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The Museum of Human History
Complex, philosophically searching, and gorgeously rendered, Rebekah Bergman’s The Museum of Human History is a sharp and startling debut about a young girl frozen in time in a world obsessed with youth and self-preservation.
After nearly drowning, eight-year-old Maeve Wilhelm falls into a strange comatose state. As years pass, it becomes clear that Maeve is not physically aging. A wide cast of characters finds themselves pulled toward Maeve, each believing that her mysterious “sleep” holds the answers to their life’s most pressing questions: Kevin Marks, a museum owner obsessed with preservation; Monique Gray, a refugee and performance artist; Lionel Wilhelm, an entomologist who dreamed of being an astrophysicist; and Evangeline Wilhelm, Maeve’s identical twin. As Maeve remains asleep, the characters grapple with a mysterious new technology and medical advances that promise to ease anxiety and end pain, but instead cause devastating side effects.
Weaving together speculative elements and classic fables, and exploring urgent issues from the opioid epidemic to the hazards of biotech to the obsession with self-improvement and remaining forever young, Rebekah Bergman’s The Museum of Human History is a brilliant and fascinating novel about how time shapes us, asking what―if anything―we would be without it.
After nearly drowning, eight-year-old Maeve Wilhelm falls into a strange comatose state. As years pass, it becomes clear that Maeve is not physically aging. A wide cast of characters finds themselves pulled toward Maeve, each believing that her mysterious “sleep” holds the answers to their life’s most pressing questions: Kevin Marks, a museum owner obsessed with preservation; Monique Gray, a refugee and performance artist; Lionel Wilhelm, an entomologist who dreamed of being an astrophysicist; and Evangeline Wilhelm, Maeve’s identical twin. As Maeve remains asleep, the characters grapple with a mysterious new technology and medical advances that promise to ease anxiety and end pain, but instead cause devastating side effects.
Weaving together speculative elements and classic fables, and exploring urgent issues from the opioid epidemic to the hazards of biotech to the obsession with self-improvement and remaining forever young, Rebekah Bergman’s The Museum of Human History is a brilliant and fascinating novel about how time shapes us, asking what―if anything―we would be without it.
244 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2023
60 people are currently reading
10861 people want to read
About the author
Rebekah Bergman
3 books56 followersRebekah Bergman’s fiction has been published in Joyland, Tin House, The Masters Review Anthology, and other journals. She lives in Rhode Island with her family. The Museum of Human History is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
September 14, 2023
There’s a mystery at the heart of Bergman’s skillful and intriguing work of speculative fiction. Twenty-five years before the story opens, an eight-year old girl, Maeve Wilhelm, was retrieved from the bottom of a swimming pool, having spent an indeterminate period of time under water. After initial treatment in hospital, she was sent home with a dire prognosis. Defying the odds, she’s been “undead” for a very long time. Hooked up to monitors and receiving nutrition through a nasogastric tube, Maeve can breathe on her own. To all appearances, she is simply asleep. (the tale of Briar Rose is alluded to more than once.) What is most remarkable is that the child has not aged. Only her hair and nails grow.
Shortly before the accident that left Maeve in this vegetative state, her mother died. Since her twin sister, Evangeline, was too young to assist, it was left to Maeve’s oddball father, Lionel, to manage her care. Early on there was medical support, and a half-dozen researchers studied her. A cult of worshippers—the orange-robed “Congregants”— also formed around Maeve. The latter were permitted entry into the home to breathe in bedside synchrony with the child.
The story of Maeve’s mother is significant. Before being hired by Genesix, one of three biotech firms in Marks Island City, Naomi Clarke Wilhelm had been a promising paleobiologist. She’d completed a doctorate on the complex ecosystem around nearby Marks Island, an area subject to seismic activity. Years before Naomi began her studies, the remains of members of an ancient indigenous tribe had been recovered from caves there. A peculiar doll carved from red rock was also unearthed. Dr. Wilhelm had been particularly interested in the role of phosphorescent red algae in the waters around the island, and she’d hoped for a post-doc that would allow her to continue her investigations. With funding for academic work in “the ancient sciences” drying up, however, the young woman was forced into pragmatic compromise: she accepted a senior research position with Genesix. The project assigned to her was highly specialized, tightly controlled, and secretive, its purpose hidden from Dr. Wilhelm herself. Communication among the biotech’s departments was strictly forbidden. Ultimately, the company would launch Prosyntus, a procedure to arrest aging.
