Book Description
**LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD**
'Emotional, involving, witty and sad. Everyone is going to love Lenni and Margot'
JILL MANSELL
'Lenni and Margot are two of the most wonderful, warm, witty and wise heroines I've ever met. Beautiful and glorious' CLARE POOLEY, author of The Authenticity Project
Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most.
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Life is short.
No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.
Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.
To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.
As their friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. Their last one begins here.
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VOTED BEST UPLIFTING BOOK OF 2021 BY THE INDEPENDENT
'Full of wisdom and kindness. It is just the kind of book I adore' JOANNA CANNON
'Such a delight! I fell head over heels for Lenni and Margot, their wit and vibrancy and marvellous outlooks on life. An utter joy' ABBIE GREAVES
'Charged with light and colour. Gloriously original and full of wisdom, humour, and hope. It made me think and care and laugh and cry. One of my all-time favourite books' HAZEL PRIOR, author of Away with the Penguins
'This is something special: moving, joyful and life-affirming' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Book of the Month
Book Review
Review for 'The One Hundred Years Of Lenni And Margot' by Marianne Cronin
Read and reviewed for Burry Port book club, Marianne Cronin and Penguin publishers.
Publication date 9th December 2021
This is Marianne's debut novel.
I was originally drawn to this book by its interesting cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. It was also chosen as the book of the month in my local book club. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Penguin. I have yet to read a book published by Quercus that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 75 chapters and an interview set over 3 parts. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Glasgow, Scotland 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.I have actually holidayed in Scotland many time so am intrigued to see if I recognise places based on anywhere I visited while there.
This book is written in first person perspective and the protagonists are Lenni Pettersson and Margot Macrae. The benefits of books written in first person perspective with multiple protagonists are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.
'The One Hundred Years Of Lenni And Margot' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Marieanne discusses/includes loss of a child and cancer.
WOW!!!! What can I say?!?! One thing I have got to say before getting into my review is clear your schedules and grab the tissues as you will need them!!!
This has got to be one of the most stunning books I have EVER read ♥
This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline.
This book is devastatingly heart-breaking and beautiful. I absolutely love the unique storyline and the fact that two women with such a large age gap create this beautiful friendship is just gorgeous. There are very few books I have come across with a young and elderly protagonist becoming such good friends and I absolutely loved it!! It is an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions filled with love, hate, romance, heartbreak, anger, laughter, regrets, family, love, loss, secrets, friendship and so much more. It is one of the most unforgettable books I have ever read!! It tells the story of 17 year old Lenni and 83 year old Margot and how they meet in the hospital. Lenni has cancer and Margot heart problems. Between them they have loved 100 years and want to celebrate this by painting a picture for each year of their lives. They tell the stories of their past lives, loves and regrets and Marieanne's evocative writing skills sucks the reader straight into the storyline with the characters, hospital and the past coming to life around them. I was absolutely mind blown when I realised this was her debut novel!! I mean WOW!! If this is her first book I just cannot wait to read her future books and if they are a quarter as amazing as this one they are guaranteed to be absolute page turners!!! This is just one of those rare books that words just cannot express how powerful and emotional it is. It will make you cry both tears of happiness and sadness. The fact that Marianne has done her research absolutely shines through so a huge congratulations Marianne! One of my pet hates is when authors don't research their topics and then the book is littered with unnecessary mistakes which can spoil the story for me. The multiple narrative brings the story to life along with the descriptions and ensures the reader can see everything that is going on and what the characters are thinking and feeling. When I was reading this book I could feel my heartbeat speeding up as I was getting a dark sense of foreboding the deeper into the book I got and I ended up with tears streaming down my face so make sure you get those tissues ready!! It is one of those books that I just simply could not put down and I walked around everywhere with my kindle and the book. Every chapter ended in a way that I had to know what was going to happen next and then it would move on to the next chapter and do the same so I blew through this in one sitting. Reading this book really does make you feel that you are standing with them and going through their pain, love, and suffering. While you are reading this you are going through a journey of love and loss, heartbreak, secrets, love, and regrets and so, so much more. It really is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put it down. I was carrying the book around to read it every chance that I got. You need to clear your schedules and get the tissues at the ready because you will not be able to put this book down. There are some tough topics are explored with realism and sensitivity, that all culminated in a very gripping and powerful page turner. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time and although it could be a difficult read at times with emotions running high I would seriously recommend it to anyone and everyone!!
