The Museum of Abandoned Secrets

By: Oksana Zabuzhko, Nina Murray - translator

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

In 2003, television journalist Daryna Goshchynska unearths a worn photograph of Olena Dovgan, a member of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army killed in 1947 by Stalin’s secret police. Intrigued by Olena’s story, Daryna sets out to make a documentary of the woman’s extraordinary life and death - and unwittingly opens a door to the past that will change the course of the future.

Spanning 60 tumultuous years of contemporary Ukrainian history, this multigenerational saga weaves a dramatic and intricate web of love, sex, friendship, and death. At its center are three disparate women linked by the abandoned secrets of the past - secrets that refuse to stay hidden.

©2012 Oksana Zabuzhko (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

good book, difficult listening experience

The story was beautifully written, if overwrought (an editor to shave off about 200 pages would have been a good idea).
The reader was meh and her mispronunciations of all things Ukrainian was unbearable—nails on a chalkboard unbearable. Most people who are going to invest this much time in an audiobook are probably somewhat familiar with the country/language to know that the names of many people and cities were absolutely butchered...so bad.

Disappointing!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

In all fairness, I am only just 2 hours into this book, but I am more disappointed with this work than any I can recall in all my 7 plus years of buying audio books. The author rambles on endlessly with no real direction. I cannot recall a single word or detail from the past 2 hours. She has described a variety of people, her boyfried, her dad and her mom in the past 2 hours with no real connection to the story. I am hoping it gets better, but not sure I have the stomach to listen to much more. If you're looking for an engaging read with a story that draws you in, this is not it, at least not immediately (or shortly thereafter).

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not sure, but searching now.

Have you listened to any of Mary Robinette Kowal’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No; but the problem is not the narrator. It's the slow dry start to the story.

Was The Museum of Abandoned Secrets worth the listening time?

Not so far.

Any additional comments?

I want a refund!

Monumental

This is a monumental piece of literature and I loved the almost stream of consciousness style. I was bothered by the couple of historical inaccuracies though and I have to side with historian Grzegorz Motyka on that. Those inaccuracies are especially painful if you are Polish and/or Jewish but they strangely and ironically reinforce the main subject of the book which is how to navigate with the truth of history in a sea of deception.

Long But Worth It

Overall, I liked this book! The storyteller did a good job of bringing the book to life, though some words seem to have been lost in translation. The story is compelling and the middle and ending is well worth getting through the sometimes confusing beginning.
Zabuzhko writes in a style that sometimes feels like she is lost in a train of thought, which can occasionally be very confusing. However, the prose is beautiful. The plot is well paced and puts the reader through a lot. Overall, I would recommend this book to anybody patient enough to read through it.