The Museum of Bullshit
Reviewed By: Susan Keefe
Susan Keefe reviews and promotes poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and is also author of the Toby's Tails series of children's books.
There are museums, and then there are museums. Throughout the world there are excellent institutions dedicated to science, nature, history, and a wide range of other subject, and then there are those other museums, dark places whose exhibits are unnatural, curios and freaks. These ‘other’ museums hold a great attraction for those of us who like to think freely, see the incredible, and believe in the unbelievable.
Marcus Auster is the owner of such a museum. The Olympic Museum of Cryptozoological Studies is a strange place, filled with curios, and freaks of nature, natural or man-made, who can tell…
Marcus believes he has just been allowed to exhibit the greatest cryptozoological find in two centuries, a Bigfoot shot in the bleak wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The Indian tribes of North America told stories of these Bigfoot or Sasquatch, large upright hairy ape like creatures, and through the generations these stories have become folklore, known throughout the world. People have devoted their lives to hunting them, photographing them, recording their voices, and taking casts of their gigantic footprints. One such person, although now jaded, is Bigfoot researcher Lydia Swane, who has come to view the exhibit before it is on show, and she has brought with her Louis Price, a haunted extremist, a man fighting his own demons, and with a book deal to fulfil.
On being shown the exhibit, Lydia and Louis, both realise that the creature standing in the gloom before them could be the real thing. However Marcus is adamant that they are not allowed to photograph it, or take samples, so how are they to tell, after all it could be a clever hoax.
Lydia is unconvinced, however, despite her better judgement Louis manages to persuade her to accompany him on a few more days research, hopefully to determine the truth.
The locals are a close knit community, not prone to gossip, however Lydia and Louis questioning eventually pays off, and the result takes the unlikely pair on an amazing adventure into the bleak Pacific Northwest. On their journey they are accompanied by Clyde Whitethunder, a man, who believes as they do that the Bigfoot exists.
Days trekking through deep snow, across harsh terrain, hearing strange sounds and seeing mysterious sights lead the adventurers through a myriad of emotions, yet nothing is to prepare them for the exciting conclusion to their incredible journey.
In Summary: At the turn of every page of this amazing book, award-winning author Brad Rau takes his readers on a gripping journey through the harsh wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, on a quest to discover if Bigfoot really exists. Highly recommended! – Susan Keefe TheColumbiaReview.com