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The Souvenir Museum
Award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken is an undisputed virtuoso of the short story, and this new collection features her most vibrant and heartrending work to date
In these stories, the mysterious bonds of family are tested, transformed, fractured, and fortified. A recent widower and his adult son ferry to a craggy Scottish island in search of puffins. An actress who plays a children’s game-show villainess ushers in the New Year with her deadbeat half brother. A mother, pining for her children, feasts on loaves of challah to fill the void. A new couple navigates a tightrope walk toward love. And on a trip to a Texas water park with their son, two fathers each confront a personal fear.
With sentences that crackle and spark and showcase her trademark wit, McCracken traces how our closely held desires—for intimacy, atonement, comfort—bloom and wither against the indifferent passing of time. Her characters embark on journeys that leave them indelibly changed—and so do her readers. The Souvenir Museum showcases the talents of one of our finest contemporary writers as she tenderly takes the pulse of our collective and individual lives.
In these stories, the mysterious bonds of family are tested, transformed, fractured, and fortified. A recent widower and his adult son ferry to a craggy Scottish island in search of puffins. An actress who plays a children’s game-show villainess ushers in the New Year with her deadbeat half brother. A mother, pining for her children, feasts on loaves of challah to fill the void. A new couple navigates a tightrope walk toward love. And on a trip to a Texas water park with their son, two fathers each confront a personal fear.
With sentences that crackle and spark and showcase her trademark wit, McCracken traces how our closely held desires—for intimacy, atonement, comfort—bloom and wither against the indifferent passing of time. Her characters embark on journeys that leave them indelibly changed—and so do her readers. The Souvenir Museum showcases the talents of one of our finest contemporary writers as she tenderly takes the pulse of our collective and individual lives.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 13, 2021
513 people are currently reading
10399 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth McCracken
46 books989 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Elizabeth McCracken (born 1966) is an American author. She is married to the novelist Edward Carey, with whom she has two children - August George Carey Harvey and Matilda Libby Mary Harvey. An earlier child died before birth, an experience which formed the basis for McCracken's memoir, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination.
McCracken, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts, and holds a degree in library science from Simmons College, a women's college in Boston. McCracken currently lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, where she is an artist-in-residence at Skidmore College. She is the sister of PC World magazine editor-in-chief Harry McCracken.
Elizabeth McCracken (born 1966) is an American author. She is married to the novelist Edward Carey, with whom she has two children - August George Carey Harvey and Matilda Libby Mary Harvey. An earlier child died before birth, an experience which formed the basis for McCracken's memoir, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination.
McCracken, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts, and holds a degree in library science from Simmons College, a women's college in Boston. McCracken currently lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, where she is an artist-in-residence at Skidmore College. She is the sister of PC World magazine editor-in-chief Harry McCracken.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 513 reviews
April 30, 2021
3.5 stars rounded up.
For me, it’s rare to like every story in a collection, so I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t connect with all of these. There were a few where I was grasping for the meaning. In spite of that, I have to round this up to 4 stars because I found more than half of the dozen stories here to be worthy of reading and the writing is lovely. I particularly enjoyed the stories with recurring characters from the first story, “An Irish Wedding.” I loved Sadie and Jack, a fabulous young couple (not the bride and groom in the story) . I enjoyed being taken back in their lives and finding out more about Jack’s oddball family, how they met, and forward to their future in the other stories focusing on them. Jack and Sadie saved the book for me along with a few other touching stories. One of my favorites was “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark”, An endearing story of two dads whose love of their son brings them closer . “Proof” is also a moving depiction of a father whose memory is failing and his son who takes his father to Scotland and learns about his father as well as himself. Themes of family and leaving home are depicted here. Overall, I enjoyed it.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.
For me, it’s rare to like every story in a collection, so I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t connect with all of these. There were a few where I was grasping for the meaning. In spite of that, I have to round this up to 4 stars because I found more than half of the dozen stories here to be worthy of reading and the writing is lovely. I particularly enjoyed the stories with recurring characters from the first story, “An Irish Wedding.” I loved Sadie and Jack, a fabulous young couple (not the bride and groom in the story) . I enjoyed being taken back in their lives and finding out more about Jack’s oddball family, how they met, and forward to their future in the other stories focusing on them. Jack and Sadie saved the book for me along with a few other touching stories. One of my favorites was “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark”, An endearing story of two dads whose love of their son brings them closer . “Proof” is also a moving depiction of a father whose memory is failing and his son who takes his father to Scotland and learns about his father as well as himself. Themes of family and leaving home are depicted here. Overall, I enjoyed it.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.
September 27, 2021
These family contemporary comic-tragic short stories follow Sadie and Jack in several of the novellas. They are feisty, intelligent, dramatic > chirpy-good!
Gay, straight, married, single, widowed, parenting, in love, or preposterous to fit together, British, Jewish, goy, dead, or alive, for better or worse, young, middle aged and old, kids, prodigy or special, dogs, biological, or adoptive, freelancers, punctual or late,
strangers, broad-shouldered, or stout, these stories tickled my elbow, knee, head and heart bones.
It’s nice to laugh!
“Everything seemed fine then.
Everything seemed absolutely ordinary, Sadie in her terrible jumpsuit with the empire waist, looking like an
ottoman”…..
Yep… everything and these stories were ‘fine’!
