunning read.
On the surface this read as being about a woman and an obscure museum. However, it soon turned into something much more meaningful and poignant. This book ... READ MORE
A good story, if a bit clunkily written.
This is more of a 3.5 star review, but I’ve rounded up as I particularly enjoyed the last few chapters.
Set in a Europe where communism and capitalism are... READ MORE
Interesting
I really enjoyed this book. I got this book by entering the competition for this book in the website and I was surprised that I won it because I have never... READ MORE
A heart-breaking journey into the past
A heart-breaking journey into the past.
This fascinating story opens in present-day Paris, in a museum dedicated to 'broken dreams’. Various objects that ... READ MORE
Has a quiet composure which makes its voice all the more striking.
Artefacts housed in "The Museum of Broken Promises" have completed a pilgrimage that is both mournful and poignant.
This voluntary act of ‘donating’ a si... READ MORE
A beautiful novel that captures the art of self-redemption and acceptance
The museum of broken promises is a beautifully written novel that I was engaged in from the very beginning. After only reading the prologue I was extremely... READ MORE
Beautifully written
The story opens up at a train station in Austria, where a young girl waits nervously for the man she has fallen in love with. The writer then takes us on a... READ MORE
Fantastic historical novel
Have you ever read a book which not only impacts you but also educates you? Well the museum of broken promises did both to me. I have been to Berlin and I ... READ MORE
Enjoyable read!
actual rating: 3.25/5 stars (I know I'm being ridiculously picky)
The Museum of Broken Promises is a beautiful and haunting tale, which I thoroughly enjoye... READ MORE
Memorable & Haunting
Wonderful and haunting, this is the story of Laure and her time in Prague in the 1980's. Even though I know little about this period in history, this book ... READ MORE
lovely read
Firstly the cover is one of the nicest I’ve seen this year and I must admit this is what made me pick the book up . I’ve read others by this author and enj... READ MORE
A slow burn, beautifully written tale of dark, oppressive times.
My feelings about this book are a real anomaly, the writing itself is exquisite and beautifully manipulated to portray some very dark times in political hi... READ MORE
The story was good
I honestly thought I would enjoy this book much more than I did. The writing was good, the story was good (but familiar from another author in a different ... READ MORE
A beautiful read
The Museum of Broken Promises is Laure’s story, told through a split time line between the present day Paris, Prague in 1986 with a small stop off in Berli... READ MORE
Enjoyable
Wouldn't say this book was disappointing, as I did enjoy, just ended up really not being for me. I struggled to get into it properly. So unfortunately I di... READ MORE
Soul Searing and Emotionally Healing
Laure is the proprietor of a unique museum in Paris. Instead of historical paraphernalia, the museum displays personal items, each one the symbol of a brok... READ MORE
I loved it!
This fascinating and intriguing story starts in 1986 as Laure Carlyle waits for Tomas to escape from Prague at the first train station stop in Austria afte... READ MORE
Disappointing!
I lost interest in this book quickly. The synopsis made the book seem better than it actually is. Found it hard to follow!