The book itself was for me a broken promise, considering that I immensely liked other books written by Elizabeth Buchan.
There are some good ideas, e.g. the idea of a museum of broken promises itself, however, she fails to deliver. I found Laure, the main character, rather tragic and not very plausible, I just can’t imagine that an 18-year-old would let the events of one summer determine how happily she would live her whole life, no matter how strong the emotions were. The main characters in general are not very likeable and the writing is rather chaotic - focus, places, times are changing often and almost randomly. The perspective on life in Prague in 1980s is very one-sided, all gloom and doom as if it was a war zone, and there are so many little inaccuracies, from names to not understanding the culture and context, that I start to doubt how accurate her other historical novels are
There are some good ideas, e.g. the idea of a museum of broken promises itself, however, she fails to deliver. I found Laure, the main character, rather tragic and not very plausible, I just can’t imagine that an 18-year-old would let the events of one summer determine how happily she would live her whole life, no matter how strong the emotions were. The main characters in general are not very likeable and the writing is rather chaotic - focus, places, times are changing often and almost randomly. The perspective on life in Prague in 1980s is very one-sided, all gloom and doom as if it was a war zone, and there are so many little inaccuracies, from names to not understanding the culture and context, that I start to doubt how accurate her other historical novels are