Gay, straight, married, single, widowed, parenting, in love, or preposterous to fit together, British, Jewish, goy, dead, or alive, for better or worse, young, middle aged and old, kids, prodigy or special, dogs, biological, or adoptive, freelancers, punctual or late,
strangers, broad-shouldered, or stout, these stories tickled my elbow, knee, head and heart bones.
It’s nice to laugh!
“Everything seemed fine then.
Everything seemed absolutely ordinary, Sadie in her terrible jumpsuit with the empire waist, looking like an
ottoman”…..
Yep… everything and these stories were ‘fine’!
May 6, 2021
Bookended by a wedding, these stories feature people who after an unusual, sometimes perilous happenings, have moments of insight. Four stories featuring Jack and Sadie, the first Sadie travels to England to meet Jacks family. Very unusual people, this story was amusing but my thoughts were if I were Sadie I'd get out now. The next story featuring the couple has Jack meeting her mother, my thought then was Jack was going to have a handful of responsibility. The other two are updates, glimpses of their lives as they continue their relationship.
I also enjoyed Proof, featuring a father and son, a tender story. Walk through the human heart, a very unusual story that shows the strength of a mother's love, albeit in a strange way.
"She knew her maternal love would always be edged with meaness, so as to matter: sometimes you needed a blade to get results."
Another favorite is Robinson Crusoe at the water park, where two gay men take their son, a trip that turns out have a bit of a scare. It does have a very nice ending."One of the things he hadn't realized before having a child: how many ways there were to die of self-confidence.
There were a few I didn't care for but inn the whole, in enjoyed these. McCracken is a terrific writer.
ARC from Edelweiss.
I also enjoyed Proof, featuring a father and son, a tender story. Walk through the human heart, a very unusual story that shows the strength of a mother's love, albeit in a strange way.
"She knew her maternal love would always be edged with meaness, so as to matter: sometimes you needed a blade to get results."
Another favorite is Robinson Crusoe at the water park, where two gay men take their son, a trip that turns out have a bit of a scare. It does have a very nice ending."One of the things he hadn't realized before having a child: how many ways there were to die of self-confidence.
There were a few I didn't care for but inn the whole, in enjoyed these. McCracken is a terrific writer.
ARC from Edelweiss.
August 9, 2021
A real pro gives us some great stories!
I’m a sucker for short story collections, and I so often hit gold. And I did here! Wow. I loved a few, liked a bunch, said meh to a couple. But overall, it was a great collection—I mean, I really like this author’s style—her captivating language, plot, and characters. Just wait till you read some of the quotes, below—just wowser. (Permission to skip to the quotes if you can’t stand to wait, lol.).
I’ve been curious about this writer ever since I heard Ann Patchett praise her. Apparently, they were at a writer’s retreat together and became bosom buddies. I could just see them drinking tea together while joyfully critiquing each other’s work in little cabins buried in some lush rainforest. Any friend of Ann is a friend of mine, lol. No, seriously, if Ann Patchett likes her writing and I like Ann Patchett so much, it only makes sense that I’d like Elizabeth McCracken. She is one smart cookie—and a born storyteller.
Joy Jar
-Quirky characters who let you in on what they’re thinking. Great little character studies.
-Chiseled sentences. The language is SO good!
-The stories made me stop and think. Little nuggets of wisdom tossed in here and there.
-Even though many of the stories didn’t have real closure, I liked how they showed splices of rich, off-kilter life.
-Quirky and intriguing storylines.
-There’s an off-beat couple, Jack and Sadie, who appear in four of the 12 stories. I liked seeing them at different times of their life.
-Learned a bunch of new words, which is always fun as long as the book isn’t overrun with SAT words. It wasn’t, here—the author sprinkled in the perfect amount.
-The first story made me conduct a survey (see Complaint Board)—fun fun fun!
-My very favorite story was “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark.”
Complaint Board:
-Occasionally the author is borderline too heady.
-The images are usually good, but occasionally they’re too much—at those times, it seems the author gets carried away with trying to describe objects too well, too creatively, too Iowa grad-school-y. Or maybe too writer’s retreat-y.
-In the opening story, “The Irish Wedding,” there’s an American slang phrase that is sort of pivotal. I didn’t know the phrase, so when the main character cracked up, I didn’t know why. I was left out of the joke. She did give its meaning when she calmed down, but I had missed the point of her laughing, which sort of ruined the story for me. It seemed wrong for the author to pick a phrase that wasn’t known by all Americans. (And what if this story is published in other countries? The phrase will be lost on them, too.) However, on the upside, I frantically surveyed everyone I know to see if they knew the phrase—I always love me a good survey, and I love the conversations that happen at survey time. I’m blown away that most people had heard of the phrase. How did I miss it? (I know I’ve gotten you all curious now, but let me say the phrase is really sophomoric and stupid!) I could have lived my whole life and never missed knowing this phrase. Authors: please don’t put it in a story! It wasn’t fun that I had a complaint about the very first story; it had me worried about future tales. (It turned out that this was the only story that made me complain, thank god.)
I just spent an hour transcribing some of my favorite passages—a real kick because I got to hear some golden sentences again. The list of quotes was hugundous, so I made myself pick just ten. Fat chance! I hate when I don’t obey myself, but I had to sneak in an extra. I wanted to ignore my rule of 10 altogether and go hog wild—the hell with my stupid rule! But, sigh, my review is already way too long!
