The Museum of Human History

De: Rebekah Bergman

Narrado por: Gilli Messer, Mark Bramhall

“This daughter of Mary Shelley delights and excites the border between story and science.”―Samantha Hunt

“A novel about what we want and also what we can’t escape.”―Allegra Hyde

“A haunting chord of a novel that will hang in the air long after you turn the final page.”―Tiffany Tsao

“Reads like a documentary retold as a dream retold as a mystery novel. What a wise, good-hearted debut!”―Kate Bernheimer

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.

Terrific Novel & Reading

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.

Excellent read/listen

Thought provoking, captivating. Between listening sessions I couldn't stop thinking about what folds of the stories I'd just uncovered and what might be next. I'm not one to revisit books/tv, but I keep thinking back to these characters and expect I'll want to give this another listen. Voice performance also very well done.

What a fantastic surprise!

These characters will stay with me forever - at least as long as nature and chance preserve my ability to remember. Ha! A juicy mystery and a nuanced exploration of time, memory, and what it means to be together.

Excellent story & narration

Good character development, engaging narration, and a great weaving together of non-linear stories of people whose lives are related in different ways to a young girl who falls into a years-long coma.