Reviewed by Daniel Ryan Johnson
Our experiences have a way of shaping our lives, and any traumas we suffer can have a severe effect on the people we become. However, our memories are unreliable, and even the most impactful event can become distorted over time. Thinking too much about the past can raise significant questions about the reality we believe we have lived. In The Museum of Lies, author J. Timothy Hunt takes an in-depth look at the concepts of trauma, memory, and reality. Purchase Here.
The book follows the life of Cary Scott, jumping back and forth through time from one traumatic experience to another. The book paints a detailed picture of a deeply neurotic man with severe issues of self-loathing who has suffered various forms of abuse from strangers and loved ones alike. Throughout the story, we also see Cary grow more and more concerned about whether his memories are really his own and become fixated on separating fact from fiction. Adding a few tales of unbelievable good fortune in among the seemingly countless stories of suffering makes the case for the reality of the narrative even more tenuous for both Cary and the reader alike.
The character work in The Museum of Lies is terrific. Hunt does a beautiful job of portraying Cary as a profoundly troubled man who is constantly looking to fix himself and is never satisfied with the results. He shows Cary at various points in his youth enduring significantly damaging forms of abuse and humiliation. While the severity of these traumas varies greatly, we see how even comparatively minor embarrassments can take their toll and contribute to the mental breakdown of a bright and promising child.
The Museum of Lies is a quick read that is portrayed more as a collection of vignettes with a common theme than a standard novel. The non-linear storytelling spanning decades is engaging as the reader is constantly bouncing back and forth between cause and effect, with the questions about the reliability of memory leaving you wondering which is which.
Hunt does a great job of keeping the reader wanting more by leaving you with questions at the end of every chapter that often are not answered until several chapters later. The Museum of Lies is an enjoyable (if somewhat unsettling) read that will leave you thinking back on your own life and wondering what about your existence you can prove.