Stevie‘s review of The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges
Contemporary Magical Realism published by Berkley 24 Jan 23
I have a long-standing love for dollhouses and miniature dioramas, so this book looked very much like something I would enjoy reading. Myra Malone inherited a dollhouse and furnishings (but no dolls) from her grandfather’s second wife, who died in a car crash when Myra was five. Badly injured in the same accident, Myra has hardly left the cabin in which she lives with her mother since leaving the hospital six months later, almost thirty years ago. There are magical aspects to the dollhouse: accessories, items of furniture, and even whole rooms appear and disappear without warning; music plays from the house, especially at night. Myra feels as if the house is telling her what it wants. When Myra’s mother confesses that their cabin is about to be repossessed due to her overspending on the high-end fashion items she hoards, Myra’s saved income from freelance writing isn’t going to be enough to save them. However, Myra’s best friend, Gwen, suggests they hold a series of competitions for followers of Myra’s blog, with the main prize a chance for the winner to see the house for themselves. Enter Alex…
Rutherford Alexander Rakes III has returned from working in China as an English teacher to step into his family’s furniture village, due to his father’s declining health. The company has flourished in recent years, selling overpriced replicas of vintage furniture to wealthy patrons. Alex, who much prefers hunting down bargain examples of genuinely old furniture, hates the job, and the only consolation he gets from his return is that he is able to stay in the mansion that used to belong to his grandmother, a house his father hates. Talking one day to customers who have a particular piece in mind, Alex sees pictures from Myra’s blog and realises that her mansion is a very close replica of the one he inhabits. Taking advantage of the competition, Alex writes to Myra in hope of answers.
The two soon become friends, but Myra is reluctant to meet Alex, or even talk to him on the phone initially. Meanwhile, Alex’s father is struggling with his mental health, as well as his physical limitations, and takes his frustrations out on Alex and his love for the mansion. Things come to a head right before Myra’s house is due to be auctioned, and everything looks grim for both families. Money and magic save the day, though, and a solution is found that works for almost everyone.
Told from multiple points of view across the years spanning the lifetimes of both Myra and her step-grandmother, this story was enchanting, if a little disjointed at times. I could have done without the epilogue, but I definitely want to see more from the author.
Grade: B
Summary:
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.
Read an excerpt.
