The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone
Ratings7
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings7
Average rating4.3
A woman learns to expand the boundaries of her small world and let love inside it in this sparkling and unforgettable novel by Audrey Burges. From her attic in the Arizona mountains, thirty-four-year-old Myra Malone blogs about a dollhouse mansion that captivates thousands of readers worldwide. Myra’s stories have created legions of fans who breathlessly await every blog post, trade photographs of Mansion-modeled rooms, and swap theories about the enigmatic and reclusive author. Myra herself is tethered to the Mansion by mysteries she can’t understand—rooms that appear and disappear overnight, music that plays in its corridors. Across the country, Alex Rakes, the scion of a custom furniture business, encounters two Mansion fans trying to recreate a room. The pair show him the Minuscule Mansion, and Alex is shocked to recognize a reflection of his own life mirrored back to him in minute scale. The room is his own bedroom, and the Mansion is his family’s home, handed down from the grandmother who disappeared mysteriously when Alex was a child. Searching for answers, Alex begins corresponding with Myra. Together, the two unwind the lonely paths of their twin worlds—big and small—and trace the stories that entwine them, setting the stage for a meeting rooted in loss, but defined by love.
Reviews with the most likes.
Incredible story with a lot of depth around handling addiction and growth. Some areas got addressed too quickly/cleanly, but overall the story really was wonderful.
Meh. A bit too cutesy for my liking. But a good palate cleanser between my usual murder and mayhem reads.
Impressive debut novel that will appeal to fans of [a:Alice Hoffman 3502 Alice Hoffman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1590599928p2/3502.jpg] and [a:Sarah Addison Allen 566874 Sarah Addison Allen https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1646846141p2/566874.jpg]. Myra Malone is a recluse whose blog about the beautiful miniature mansion (do NOT call it a dollhouse) that she furnishes and decorates is her only connection to the outside world, other than her BFF Gwen. When Myra experiences a financial crisis, Gwen suggests setting up a contest on the blog and raffling off a chance to decorate a room of the winner's choice. They are not expecting to get a response from a totally confused, somewhat perturbed man named Alex who says Myra's mansion is an exact replica of the home that has been in his family for generations. The link between the miniscule and life-sized mansions goes back almost 100 years, and involves romance, magic, trauma, anger, and forgiveness. The book alternates between chapters set at key moments in the past with chapters set in the present as Myra and Alex's email correspondence brings them closer together. Even if you're a fan of magical realism you will have to suspend disbelief a few times (including the fact that agoraphobia can be cured by true love). Burges is a talented storyteller with a distinctive voice who offers a compelling plot, but her characters feel more like symbols than living, breathing people. Still, this was a pleasant surprise, and I will definitely keep the author on my watch list for her next release.