In addition to Evangeline, Maeve’s identical twin, Bergman has created a well-developed cast of characters, all within six (or fewer) degrees of separation from the Wilhelms. Among them is Kevin Marks, founder-curator of the Marks Museum, situated on the site of the original caves; he’s the grandson of the paleoanthropologist who discovered the ancient tribe. Monique Gray, a performance artist and indigenous refugee from an island ravaged by an addiction epidemic, is another interesting character. Finally, there are two couples who play important parts in the story. Luke and Tess are trying to cope with the latter’s terminal illness. Syl and Abe have a nine-year-old son, a classmate of Evangeline’s. Abe, a historian, is 23 years older than his wife. These characters allow Bergman to explore a number of themes. The novel includes reflections on history, impermanence, aging, loss, and memory. There are penetrating insights sprinkled throughout. Bergman has a distinctive voice—philosophical with a dash of mystical and a pinch of quirky.
Those who prefer chronological storytelling may find the author’s shifting backwards and forwards in time frustrating. In many ways, the novel compares to a jigsaw or mosaic. Each chapter provides pieces or tiles which gradually fill in the picture. Prospective readers should be forewarned that if they expect to understand the formulation of Prosyntus or its physiological mechanisms, they’ll be disappointed. Bergman addresses these things in only the vaguest of ways. This may be considered a weakness by some. Having said that, I think there’s much to appreciate overall. I really liked this novel and would certainly read more by Bergman.
Shortly before the accident that left Maeve in this vegetative state, her mother died. Since her twin sister, Evangeline, was too young to assist, it was left to Maeve’s oddball father, Lionel, to manage her care. Early on there was medical support, and a half-dozen researchers studied her. A cult of worshippers—the orange-robed “Congregants”— also formed around Maeve. The latter were permitted entry into the home to breathe in bedside synchrony with the child.
The story of Maeve’s mother is significant. Before being hired by Genesix, one of three biotech firms in Marks Island City, Naomi Clarke Wilhelm had been a promising paleobiologist. She’d completed a doctorate on the complex ecosystem around nearby Marks Island, an area subject to seismic activity. Years before Naomi began her studies, the remains of members of an ancient indigenous tribe had been recovered from caves there. A peculiar doll carved from red rock was also unearthed. Dr. Wilhelm had been particularly interested in the role of phosphorescent red algae in the waters around the island, and she’d hoped for a post-doc that would allow her to continue her investigations. With funding for academic work in “the ancient sciences” drying up, however, the young woman was forced into pragmatic compromise: she accepted a senior research position with Genesix. The project assigned to her was highly specialized, tightly controlled, and secretive, its purpose hidden from Dr. Wilhelm herself. Communication among the biotech’s departments was strictly forbidden. Ultimately, the company would launch Prosyntus, a procedure to arrest aging.
In addition to Evangeline, Maeve’s identical twin, Bergman has created a well-developed cast of characters, all within six (or fewer) degrees of separation from the Wilhelms. Among them is Kevin Marks, founder-curator of the Marks Museum, situated on the site of the original caves; he’s the grandson of the paleoanthropologist who discovered the ancient tribe. Monique Gray, a performance artist and indigenous refugee from an island ravaged by an addiction epidemic, is another interesting character. Finally, there are two couples who play important parts in the story. Luke and Tess are trying to cope with the latter’s terminal illness. Syl and Abe have a nine-year-old son, a classmate of Evangeline’s. Abe, a historian, is 23 years older than his wife. These characters allow Bergman to explore a number of themes. The novel includes reflections on history, impermanence, aging, loss, and memory. There are penetrating insights sprinkled throughout. Bergman has a distinctive voice—philosophical with a dash of mystical and a pinch of quirky.
Those who prefer chronological storytelling may find the author’s shifting backwards and forwards in time frustrating. In many ways, the novel compares to a jigsaw or mosaic. Each chapter provides pieces or tiles which gradually fill in the picture. Prospective readers should be forewarned that if they expect to understand the formulation of Prosyntus or its physiological mechanisms, they’ll be disappointed. Bergman addresses these things in only the vaguest of ways. This may be considered a weakness by some. Having said that, I think there’s much to appreciate overall. I really liked this novel and would certainly read more by Bergman.
