Lovers at the Museum Prove Quite an Eyeful

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Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende was published on April Fools Day 2024, and it feels a bit like a literary celebration of that holiday! Basically the story’s about a young couple found in an art museum where they have allegedly spent the night making love on every floor, completely unbeknownst to security which requires a willing suspension of disbelief. The young man is buck naked until someone covers his manhood with a hat, and the young lady is in a wedding gown (her new lover couldn’t work the buttons), having chickened out in the hours leading up to her scheduled nuptials because the groom just didn’t turn her on, unlike her new friend, who had the presence of mind to propose to her shortly after their meeting, although when investigators asked her lover’s name, she didn’t know what it was, but once she learned it, found it muy simpatico.


There are some mystical elements involved in the tale, which reminded me a bit of Gabriela Marquez’s work. I did find the story humorous in many respects, but expected more from Allende, although certainly 25 pages is not a lot to work with. I would still read more of her short stories to get a better feel for them, and this was the first short story by her I have read. 

I decided to try and read one short story a day this year to mix things up a bit. I may not get to one every day, but want to read as many as possible, since I have neglected them in the years after high school, and incorporating them amongst much longer books has the refreshing effect of a palate cleansing sorbet…it freshens up my day, and there are also quite a few short story authors within the Goodreads community.  

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