Quotes:
“Outside of the car the rain was friendlier than it had been on the car windows, over friendly, wet and insinuating, running its fingers through their hair and down the backs of their collars.”
“What could be sadder in a marriage than incompatible feelings about bagpipes?”
“It struck him as feeble-minded, to stare at the throats and tails of birds for a flush or flash, just so you could name them.”
“David was not superstitious except in this way: he liked to feel lucky.”
“Gravity is hilarious, until it kills you.”
“…pessimism is a form of cowardice…”
“My apartment had only a small fiberglass shower I had to fit myself into, as though it were a science fiction pod that transported me to nowhere…”
“How can it be that I felt like this, over so little? It was as though I’d rubbed two sticks together and they’d detonated in my lap.”
“He was a lifelong shrugger. It was the genuflection of the devout fuckup.”
“The time that living with another person took up! The small talk! The politeness! Life alone was banal, too, but at least the banality wasn’t narrated.”
“A radio station was another way grown-ups could talk to you without ever having to listen.”
I thank Ann Patchett for leading me to this fantastic short-story writer. Believe me, this won’t be the last thing I read by her.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
I’m a sucker for short story collections, and I so often hit gold. And I did here! Wow. I loved a few, liked a bunch, said meh to a couple. But overall, it was a great collection—I mean, I really like this author’s style—her captivating language, plot, and characters. Just wait till you read some of the quotes, below—just wowser. (Permission to skip to the quotes if you can’t stand to wait, lol.).
I’ve been curious about this writer ever since I heard Ann Patchett praise her. Apparently, they were at a writer’s retreat together and became bosom buddies. I could just see them drinking tea together while joyfully critiquing each other’s work in little cabins buried in some lush rainforest. Any friend of Ann is a friend of mine, lol. No, seriously, if Ann Patchett likes her writing and I like Ann Patchett so much, it only makes sense that I’d like Elizabeth McCracken. She is one smart cookie—and a born storyteller.
Joy Jar
-Quirky characters who let you in on what they’re thinking. Great little character studies.
-Chiseled sentences. The language is SO good!
-The stories made me stop and think. Little nuggets of wisdom tossed in here and there.
-Even though many of the stories didn’t have real closure, I liked how they showed splices of rich, off-kilter life.
-Quirky and intriguing storylines.
-There’s an off-beat couple, Jack and Sadie, who appear in four of the 12 stories. I liked seeing them at different times of their life.
-Learned a bunch of new words, which is always fun as long as the book isn’t overrun with SAT words. It wasn’t, here—the author sprinkled in the perfect amount.
-The first story made me conduct a survey (see Complaint Board)—fun fun fun!
-My very favorite story was “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark.”
Complaint Board:
-Occasionally the author is borderline too heady.
-The images are usually good, but occasionally they’re too much—at those times, it seems the author gets carried away with trying to describe objects too well, too creatively, too Iowa grad-school-y. Or maybe too writer’s retreat-y.
-In the opening story, “The Irish Wedding,” there’s an American slang phrase that is sort of pivotal. I didn’t know the phrase, so when the main character cracked up, I didn’t know why. I was left out of the joke. She did give its meaning when she calmed down, but I had missed the point of her laughing, which sort of ruined the story for me. It seemed wrong for the author to pick a phrase that wasn’t known by all Americans. (And what if this story is published in other countries? The phrase will be lost on them, too.) However, on the upside, I frantically surveyed everyone I know to see if they knew the phrase—I always love me a good survey, and I love the conversations that happen at survey time. I’m blown away that most people had heard of the phrase. How did I miss it? (I know I’ve gotten you all curious now, but let me say the phrase is really sophomoric and stupid!) I could have lived my whole life and never missed knowing this phrase. Authors: please don’t put it in a story! It wasn’t fun that I had a complaint about the very first story; it had me worried about future tales. (It turned out that this was the only story that made me complain, thank god.)
I just spent an hour transcribing some of my favorite passages—a real kick because I got to hear some golden sentences again. The list of quotes was hugundous, so I made myself pick just ten. Fat chance! I hate when I don’t obey myself, but I had to sneak in an extra. I wanted to ignore my rule of 10 altogether and go hog wild—the hell with my stupid rule! But, sigh, my review is already way too long!
Quotes:
“Outside of the car the rain was friendlier than it had been on the car windows, over friendly, wet and insinuating, running its fingers through their hair and down the backs of their collars.”
“What could be sadder in a marriage than incompatible feelings about bagpipes?”
“It struck him as feeble-minded, to stare at the throats and tails of birds for a flush or flash, just so you could name them.”
“David was not superstitious except in this way: he liked to feel lucky.”
“Gravity is hilarious, until it kills you.”
“…pessimism is a form of cowardice…”
“My apartment had only a small fiberglass shower I had to fit myself into, as though it were a science fiction pod that transported me to nowhere…”
“How can it be that I felt like this, over so little? It was as though I’d rubbed two sticks together and they’d detonated in my lap.”
“He was a lifelong shrugger. It was the genuflection of the devout fuckup.”
“The time that living with another person took up! The small talk! The politeness! Life alone was banal, too, but at least the banality wasn’t narrated.”
“A radio station was another way grown-ups could talk to you without ever having to listen.”