October 21, 2023
This book was more of an experience that left you thinking than a linear story. That isn’t a bad thing but I will admit it isn’t exactly what I expected. This felt like an exploration of time, memory, and human connection. I liked the style of writing, but the tone did make it very difficult to connect to the characters and they all had a similar feel as there was one tone for lots of characters. There is no real way to describe or summarize this story, but I will say it is about the question of what if we could stop the aging process or eliminate pain? What would happen? I gave this one 3.5 stars which I rounded up since this book is one I’m still thinking of after I finished.
September 5, 2023
i read over 200 pgs of this and could not tell you a single thing that happened. it was very confusing and boring, maybe it wouldn't have been as confusing if i hadn't skimmed most of it but i did. and what was that ending, is this supposed to be science fiction or mythology
i should probably add that i did really try to get into this, i got up to pg 60 and after that i did not have the patience to continue reading reach little word, so i ended up skimming.
as always, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, i'll be glad if this is your favourite book, but unfortunately it is not mine. definitely try checking out the book of it sounds interesting to you, do not let my review deter you, this is only my opinion.
i should probably add that i did really try to get into this, i got up to pg 60 and after that i did not have the patience to continue reading reach little word, so i ended up skimming.
as always, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, i'll be glad if this is your favourite book, but unfortunately it is not mine. definitely try checking out the book of it sounds interesting to you, do not let my review deter you, this is only my opinion.
April 25, 2023
The Museum of Human History was mostly a very strange and sad book.
I think that the main themes of the book had to do with how everything is on a macro scale, and we only see the micro. I say this because all these peoples lives were intertwined at some point or another by some person in the family, and they didn't even know it.
I think it's also about how, regardless of how much we try to preserve, everything is destined to die. And that cycle will continue long after we're gone.
I think that the main themes of the book had to do with how everything is on a macro scale, and we only see the micro. I say this because all these peoples lives were intertwined at some point or another by some person in the family, and they didn't even know it.
I think it's also about how, regardless of how much we try to preserve, everything is destined to die. And that cycle will continue long after we're gone.
June 22, 2023
Review for The Museum of Human History:
This was one of the most intriguing books I have ever read!
It’s a hard one to describe honestly.
It is a futuristic story (though no specific date is given) looking at aging, pain, death, life, progress, memory, and relationship. Synchronicities abound and yet remain unnoticed.
The book follows a number of characters around the invention of an anti aging process that halts aging and pain and yet can’t prevent death…but without physical pain, how can we see what’s coming?
The side effects include death and memory loss.
Cue the characters.
The researchers, the users of the drug, and the family members affected by the drug come into play.
There is also a fairytale element interspersed with a sleeping child.
It all adds up to a book that really blew my mind.
What core values do we as a species hold for ourselves when promises of eternal youth, escapism, and pain free living are presented? Who gets the short end of the stick in these circumstances?
How important are our memories?
What an amazing writer Rebekah Bergman is. Her voice is at times so lyrical then so cutting. I was wholly fascinated and still am even at the books finishing.
This is a cautionary recommendation because the reader must be willing to open their mind and get a little weird.
I dig that about this book, but you may not. If you are like me and always looking for something outside of the box that really makes you process some shit…and also with a bit of futuristic fairytale vibes…let’s go! Pick it up because I am so excited to have received an advanced reader copy.
This book comes out in August!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Too unique for me not to deem it, it’s own brand of perfection.
This was one of the most intriguing books I have ever read!
It’s a hard one to describe honestly.
It is a futuristic story (though no specific date is given) looking at aging, pain, death, life, progress, memory, and relationship. Synchronicities abound and yet remain unnoticed.
The book follows a number of characters around the invention of an anti aging process that halts aging and pain and yet can’t prevent death…but without physical pain, how can we see what’s coming?
The side effects include death and memory loss.
Cue the characters.
The researchers, the users of the drug, and the family members affected by the drug come into play.
There is also a fairytale element interspersed with a sleeping child.
It all adds up to a book that really blew my mind.
What core values do we as a species hold for ourselves when promises of eternal youth, escapism, and pain free living are presented? Who gets the short end of the stick in these circumstances?
How important are our memories?
What an amazing writer Rebekah Bergman is. Her voice is at times so lyrical then so cutting. I was wholly fascinated and still am even at the books finishing.