This may be the first book I have read by Marianne but I cannot wait to get hold of more books by this extremely talented author. It is one of the most stunning and unforgettable book that I have ever read and one that will stay with me for years if not forever! AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ!!
The characters were all very strong and realistic and Marianne's writing ensured they jumped off the pages at me. My heart went out to each of the main protagonists for different reasons during different chapters. I absolutely loved Lenni's absolutely fantastic, strong and attitude filled personality. She doesn't want to die and fights every chance she gets to live as much as she can with the restrictions she is meant to stick to, but doesn't always. She is such a strong young woman and my heart bled for her. The fact that she refuses to lie down and let what she has left to live pass her by but to make the most of it makes her such a strong female role model to so many people both in her situation and not. She is such a smart and mature woman who is an adult not only for herself but for her father too which I found deeply sad. Lenni tells us about her short 17 years, her first and last kiss, her father who leaves her side as he "can't see her like this" and her alcoholic mother. I must admit her father really annoyed me with his attitude and "can't see you like this" attitude and I have spoken to other cancer survivors who told me their friends didn't visit for that same joke of a reason. It is never nice to see someone you love suffer but they are the ones suffering and to use this as an excuse to abandon them makes me sick!! Anyway, enough of my rant but it does make me love her even more. Lenni made me laugh so many times with some of the things she came out with I had tears running down my face. What an amazing woman!!! On the other side of the age spectrum we have the absolutely fantastic Margot who may be 83 but she does not suffer fools gladly and has the same spunk as 17 year old Lenni. Margot is full of life and I absolutely lost myself in her storytelling about her childhood, her father who was left distraught after the war, her marriage ripped apart by tragedy, heartache and loss and new love found. An absolutely amazing woman and if I grow to be half as feisty as her I will be very happy!! If your expecting a sweet little old lady then you will be shocked by this purple coated strong lady who also refuses to back down. The friendship between these two women is absolutely stunning and something that everyone would be grateful to have. They are bonded by tragedy but wrapped in love, the adopted mother and daughter pair which proves blood is not always thicker than water!! Among Margot and Lenni we also meet Father Arthur and New Nurse among many others but these are the ones who stuck out to me the most. I absolutely loved how Lenni and Father Arthur also develop this unlikely bond that is filled with laughter, random questions and love and he is definitely another unforgettable character who will always stay with me. I also enjoyed meeting New Nurse who gets to see Lenni at her weakest and strongest but also Learns from her and they also develop a beautiful unforgettable bond. Arthur and New Nurse are both beautiful and caring people who want the best for Lenni although she doesn't always see it this way. I won't say anymore about the characters as I don't want to go into too much detail at the risk of spoiling it for other readers but Marieanne has done an amazing job at bringing each of the characters to life. Well done Marieanne!!!
Congratulations Marieanne on an absolutely stunning, unforgettable, heart-breaking beautiful book!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! Welcome to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂
Overall an absolutely unputdownable, stunning, addictive and compelling devastatingly beautiful heart-breaking MUST READ!!
Genres covered in this book include Women's Friendship Fiction, Lesbian Biographies, Christian Fiction, Doctor's & Medicine Humour, Women's Religious Fiction, Women's Contemporary Fiction, Religious Fiction, Contemporary Religious Fiction, Women's Christian Fiction, Medical Fiction, Women's Writers & Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Romance Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Modern Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance Fiction, amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Six Feet Apart', Jodi Picoult, Nicolas Sparks, you, your friends, your family, your neighbours and absolutely everybody and anybody!!!!! What are you waiting for??? Grab your copy now!!!
400 pages.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle and £9.19 in paperback via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Lenni and Margot took me seven years to write and I’m very excited that their story is now reaching readers here on Amazon.
Before I started working on writing fiction full-time, I spent my days in academia, writing things that nobody wanted to read (not even my mum!). I have a PhD in Applied Linguistics but I don’t use the title 'Dr' on official documents because I’m scared of being asked to help in a medical emergency and having only a thesis on linguistics to help.
I like to write at night and I like to be alone when I do. When I’m not writing, I can be found trying to be funny in various improv groups or watching my recently-adopted cat sleeping under my desk.
Bonus fact just for Amazon readers: When I was a student, I worked as a background extra in two Bollywood films. I needed the money, but what I really gained was a fun fact about myself. One of the films is currently streaming on Netflix and I’m not going to say what it’s called.
(You can find me on Instagram, @itsmariannecronin)
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