I thank Ann Patchett for leading me to this fantastic short-story writer. Believe me, this won’t be the last thing I read by her.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
October 15, 2020
Elizabeth MCracken has always been relied upon for presenting well told contemporary stories, well known for her ability to create quirky, believable characters and life situations. I admit these are the first of her short fiction that I've read, and she does not disappoint. Each story could be used as a jumping off point for deeper inspection, and some that are overlapping almost give the impression that there may be a novel in the works somewhere, but each was satisfying, providing inner lives. Highly recommended.
November 16, 2021
Sadie herself had not made her own bed in years: it was one of the most liberating things about being a grown-up. Jack, though, was a maker of beds, a love letter you mailed to yourself in the morning that arrived at the end of the day
Ahhhhhhh……Jack is a man after my own heart. I have never viewed my compulsion (and it is) to make my bed each morning expressed so precisely – maybe “love” is a wee bit strong, but it’s a nice gesture one does in the morning to be totally, utterly, absolutely and wholeheartedly basked in at night.
Elizabeth McCracken’s collection of a dozen short stories contained within a showcase called The Souvenir Museum throws out wonderful moments like this throughout. I am sure there are other insights that passed me by but would mean too much for other readers.
This collection was delightful.
To be sure, not all stories were engaging – some, I finished and thought, is that it?, the message seemed to pass me by. But others, I completed and expunged a lung full of stale air. Then I sat and thunk for a short time.
I think this collection started slowly, however, about halfway, McCracken started warming up and from then on this book went from a 2-star time waster to a 4-star cracker.
The story A walk through the human heart was a powerful piece for this acute on chronic reminiscer. The scenes involving Thea rummaging through various second hand/junk shops – was a bit much at times. My time for reflection.
You know this openly ornithophobic ginger man had no idea what a Grackle was until I read this book. One story referred to them, in a sort of magical, spooky type of way. I thought they were like Gremlins or some sort of Mythical Creature or a snap crackle and pop brekky cereal– No, no, no fellow readers and more specifically, Antipodeans – A GRACKLE is a monstrous, sharp beaked flying missile. These winged beasts stalk and watch us humble humans, as we go about our business – in the Americas no less – they're a bit like our Magpies, but without the white splashes.
Nasty stuff – but we live and learn.
My favourite story was Birdsong from the Radio a cheeky/dark story that seemed quite humorous to start with but was really quite dark and miserable in the end (my favourite sort). I was instantly hooked when I was introduced to the young mother Leonora who always wanted to nibble, munch and nuzzle her little kids. Oh my god – my poor 4 girls (and various dogs and cats), have had to put up with this hopeless father constantly chasing them to tweak a cheek, nibble a chubby elbow, or blow a raspberry on a little pink belly (not the cats and dogs). I loved the start of this story – I kind of thought “Yeah that’s me!!!!”……but the author tricked this punter as it all turned a bit dark – Leonora just wasn’t well - and I was kind of sad I fell for it (and her) in the first place. Dammit!! But on reflection, isn’t that what reading is all about? Experiencing he whole gamut of emotions? I think so.
Six of these stories were probably fair to middling. Three were very good and the other three were brilliant. That’ll do me for a collection of a dozen short stories.
4 Stars
Ahhhhhhh……Jack is a man after my own heart. I have never viewed my compulsion (and it is) to make my bed each morning expressed so precisely – maybe “love” is a wee bit strong, but it’s a nice gesture one does in the morning to be totally, utterly, absolutely and wholeheartedly basked in at night.
Elizabeth McCracken’s collection of a dozen short stories contained within a showcase called The Souvenir Museum throws out wonderful moments like this throughout. I am sure there are other insights that passed me by but would mean too much for other readers.
This collection was delightful.
To be sure, not all stories were engaging – some, I finished and thought, is that it?, the message seemed to pass me by. But others, I completed and expunged a lung full of stale air. Then I sat and thunk for a short time.
I think this collection started slowly, however, about halfway, McCracken started warming up and from then on this book went from a 2-star time waster to a 4-star cracker.
The story A walk through the human heart was a powerful piece for this acute on chronic reminiscer. The scenes involving Thea rummaging through various second hand/junk shops – was a bit much at times. My time for reflection.
You know this openly ornithophobic ginger man had no idea what a Grackle was until I read this book. One story referred to them, in a sort of magical, spooky type of way. I thought they were like Gremlins or some sort of Mythical Creature or a snap crackle and pop brekky cereal– No, no, no fellow readers and more specifically, Antipodeans – A GRACKLE is a monstrous, sharp beaked flying missile. These winged beasts stalk and watch us humble humans, as we go about our business – in the Americas no less – they're a bit like our Magpies, but without the white splashes.
Nasty stuff – but we live and learn.
My favourite story was Birdsong from the Radio a cheeky/dark story that seemed quite humorous to start with but was really quite dark and miserable in the end (my favourite sort). I was instantly hooked when I was introduced to the young mother Leonora who always wanted to nibble, munch and nuzzle her little kids. Oh my god – my poor 4 girls (and various dogs and cats), have had to put up with this hopeless father constantly chasing them to tweak a cheek, nibble a chubby elbow, or blow a raspberry on a little pink belly (not the cats and dogs). I loved the start of this story – I kind of thought “Yeah that’s me!!!!”……but the author tricked this punter as it all turned a bit dark – Leonora just wasn’t well - and I was kind of sad I fell for it (and her) in the first place. Dammit!! But on reflection, isn’t that what reading is all about? Experiencing he whole gamut of emotions? I think so.