This is a cautionary recommendation because the reader must be willing to open their mind and get a little weird.
I dig that about this book, but you may not. If you are like me and always looking for something outside of the box that really makes you process some shit…and also with a bit of futuristic fairytale vibes…let’s go! Pick it up because I am so excited to have received an advanced reader copy.
This book comes out in August!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Too unique for me not to deem it, it’s own brand of perfection.
August 3, 2023
I can't believe this was Rebekah Bergman's first book. She displayed such a mastery of storytelling, character development, and interweaving characters' stories. Bravo! I can't wait to read more books by her!
August 11, 2023
Forget all the rest, and come in, to an entire self-contained world that holds up waysigns at its edges for the contained infinite beyond. Is there a word for the infinity of a globe? The only edges we draw on our sphere are artificialities, cartographic and geological constructs for orientation. The poles are signifiers of a rotational axis relative to an ever-expanding cosmos that affects the very nature of time. Time itself only one of a multitude of dimensions by which we humans and all atoms, ours and not-ours, and all matter, both the ordinary and the dark, interact. The ever-expansion a form of dying, universal, but in its tautological way, the self-same shape of being alive. Life, itself a moment-to-moment endless differential of instinctual essence, activated as in opposing inertness. Take the sum along the length of any threaded fatal line of a confabulation of such atoms temporally coalesced in defiance of their entropic destiny to make body, make brain, make love, make memory.
October 20, 2023
I read debut novels often: ones from long ago by authors I love and more recent ones, often sent to me by The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. The Museum of Human History was the TNB selection for August, 2023. It is always fascinating to me to find the seeds of what an author will become in a debut novel and this one was no exception.
It is wondrously strange and intricately put together with strings of time woven into a tapestry made of words. The characters are all uniquely odd. I longed to know them.
Can we hold onto life by not aging? Can time be put on hold? Is a family a microcosm of The Family of Man? So many questions compressed into actions, dreams and losses.
It is wondrously strange and intricately put together with strings of time woven into a tapestry made of words. The characters are all uniquely odd. I longed to know them.
Can we hold onto life by not aging? Can time be put on hold? Is a family a microcosm of The Family of Man? So many questions compressed into actions, dreams and losses.
August 22, 2023
I really enjoyed this. Sort of a series of interconnected stories, partly a history of a family, kind of scifi, fantasy, mythological... it felt like a perfect blend of all those different genres. A very quick read but one I wouldn't mind revisiting at some point.
November 26, 2024
This was a total impulse buy while shelf browsing at the bookstore. I hadn't heard of it and thought it sounded too good to walk away from, and I'm glad I ended up getting it.
The book starts off with a young girl named Maeve who survived a near drowning twenty five years ago but is in a coma from which she will never wake, apparently frozen in time, having also not aged since the accident.
The rest of the book bounces back and forth in time, telling the story of those who are, whether they realize it or not, intimately connected to Maeve and her family, where all threads tie back to a groundbreaking new drug that claims to halt the aging process while also reducing chronic pain.
There's her mother Naomi, a lead researcher for one of the newer biotech companies, who mysteriously drowns while swimming out to an island searching for answers among odd red stones and strange algae blooms; her father Lionel, now her caretaker, once had a passion for studying the cosmos but ended up becoming an entomologist; the woman named Tess who Maeve's sister Evangeline meets in the cemetery and who is dying of brain tumors; a famous performance artist and refugee named Monique who survived a horrific epidemic in her homeland only to be faced with another one here; and Kevin Marks, the owner of the Museum of Human History, a man who is obsessed with the preservation of the ancient caves and artifacts of the island they all call home.
Like a pebble dropped in a body of water, the ripple effect is strong and wide reaching. Bergman pokes and prods at base human fears - those of aging, of losing precious memories, and of the terrifying idea of being forgotten or not measuring up. And the actions, or inactions, taken by our cast of characters based on avoiding or accepting or overcoming those fears, create waves, some greater, some smaller, that come crashing in upon the shores of their lives.
What do the crystalized red rocks and algae have to do with Maeve's current condition? What was her mother Naomi hoping to learn by swimming out to the algae bloom? And how does the strange doll covered in the red rocks that was found with the remains of the ancient residents of those caves, now on display in the Museum of Human History, tie into all of this?
