Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

BookBrowse Reviews Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

Meet Me at the Museum

by Anne Youngson
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (33):
  • First Published:
  • Aug 7, 2018, 224 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Aug 2019, 288 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews

BookBrowse:


Anne Youngson's debut novel Meet Me at the Museum explores life and loss through the letters of two lonely and disparate individuals.
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For access to our digital magazine, free books,and other benefits, become a member today.

Of our 33 First Impression reviewers, 29 rated Meet Me at the Museum as four- or five-star, for an impressive average overall score of 4.4 out of 5 stars.

What it's about:
Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson is a gentle story about second chances (Rebecca H). In this epistolary novel, letters are exchanged between two strangers who gradually develop a deep friendship through their correspondence (Melinda H). A chance inquiry from a woman in England reaches a Danish museum curator, and his reply launches a casual conversation that grows into the fulfillment of deep and previously unrecognized needs of both participants (Sheryl M).

Many reviewers found the author's observations astute:
Youngson's insights into human nature, love, what makes life meaningful, and the importance of family are remarkable. I turned down more than one page so that I could go back and reread something wise one character had written to another (Eileen C). Though this is the story of two people who are past middle age, most readers will realize that Tina's and Kristian's concerns, interests, opinions and ideas have parallels in all our lives. A careful reading will provide gems of wisdom, or at least stimulate thoughts and suggest new options or renewals in your life (Sheryl M). It reminded me to take time to step out of my daily routine, look around, listen, and reflect upon the world around me. (Wilhelmina H). It's a book that makes you think about your own relationships with family, music, poetry and other parts of your life (Joan V).

Several readers remarked on their appreciation of the older characters featured in the book:
I enjoyed the depiction of older middle-aged people coming to terms with their remaining time and being satisfied with what has occurred and what can occur. And yet something surprising (to them) can still happen (Elizabeth L). While love is not lost on the young, love between those with greater life experiences is delightfully multifaceted (Sheryl M). It is so nice to read a book about older people which does not ridicule them (Joan V).

Reviewers overwhelmingly considered it a quiet novel:
What a delightful book (Eileen C). It was gentle on my soul. It does not grab you and smack you, but leads you on a leisurely stroll into two people's lives and their growing friendship. It provided a welcome respite from some of the heavier genres that are popular right now, although it's certainly not fluff (Susan U). As I turned the last page, I found myself smiling gently, and I am still smiling (Gail K).

Most also mentioned that the novel is a leisurely read, and one that readers should take their time enjoying:
Meet Me at the Museum was a lovely, slower-paced read and a nice reminder that the paths we take through time have more "raspberries and ferns" to enjoy...no matter how old we become (Dorothy G). I liked the slower pace of this novel, which aligns with the slower pace of writing and posting handwritten letters instead of the more immediate forms of email or texting (Wilhelmina H). Go slowly with this book. Savor each page. Like a museum where each room and display holds a treasure, each page of this book inspires and links us to our humanity and oneness with time and place (Maureen R).

Some thought it started a bit too slowly but that it was worth the effort:
I have to say, if I hadn't agreed to review this book, I wouldn't have read beyond 20 pages. I felt the book got better as the letters became more personal and I began to see the characters more fully (Elyse G). When I first started reading it, I must admit I was a little bored. I didn't really understand where the writer was going with the story, but as I continued to read it I grew to love it (Colleen F).

Most enjoyed and would recommend it:
Meet Me at the Museum is one of my favorite books of all time (Maureen R). I liked it immensely (Marci G). I recommend it to those who are willing to read at a leisurely and thoughtful pace in order to appreciate each letter (Gail K). I think book clubs would really enjoy this book; it has much to offer and provides much to think about (Patricia W).

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in August 2018, and has been updated for the September 2019 edition. Click here to go to this issue.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book:
  Tollund Man

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Meet Me at the Museum, try these:

  • The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl jacket

    The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl

    by Bart Yates

    Published 2024

    About This book

    Both sweeping and exquisitely intimate, award-winning author Bart Yates blends historical fact and fiction in a surprising, thought-provoking saga spanning 12 significant days across nearly 100 years in the life of a single man, beginning in 1920s Utah.

  • A Town Called Solace jacket

    A Town Called Solace

    by Mary Lawson

    Published 2022

    About This book

    More by this author

    Mary Lawson is back after almost a decade with a fresh and timely novel that is different in subject but just as emotional and atmospheric as her beloved earlier work.

We have 11 read-alikes for Meet Me at the Museum, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Anne Youngson
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    Prophet Song
    by Paul Lynch
    Paul Lynch's 2023 Booker Prize–winning Prophet Song is a speedboat of a novel that hurtles...
  • Book Jacket: The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    by Lynda Cohen Loigman
    Lynda Cohen Loigman's delightful novel The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern opens in 1987. The titular ...
  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...
  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl disappears, leaving a mystery unsolved for fifty years.
Book Jacket
The Story Collector
by Evie Woods
From the international bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop!
Who Said...

Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.