Six of these stories were probably fair to middling. Three were very good and the other three were brilliant. That’ll do me for a collection of a dozen short stories.
4 Stars
dnf
June 2, 2021DNF at 36%. Ya'll I have never quit on books this much as I have this year.. There is either something wrong with me or new releases coming out. Elizabeth McCracken is an excellent writer. As for her story telling.. I can't say that I'm a fan. None of these stories were particular memorable and they come off as disjoined and random. I would call this depressing literary fiction which I liked some of the messages in the stories but I was just so bored and couldn't get past that. This won't stick with me AT ALL but maybe if the author does write a full novel I will read that just because I think her writing is good but it is not worth how boring it is. I just couldn't connect with any of it as each story seemed pointless. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2021
The stories in The Souvenir Museum are a delight. Elizabeth McCracken's cleverness had me laughing out loud, but her quirky characters also elicit emotional investment and deeper reflections on life and love. One paragraph, I would be laughing and quoting lines to my husband, and another paragraph feel my heart tugged.
McCracken's characters struggle with love, finding it or losing it, committing and running away.
A woman with a broken heart checks into a hotel and meets a well-known radio personalty who dealt out terrible advice. He suggests that she is young and that she must 'change her life, and to be kind, even when life is cruel.
A father takes his river-loving son rafting at a theme park, embarking on a fearful journey, imagining "The Raft of the Medusa at the Waterpark."
A boy runs away to study with a ventriloquist. The story gave me my 'Sunday Sentence' on Twitter:
His body hadn't changed yet, but his soul had: this year he had developed delusions of grandeur and a morbid nature and a willingness to die for love; next year, pubic hair and broad shoulders.~ from The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
A children's program actress imagines suicide, and on a cruise falls for a man who makes balloon animals.
What could be sadder in a marriage than incompatible feelings about bagpipes? Ought they still marry?~from The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
You can read one of the stories, Two Sad Clowns, published in O the Oprah Magazine here. It begins with the the marvelous sentence, "Even Punch and Judy were in love once." The story is the beginning of Jack and Sadie's love affair; the couple appear in four of the stories.
Who can predict the vicissitudes of life?~ from The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
Twenty years into their relationship, Jack convinces Sadie to marry and they honeymoon in Amsterdam. Discovering they are going the wrong way through a museum, the reluctant bride asks, Do you think we should start at the beginning? Her new husband answers, no; let's fight the current. Stick to your mistake."
Perhaps that is the best way to live. Own your mistakes. Own going against the current. Why question things we can not change? Love the unsuitable. Embrace our imperfect life.
Entertaining and thoughtful, these stories are wonderful.
I received a free galley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
McCracken's characters struggle with love, finding it or losing it, committing and running away.
A woman with a broken heart checks into a hotel and meets a well-known radio personalty who dealt out terrible advice. He suggests that she is young and that she must 'change her life, and to be kind, even when life is cruel.
A father takes his river-loving son rafting at a theme park, embarking on a fearful journey, imagining "The Raft of the Medusa at the Waterpark."
A boy runs away to study with a ventriloquist. The story gave me my 'Sunday Sentence' on Twitter:
His body hadn't changed yet, but his soul had: this year he had developed delusions of grandeur and a morbid nature and a willingness to die for love; next year, pubic hair and broad shoulders.~ from The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
A children's program actress imagines suicide, and on a cruise falls for a man who makes balloon animals.
What could be sadder in a marriage than incompatible feelings about bagpipes? Ought they still marry?~from The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
You can read one of the stories, Two Sad Clowns, published in O the Oprah Magazine here. It begins with the the marvelous sentence, "Even Punch and Judy were in love once." The story is the beginning of Jack and Sadie's love affair; the couple appear in four of the stories.
Who can predict the vicissitudes of life?~ from The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
Twenty years into their relationship, Jack convinces Sadie to marry and they honeymoon in Amsterdam. Discovering they are going the wrong way through a museum, the reluctant bride asks, Do you think we should start at the beginning? Her new husband answers, no; let's fight the current. Stick to your mistake."
Perhaps that is the best way to live. Own your mistakes. Own going against the current. Why question things we can not change? Love the unsuitable. Embrace our imperfect life.
Entertaining and thoughtful, these stories are wonderful.
I received a free galley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
September 10, 2022
My first of McCracken. Delighted to have come across another glimpses-of-life author, who operates in the nuanced area of casually musing narration and refined subtlety in expression. While this didn't necessarily strike as the strongest collection of stories on a whole, there were real lives on the pages, and evident excellence in threading realism through pleasantly, nonchalantly introspective voice, which has left me interested to seek more from the author.
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Reading updates.
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Reading updates.
October 9, 2024
McCracken is terrific in short forms: The Hero of This Book, a novella, was one of my top books of 2022, and I also loved her previous story collection, Thunderstruck. Five of these dozen stories are taken from different points in the lives of Jack and Sadie, English and American academics (who I inevitably read as McCracken and her husband, Edward Carey) who come from large-family zaniness versus claustrophobic mother–daughter melancholy. I kept thinking that McCracken’s are just the sorts of scenarios Lucy and Olive would have told stories about in Tell Me Everything: accidents, misfortunes; random connections. Travel is a major element in many of the stories, including to Denmark (in the title story) and Amsterdam. I couldn’t decide whether I preferred the Jack-and-Sadie material or the rest, but I had a favourite from each: “The Irish Wedding” cracked me up as much as it did Sadie with the accidental use of crass American slang, while “Proof,” about a man communing with his father despite his early dementia, is set on a boat trip I’ve made (in 2004!) to see puffins on the Treshnish islands of Scotland.