It has the feel of a dystopian novel, with speculative and sci-fi elements, and leaves us with more questions than it gives us the answers to, but that's totally ok because I found it to be an enticing, fascinating read.
The book starts off with a young girl named Maeve who survived a near drowning twenty five years ago but is in a coma from which she will never wake, apparently frozen in time, having also not aged since the accident.
The rest of the book bounces back and forth in time, telling the story of those who are, whether they realize it or not, intimately connected to Maeve and her family, where all threads tie back to a groundbreaking new drug that claims to halt the aging process while also reducing chronic pain.
There's her mother Naomi, a lead researcher for one of the newer biotech companies, who mysteriously drowns while swimming out to an island searching for answers among odd red stones and strange algae blooms; her father Lionel, now her caretaker, once had a passion for studying the cosmos but ended up becoming an entomologist; the woman named Tess who Maeve's sister Evangeline meets in the cemetery and who is dying of brain tumors; a famous performance artist and refugee named Monique who survived a horrific epidemic in her homeland only to be faced with another one here; and Kevin Marks, the owner of the Museum of Human History, a man who is obsessed with the preservation of the ancient caves and artifacts of the island they all call home.
Like a pebble dropped in a body of water, the ripple effect is strong and wide reaching. Bergman pokes and prods at base human fears - those of aging, of losing precious memories, and of the terrifying idea of being forgotten or not measuring up. And the actions, or inactions, taken by our cast of characters based on avoiding or accepting or overcoming those fears, create waves, some greater, some smaller, that come crashing in upon the shores of their lives.
What do the crystalized red rocks and algae have to do with Maeve's current condition? What was her mother Naomi hoping to learn by swimming out to the algae bloom? And how does the strange doll covered in the red rocks that was found with the remains of the ancient residents of those caves, now on display in the Museum of Human History, tie into all of this?
It has the feel of a dystopian novel, with speculative and sci-fi elements, and leaves us with more questions than it gives us the answers to, but that's totally ok because I found it to be an enticing, fascinating read.
July 22, 2023
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Original, poetical, compassionate.
Cons: As with most books with a large cast, it's hard to get attached to all its characters.
WARNING! Drowning (off-page). Death by cancer (off-page).
Will appeal to: Those who like a deep, yet accessible meditation on the meaning of time and memory.
First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on Edelweiss. Thanks to W.W. Norton/Tin House Books for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.
ORGANIC PALETTE
I have to be honest: given the premise (the comatose little girl who doesn't age), I expected this book to be more on the magical-realism side, which...it really isn't. Anyhow, there's an element of fabulism in Bergman's storytelling that almost makes me vary of using the sci-fi label for this novel, though it incorporates futuristic technology and ultimately revolves around a certain scientific breakthrough (which, conversely, will end up causing devastating outcomes). I think the best way to describe TMOHH is speculative fiction, yet rendered with a poetical tone, and at the same time set against the realistic backdrop of very human feelings like pain, regret and fear - of losing our memories and the version of ourselves that we've gotten most attached to, and of departing this world without leaving a mark on it, or at least having someone who'll remember us when we're gone. [...]
Whole review here.
Pros: Original, poetical, compassionate.
Cons: As with most books with a large cast, it's hard to get attached to all its characters.
WARNING! Drowning (off-page). Death by cancer (off-page).
Will appeal to: Those who like a deep, yet accessible meditation on the meaning of time and memory.
First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on Edelweiss. Thanks to W.W. Norton/Tin House Books for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.
ORGANIC PALETTE
I have to be honest: given the premise (the comatose little girl who doesn't age), I expected this book to be more on the magical-realism side, which...it really isn't. Anyhow, there's an element of fabulism in Bergman's storytelling that almost makes me vary of using the sci-fi label for this novel, though it incorporates futuristic technology and ultimately revolves around a certain scientific breakthrough (which, conversely, will end up causing devastating outcomes). I think the best way to describe TMOHH is speculative fiction, yet rendered with a poetical tone, and at the same time set against the realistic backdrop of very human feelings like pain, regret and fear - of losing our memories and the version of ourselves that we've gotten most attached to, and of departing this world without leaving a mark on it, or at least having someone who'll remember us when we're gone. [...]
Whole review here.