April 30, 2021
Honestly, I could’ve gone for an entire novel of Jack and Sadie. The episodic stories documenting different pieces of their lives are the standouts here. The interspersed stand alones took me out of the linked stories, but that was clearly intended. I wasn’t sold on this style at first but it slowly grew on me, and is ultimately effective. Side note: I need to stop listening to short stories on audio. For me, they’re better in print.
June 3, 2021
The Souvenir Museum is Elizabeth McCracken’s third short story collection and an assured and masterful set of 12 exceptionally plotted tales about the absurd nature of existence featuring characters, in everyday realistic settings, that have been uprooted from their usual surroundings. There are four linked stories about a couple who we are initially introduced to in the first story The Irish Wedding. Jack Valerts and his new beau, Jewish American Sadie Brody, travel from Boston to Ireland so she can meet Jack’s family for the first time at his older sister’s nuptials to a Dutchman. Cracks begin to appear in their relationship and the reality of realising they don't know each other as well as they thought is poignant but in the last story their love manages to endure and 20 years later they get married in Amsterdam where they fight and remember long-standing resentments but when a family tragedy occurs they pull together and realise their love for one another.
In Mistress Mickle All at Sea, Jenny, an actor who plays the villain on a children’s television show, is alone on a ferry from The Hook of Holland to Harwich, England after visiting her brother and celebrating New Year’s Eve in Rotterdam. She finds herself attending kids’ entertainment to watch an elderly Chinese man known as Magnificant Jimmy, turn balloons into animals and perform magic in front of gleeful children. Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark features a 4-year-old boy named Cody whose two gay fathers, Ernest and Bruno, spend the day with him at a German-themed waterpark in the Schlitterbahn area of Galveston, Texas. They enter the manmade river where families float along on inner tubes with a wave machine slapping out a wave every few seconds leading to the couple losing their grip on Cody. If one positive came of the experience it's that this shock to the system revealed to the seemingly previously detached Bruno just how much he loves, values and needs his wonderful family. And they will be a proper family, in Ernest’s eyes, now that Bruno had changed his mind about marriage and proposes.
McCracken never fails to deliver a classy, complex and acutely perceptive collection and these are some of her best stories to date; quite how she delivers so much thoughtfulness and nuance in such concise pieces is beyond my comprehension. It is an emotionally raw, incisive and powerful read and surprisingly I didn't feel like there was a single dud among the twelve. These are realistic tales of ordinary people and themes such as enduring love, loss, grief and the fleeting impermanence of time are explored throughout. Her characterisation is impressive with each cast member being three-dimensional and even more importantly flawed, making them relatable. You also cannot write a review for any of McCracken’s work without praising her wry wit which had me laughing out loud many times as I progressed and her observations of life, especially the quotidian, have you nodding in agreement. A riveting, captivating and thoroughly absorbing anthology. Highly recommended.
In Mistress Mickle All at Sea, Jenny, an actor who plays the villain on a children’s television show, is alone on a ferry from The Hook of Holland to Harwich, England after visiting her brother and celebrating New Year’s Eve in Rotterdam. She finds herself attending kids’ entertainment to watch an elderly Chinese man known as Magnificant Jimmy, turn balloons into animals and perform magic in front of gleeful children. Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark features a 4-year-old boy named Cody whose two gay fathers, Ernest and Bruno, spend the day with him at a German-themed waterpark in the Schlitterbahn area of Galveston, Texas. They enter the manmade river where families float along on inner tubes with a wave machine slapping out a wave every few seconds leading to the couple losing their grip on Cody. If one positive came of the experience it's that this shock to the system revealed to the seemingly previously detached Bruno just how much he loves, values and needs his wonderful family. And they will be a proper family, in Ernest’s eyes, now that Bruno had changed his mind about marriage and proposes.
McCracken never fails to deliver a classy, complex and acutely perceptive collection and these are some of her best stories to date; quite how she delivers so much thoughtfulness and nuance in such concise pieces is beyond my comprehension. It is an emotionally raw, incisive and powerful read and surprisingly I didn't feel like there was a single dud among the twelve. These are realistic tales of ordinary people and themes such as enduring love, loss, grief and the fleeting impermanence of time are explored throughout. Her characterisation is impressive with each cast member being three-dimensional and even more importantly flawed, making them relatable. You also cannot write a review for any of McCracken’s work without praising her wry wit which had me laughing out loud many times as I progressed and her observations of life, especially the quotidian, have you nodding in agreement. A riveting, captivating and thoroughly absorbing anthology. Highly recommended.
May 8, 2021
Eclectic weaving of twelve complex family stories. At the center is our human condition, with Jack and Sadie in recurring roles. I couldn’t centrally relate to any of the characters or story lines but did enjoy the short visits. Elizabeth McCracken knows the craft of tale telling and The Souvenir Museum is a great introduction to her work. Thunderstruck is in the queue.
May 10, 2021
Ah, Elizabeth McCracken. I have read a number of her books over the years. They often have a Massachusetts connection and they all have a quirky wit and everyday comfort to them. Her latest story collection The Souvenir Museum features interconnected stories about an extended family and others. We meet many of the same characters across multiple stories.