August 20, 2023
I found this book to start off extremely promising and thought provoking, but by the end it became more of a collection of random philosophical thoughts with no answers given to any issue. Regardless, I liked her writing.
February 1, 2023
This is one of those books where people normally pick apart the depth and meaning behind the interwoven lives of these people. However, that’s not me 😂The biotech part was interesting and of course the sleeping child. I liked this enough to finish it, and to recommend when it comes out.
August 24, 2023
Oh, it’s sooooo good
August 25, 2023
Imaginative and mysterious, with beautiful moments of reflection about the human condition. Read it!
December 19, 2023
Incredible, strange, and sad.
March 18, 2024
I’m not quite sure what this book was about? There is the obvious theme of death and a parallel to the Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty story but if there is some underlying metaphor or message, then it was not evident. Was there something about drug addiction? The story seemed vague and the characters were a bit flat. Rather than bringing in the storylines of so many different couples and families, I would have liked it if it delved more into the dynamics of the main family.
October 17, 2023
Mind boggling fun read. Jumps around time quite a lot and took me a while to get into it. Very philosophical and definitely didn’t understand all of it so gonna think on it for awhile. Hmm….
August 10, 2023
I couldn’t put ‘The Museum of Human History’ by Rebekah Bergman, down. I was so enraptured in the storytelling as we bounced around in time and between the lives of individuals and families. A perfect (for me) blend of science fiction, introspective contemplation and anthropology — with themes of memory, connection and loss. Ugh, it was beautiful. I kept thinking, at the end of each chapter; “this is beautiful“.
It tells the story of Maeve, an 8 year old girl in a strange coma for 25 years, never aging, as the world around her becomes more and more obsessed with the idea of youth, “wellness”, and long life. But is that possible? And what is the cost? Scientific discoveries, seemingly, provide a way— and through a large cast of characters and the distant history of an island, we go on a philosophical journey to explore these promises and questions. It’s empathetic and hard hitting and massively impressive, only compounded in this by the fact that it is a debut. It left me thinking… and crying.
I won’t spoil it, but there is one chapter from the perspective of an unexpected character and it really moved me.
As always, check the trigger warnings, but I highly recommend this one! And I cannot wait to read more from Rebekah Bergman in the future.
[Thank you Tin House for gifting me this copy of The Museum of Human History, it was such a gift!]
It tells the story of Maeve, an 8 year old girl in a strange coma for 25 years, never aging, as the world around her becomes more and more obsessed with the idea of youth, “wellness”, and long life. But is that possible? And what is the cost? Scientific discoveries, seemingly, provide a way— and through a large cast of characters and the distant history of an island, we go on a philosophical journey to explore these promises and questions. It’s empathetic and hard hitting and massively impressive, only compounded in this by the fact that it is a debut. It left me thinking… and crying.
I won’t spoil it, but there is one chapter from the perspective of an unexpected character and it really moved me.
As always, check the trigger warnings, but I highly recommend this one! And I cannot wait to read more from Rebekah Bergman in the future.
[Thank you Tin House for gifting me this copy of The Museum of Human History, it was such a gift!]
August 6, 2023
This is a speculative novel about memory and about those things that transcend the human experience of a lifetime. It's about how insignificantly small we are but at the same time, a critical piece in a machinery so vast that is impossible to take in.
Maeve Williams, an eight year old girl, nearly drowns. After this life threatening experience she falls into a comatose state in which, strangely, she can breath unassisted and her body stops aging. In this state of perpetual youth she becomes the center of attention of science and of the Congregants, a group of people that gathers around Maeve's bed to witness the miracle. But years before Maeve's accident her own mother, the leading researcher of a medical facility that is developing a new drug that promises to ease anxiety and to stop the natural process of aging, dies in strange circumstances in what seems to be a suicide with a never seen before type of rocks in her pockets. What are these rocks? What relationship, if any, is there between her mother's death, the rocks, and the state Maeve is in now? A wide cast of characters is in search of all these answers, including Evangeline, Maeve's twin sister.
Beautifully written and cleverly paced, this book is a pleasure to read and deserves a lot of attention.
Maeve Williams, an eight year old girl, nearly drowns. After this life threatening experience she falls into a comatose state in which, strangely, she can breath unassisted and her body stops aging. In this state of perpetual youth she becomes the center of attention of science and of the Congregants, a group of people that gathers around Maeve's bed to witness the miracle. But years before Maeve's accident her own mother, the leading researcher of a medical facility that is developing a new drug that promises to ease anxiety and to stop the natural process of aging, dies in strange circumstances in what seems to be a suicide with a never seen before type of rocks in her pockets. What are these rocks? What relationship, if any, is there between her mother's death, the rocks, and the state Maeve is in now? A wide cast of characters is in search of all these answers, including Evangeline, Maeve's twin sister.
Beautifully written and cleverly paced, this book is a pleasure to read and deserves a lot of attention.
August 5, 2023
Amazing! I loved the literary/mystery/sci-fi nature of the book, it was hard to put down.
March 19, 2024
I started out really liking this book and the way the author brought the characters to life with little slice-of-life vignettes. However, it didn't continue being that book after the beginning. Honestly, it felt like it went nowhere. From the chapter titles, you can quickly guess that one of the main characters ends up in a coma for years on end. She ends up being worshipped because she doesn't age when she's in a coma. The title speaks of a museum, which turns out to be a sad little museum devoted to some ancient skeletons and a doll found on the island. And there are some connections to these two things, an experimental medicine that stops aging, and some deaths. However, at the end, it feels like there are just as many answers as at the beginning. I had high hopes for this book, but its ideas sputtered out without feeling like they ever became fully formed. You have to read between the lines to guess how everything is connected because the author never connects the dots. It just becomes more and more philosophical without a resolution or something to tie it all together to make everything make sense as a whole.
May 31, 2023
I won this book as a Goodreads Giveaway, so I’m giving it a star rating. I’m not sure if my star rating is an accurate representation of what I’m thinking, and I’ll explain. I was really enjoying this book for basically it’s entirety… it was giving me serious Emily St. John Mandel vibes, which I love. But then the ending. It just kind of fizzled in my opinion. I felt there were so many things that could have happened, and I was excited to see how she would play it out, but then it was just kind of over. I think there are some deeper, philosophical themes going on here, and that’s cool, so maybe after sitting with this a bit longer I’ll come to appreciate the ending better. But I’m giving it a 4 because for the majority of this book, I was digging it. And I’m a generous rater anyway 😉
July 24, 2023
4.5⭐️
The Museum of Human History is a beautiful, haunting meditation on time, memory, and death- and the many ways we find to try to deal with them- and the repercussions of our choices.
The various characters connect throughout, often without realizing it (or, in the case of the twins, mistaking which they’ve met, as no one seems to be able to tell them apart).
Both a lot and somehow nothing happen, and so much is left for the reader to interpret. I know I’ll be chewing on this one for quite awhile.
Thank you Rebekah Bergman, Tin House, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Museum of Human History is a beautiful, haunting meditation on time, memory, and death- and the many ways we find to try to deal with them- and the repercussions of our choices.
The various characters connect throughout, often without realizing it (or, in the case of the twins, mistaking which they’ve met, as no one seems to be able to tell them apart).
Both a lot and somehow nothing happen, and so much is left for the reader to interpret. I know I’ll be chewing on this one for quite awhile.
Thank you Rebekah Bergman, Tin House, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
June 12, 2023
I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately felt very flat to me. It jumps from one POV to another constantly, some of them irrelevant in my opinion. It was rather confusing. I feel very sad that this book felt long and made me consider abandoning it several times. Nevertheless, I don't think it was a bad book, it probably just wasn't for me.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
January 19, 2024
Was a very meh book. Didn't like how little story there was till the last third of the book. But the vibes were immaculately. So it got one more star then it should for that.
September 14, 2023
This story was beautiful and heartbreaking, and above all, deeply human. After a near-fatal accident, Maeve Wilhelm falls into a mysterious sleep, her body showing no signs of physical aging. I loved the wide-ranging, unique cast of characters who are pulled into Maeve's orbit: refugee-turned-performance artist Monique, who used to babysit the girl; cancer patient Tess, who keeps a notebook of bespoke lists; Tess's husband Luke, who begins to lose his memory after an experimental cosmetic treatment; television producer Sylvia, who lost her husband to the same treatment; and museum owner Kevin, who is more fascinated with the long-dead than the living. I was floored by the tragedy of the Wilhelm family: Maeve's single-minded scientist mother Naomi, who drowns under mysterious circumstances, her reclusive father, Lionel, and her identical twin sister Evangeline, whose everyday aging is a reminder of her sleeping sister. One of many central mysteries in the novel is the biotech company Genesix, which aims to create a cure for aging, and exploits an indigenous island community in the process. The language had a beautiful lyricism to it, and the mystifying story unfolded in more of a spiral than a straight line. I would classify this book as more of a speculative literary novel than more "pedestrian" science fiction, which meant I was probably its perfect audience member. Many thanks to Tin House for the ARC; on sale now.