Jack and Sadie are a young couple. She's American and he is from Ireland. They travel to Ireland for a wedding. There, Sadie is introduced to Jack's family and we hear about "The Dutch". Jack, Sadie, and members of their family show up in later stories, as do "The Dutch". Overall, the stories were all about connection, family and love. The characters are often in bizarro situations and stumble way through them. As with her other books, McCracken's writing is masterful and she does an superb job creating characters and exhibiting the inner workings of their minds.
thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Jack and Sadie are a young couple. She's American and he is from Ireland. They travel to Ireland for a wedding. There, Sadie is introduced to Jack's family and we hear about "The Dutch". Jack, Sadie, and members of their family show up in later stories, as do "The Dutch". Overall, the stories were all about connection, family and love. The characters are often in bizarro situations and stumble way through them. As with her other books, McCracken's writing is masterful and she does an superb job creating characters and exhibiting the inner workings of their minds.
thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
April 16, 2021
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken.
These are short stories, and unfortunately, I just couldn't get through them.
You know how when someone is telling you a story, and their is wind up, and wind up, and it goes on for quite a while, and then it ends and you're like...that's IT??? That's kind of what these felt like to me. The whole time listening to them and I can't understand why this is a story even being told.
These are short stories, and unfortunately, I just couldn't get through them.
You know how when someone is telling you a story, and their is wind up, and wind up, and it goes on for quite a while, and then it ends and you're like...that's IT??? That's kind of what these felt like to me. The whole time listening to them and I can't understand why this is a story even being told.
April 18, 2021
Just wonderful. Not a dud in the bunch. Endlessly quotable, seamlessly leading me to laugh out loud one minute, then be heartbroken by a single sentence. Some characters feature in a number of stories, some stand alone, but every quirky character stole my heart a little. I’ve been meaning to read McCracken for a really long time, and thanks to Netgalley, now I can’t wait to get my hands on more. Loved it💕
January 12, 2022
The Souvenir Museum is the right title for this collection because so many of the pieces seem more like souvenirs in the form of a slices of life or a couple of slices that didn't really grow from one into another within one story or a character exploration than stories with a beginning, middle, end, and a point. The writing is terrific, but since I prefer stories, I almost abandoned this book.
This is material that is sometimes pleasurable to read in between other things, so that's what I did: read it in between jobs, life events, and other books.
This is material that is sometimes pleasurable to read in between other things, so that's what I did: read it in between jobs, life events, and other books.
April 3, 2021
3.5 rounded up
My first Elizabeth McCracken book, and it certainly won't be my last. On the basis of this collection of short stories, I'd say the strength of her writing lies in her artful rendering of her characters' motivations and inner thoughts: these felt like real, flawed people who I believed in. Some of these stories (maybe all? I somehow only noticed this quite late into the book...) are interconnected with overlapping characters, and many feature Americans in the UK or abroad. There are often humorous or somewhat absurd moments, and the writing is strong. Recommended.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK / Vintage for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
My first Elizabeth McCracken book, and it certainly won't be my last. On the basis of this collection of short stories, I'd say the strength of her writing lies in her artful rendering of her characters' motivations and inner thoughts: these felt like real, flawed people who I believed in. Some of these stories (maybe all? I somehow only noticed this quite late into the book...) are interconnected with overlapping characters, and many feature Americans in the UK or abroad. There are often humorous or somewhat absurd moments, and the writing is strong. Recommended.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK / Vintage for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
February 21, 2021
I’m not sure what to make of The Souvenir Museum. It was an interesting collection of stories with underlying common themes of familial relationships including the love, loss, and strength of bonds between fathers and sons, mothers and their children, marriage, siblings, etc. Some were interconnected and many were filled with past memories often featuring flashbacks within cross-cultural settings and quirky, yet clever, social critiques. Others seemingly rambled for pages and I tried to follow only to land at a rather abrupt ending. It may have just been me but I would have preferred a bit more closure/resolution.
This is my first time reading the author and while this collection didn’t really appeal to me, I’m willing to give her other works a try.
This is my first time reading the author and while this collection didn’t really appeal to me, I’m willing to give her other works a try.
January 5, 2022
Yesterday I read a romance novel about two identical twins who switch places and (probably not really spoilers for anyone who reads a lot of romance novels) end up with new, more satisfying jobs and with new, more satisfying relationships. Complete Hallmark Channel stuff.
It is satisfying. But, after a bit of reflection, not.
Today I finished The Souvenir Museum. In The Souvenir Museum, relationships go wildly asunder, life-changing events arise out of nowhere and shake our worlds, people are here and then people are gone. You know, real life.
And yet it, too, is oddly satisfying. It sits with you. This is how things are. Really.
One a pop of candy. The other a glass of French wine.
It is satisfying. But, after a bit of reflection, not.
Today I finished The Souvenir Museum. In The Souvenir Museum, relationships go wildly asunder, life-changing events arise out of nowhere and shake our worlds, people are here and then people are gone. You know, real life.
And yet it, too, is oddly satisfying. It sits with you. This is how things are. Really.
One a pop of candy. The other a glass of French wine.
April 16, 2022
This was a clever short story collection, five of which feature the same protagonists: Jack and Sadie. Each of the stories is about relationships inside various families and each is written in an intimate, lucid tone. It is a quick read but resonates with you for days afterward. It is dark, but also very human.
My list of Pulitzer hopefuls here! Come today and vote on your favorite!
My list of Pulitzer hopefuls here! Come today and vote on your favorite!
October 15, 2020
Elizabeth McCracken has been writing well for more than 20 years. Her output consists of 3 novels, 3 short story collections - including this one - and a memoir. Her previous story collections, Thunderstruck and Here's Your Hat: What's Your Hurry, are vivid, varied and sometimes a bit strange and my hopes for this new one were fulfilled. Instead of a set of free standing works, this volume contains linked stories scattered among stand alones and they successfully give the book a cohesion and form a logical skeleton.
March 31, 2024
This collection is as character-driven as it could possibly be. Events happen in the stories, but the momentum comes from a delicious, absorbed interiority. Her characters are eccentric and often obsessive and utterly compelling. Note: Don't space these stories out too much or you might (like me) miss the fact that five of them are about the same two characters and then feel really dumb and like you missed a layer to the brilliant storytelling.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest (and belated) review.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest (and belated) review.
February 6, 2021
“The Souvenir Museum”, a collection of eleven short stories by Elizabeth McCracken, immediately appealed to me because they were described as being about families, a subject that when done well can be completely captivating. Well: BINGO! I loved them ALL!
I had somehow not ever read McCracken before, but I’m going to remedy that post haste because I adored this story collection! I was enthralled, entertained, and moved by her narrative voice and her wonderful characters! After reading the first story “The Irish Wedding” about Sadie and her new love Jack, traveling to Ireland for a family wedding, I was so delighted that I went on line and ordered her previous books!
Each and every story had characters I was interested and invested in; the elderly father with his son on a beach in Scotland watching the past arrive with the waves. A woman recalling her younger heartbroken self while staying at the Narcissus Hotel to assuage her sadness in one night. A tragic story mother who goes crazy and a soon-to-be grandmother looking for a vintage doll, are also immensely satisfying, if heartbreaking.
Several of the stories are related, but I’ll let the reader have the fun of discovering which ones!
Almost every story made me laugh at least once – usually more! McCracken’s wit is utterly a joy.
My favorite story was “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark”, first because it was a wonderful story about two fathers taking their small son to a tacky waterpark, but also because I’ve been to that tacky waterpark in Galveston! It is The Best place to people-watch in the world; I picture McCracken being there, people watching as I do, and seeing two men and a boy and building this entire story around them.
Wonderful collection!
I had somehow not ever read McCracken before, but I’m going to remedy that post haste because I adored this story collection! I was enthralled, entertained, and moved by her narrative voice and her wonderful characters! After reading the first story “The Irish Wedding” about Sadie and her new love Jack, traveling to Ireland for a family wedding, I was so delighted that I went on line and ordered her previous books!
Each and every story had characters I was interested and invested in; the elderly father with his son on a beach in Scotland watching the past arrive with the waves. A woman recalling her younger heartbroken self while staying at the Narcissus Hotel to assuage her sadness in one night. A tragic story mother who goes crazy and a soon-to-be grandmother looking for a vintage doll, are also immensely satisfying, if heartbreaking.
Several of the stories are related, but I’ll let the reader have the fun of discovering which ones!
Almost every story made me laugh at least once – usually more! McCracken’s wit is utterly a joy.
My favorite story was “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark”, first because it was a wonderful story about two fathers taking their small son to a tacky waterpark, but also because I’ve been to that tacky waterpark in Galveston! It is The Best place to people-watch in the world; I picture McCracken being there, people watching as I do, and seeing two men and a boy and building this entire story around them.
Wonderful collection!
January 10, 2021
This is a beautiful collection of short stories. I am always impressed with writers who can take readers on a full emotional journey in just a handful of pages. As with most short story collections, I enjoyed and related to certain stories more than others. My favorites in this collection were The Irish Wedding (which caused me to laugh out loud a couple of times) and Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark (which caused my heart to speed up at one part in the story, but then provided a relieving ending). A few of the stories left me wanting more or pondering what the intent was. I would recommend reading one or two of these stories a day, so you can really sink into them. 6/10.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Ecco for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Ecco for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 9, 2021
These delightful short stories are mostly about people away from home, attending weddings in foreign countries or running away from home or going to ill-fated museums with the wrong expectations. Elizabeth McCracken is a master of the specifics of a character's fears and yearnings, and can tell the stories with a wry humor that helps to capture the small embarrassing absurdities of our daily lives as well as our biggest tragedies when they come. A handful of the stories are about a married couple named Jack and Sadie, and we get to see them at various stages of their lives, apart and together. On the whole, this is a marvelous collection that shows what McCracken does best; she creates whole worlds for us to enjoy in small bites.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced review copy of this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced review copy of this book.
September 13, 2021
What an absolute romp! I can't stop thinking about the characters, and I feel like I am sad they are gone. There are so many witty nuggets here, but the strength lies in the depth of emotion and range each story brings. Really a lovely read.
September 6, 2020
The woman can do no wrong.
June 11, 2021
It was not as good as I expected- did not keep me interested at all.
September 9, 2021
3.5 ⭐ rounded up. These were fun stories, some of them linked. Often, it was unclear where the story was going, but the author always unfurled a cohesive picture, so I learned to relax and let the story lead. There were flashes of absolute writing genius, but I did wish there were more of those moments, more frequently.
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