July 20, 2023
WHEN I TELL YALL, I SCREAMED... I'm not kidding. I am so thankful to Rebekah Bergman, Netgalley, Tin House Books, and PRH Audio for granting me advanced digital and audio access to this dystopian scientific nightmare of a read, before it publishes on August 1, 2023.
This is a book where all the characters are connected before they know the significance and how deeply it impacts the nature of their loved ones.
8-year-old Maeve accidentally drowns one summer, is revived, and then falls into a decades-long state of sleep, not aging in the process. Her mother was a scientist for an experimental aging company who sought to cure "aging" and stop it in its tracks, after discovering the harmful and damaging environmental aftermath, she took her own life (or did she?) Hundreds of the wealthy elite are looking to sign up for this anti-aging injection/process, but many are suffering the same consequence as Maeve, and there are definitely evil intentions at play here.
Can each involved member unveil whats causes these comatose victims, or will the serum continue to collect more souls?
This is a book where all the characters are connected before they know the significance and how deeply it impacts the nature of their loved ones.
8-year-old Maeve accidentally drowns one summer, is revived, and then falls into a decades-long state of sleep, not aging in the process. Her mother was a scientist for an experimental aging company who sought to cure "aging" and stop it in its tracks, after discovering the harmful and damaging environmental aftermath, she took her own life (or did she?) Hundreds of the wealthy elite are looking to sign up for this anti-aging injection/process, but many are suffering the same consequence as Maeve, and there are definitely evil intentions at play here.
Can each involved member unveil whats causes these comatose victims, or will the serum continue to collect more souls?
July 28, 2023
Thanks to Tin House and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so enticing, with its intriguing title and beautiful cover. The premise sounded fascinating. I think to some extent I wasn't in the right mood for this book, but it also stumbled in its execution.
Bergman has created an extensive cast of characters whose lives are all intertwined. It's fun and engaging to try to figure out how everyone is connected as you go. However, you always feel a lot of distance from the characters, so I didn't feel any emotion even though the subject matter was heavy. It was confusing to jump to a new set of characters just as you had started to get your bearings with the previous set. Exhausting!
I anticipated this would be 3 or 4 stars throughout because I expected the ending would pull everything together beautifully and I'd be blown away. Sadly, that does not happen. It seemed like the book struggled to find a place to end, and just rambled on philosophically/vaguely until it stopped. While it's interesting to consider how pain and memory are intertwined aspects of our humanity, and how death comes for all of us, it felt like this book was trying very hard to be deep and it lost a lot of the emotion and punch as a result.
It may have just not been my cup of tea! I think folks would love this if they enjoy: philosophical books, novels with a large cast of characters whose lives are interwoven, and thought-provoking fiction.
This book was so enticing, with its intriguing title and beautiful cover. The premise sounded fascinating. I think to some extent I wasn't in the right mood for this book, but it also stumbled in its execution.
Bergman has created an extensive cast of characters whose lives are all intertwined. It's fun and engaging to try to figure out how everyone is connected as you go. However, you always feel a lot of distance from the characters, so I didn't feel any emotion even though the subject matter was heavy. It was confusing to jump to a new set of characters just as you had started to get your bearings with the previous set. Exhausting!
I anticipated this would be 3 or 4 stars throughout because I expected the ending would pull everything together beautifully and I'd be blown away. Sadly, that does not happen. It seemed like the book struggled to find a place to end, and just rambled on philosophically/vaguely until it stopped. While it's interesting to consider how pain and memory are intertwined aspects of our humanity, and how death comes for all of us, it felt like this book was trying very hard to be deep and it lost a lot of the emotion and punch as a result.
It may have just not been my cup of tea! I think folks would love this if they enjoy: philosophical books, novels with a large cast of characters whose lives are interwoven, and thought-provoking fiction.
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