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carolyn0613's review against another edition
4.0
This is a super book. Florence is in her eighties and living in sheltered accommodation. Her best friend Elsie is her constant companion. A new resident, Gabriel, moves in and Florence recognises him as someone frightening from her past, even though he is calling himself a different name, Ronald. With fellow resident Tom, they go searching for clues about what happened and why he has turned up at this point in time. The book is written in a very engaging style and flits back and forth between the recent past and Florence's youth. I enjoyed reading about the lives of the other characters, Miss Ambrose the warden and Simon the handyman. The ending seemed a little far fetched as did the motivations of Ronald. But I would highly recommend reading it.
booksnake386's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
alidottie's review against another edition
4.0
4 and a half
I loved this book. The characters were endearing and the story was interesting and I thought like her last book that I read (I hadn’t realized this is the same author I just read), it gives you a lot to think about. We often don’t have all the information we think we have. How many regrets could be avoided.
I loved this book. The characters were endearing and the story was interesting and I thought like her last book that I read (I hadn’t realized this is the same author I just read), it gives you a lot to think about. We often don’t have all the information we think we have. How many regrets could be avoided.
laurenw22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sput90's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jobarn's review
4.0
honestly kind of glad i read the last 25% in one go because i did NOT see any of that coming
kathrynmullen's review against another edition
5.0
Tender and wise, this book about an elderly woman living in an assisted living facility was so well-rendered that at times it made me so sad that I didn’t want to read it. But I’m glad I did! The book was really generous in its observations about aging and life in general. And the relationships between the characters that developed over the course of the novel were just lovely.
shannonw19's review against another edition
5.0
Three Things About Elsie is a really good book. It's a mystery. It's a meditation on aging and how the aged are treated. It's subtle, but still manages to smack you in the face in a way that you don't realize you have been smacked....at first.
Florence, Jack, and Elise are residents of a home for the aging (nursing home) in England. They are fine until a mysterious new resident moves into the community - a resident that Florence swears has been dead for 60 years. But how could Ronnie Butler (aka Gabriel Price) be alive? He drowned. After he ran over his wife in his car.
The thing that makes this book so interesting is that Florence, from whose perspective most of the story is told, may or may not have dementia and may or may not be seeing what is really happening. Some of what Florence says makes no sense. Some of it makes too much sense. Florence relies on Elsie and Jack to help her remember.
On top of the appearance of Ronnie Butler, Florence has been put on "probation" by the nursing home and is being evaluated for transfer to the dementia/Alzheimer's home, to which she desperately doesn't want to go. She thinks that Ronnie is responsible for ordering a bunch of pizzas, claiming to be her, or buying a cupboard full of cakes, when Florence swears she bought just one. Or moving the ceramic elephant on her mantle. All of these things make Florence look like she needs the dementia home.
There are a couple of jaw-dropping plot twists that I honestly didn't see coming. And like I said before, the book puts them out there in a subtle way that makes you have to re-read just to make sure you understood what you thought you read.
Other than being mildly unhappy with the ending, I really liked this book. It is a reminder that we place so much value on youth in this society that we forget what our elders can teach us. It is also a reminder that people, while their bodies may be failing (or even their minds), have a lot to offer.
Joanna Cannon is a lovely writer. She is masterful at turning a phrase - and this book is full of quotable phrases and passages. It is almost lyrical the way it's written. I truly enjoyed the writing as much as the story. I got hung up on some things that are clearly British and I had to Google, but that isn't even a fault because I learned.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's a mystery, but it's also a meditation on getting old and society's disregard for the elderly. It's just a well-written story with characters you won't soon forget.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no other compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
Florence, Jack, and Elise are residents of a home for the aging (nursing home) in England. They are fine until a mysterious new resident moves into the community - a resident that Florence swears has been dead for 60 years. But how could Ronnie Butler (aka Gabriel Price) be alive? He drowned. After he ran over his wife in his car.
The thing that makes this book so interesting is that Florence, from whose perspective most of the story is told, may or may not have dementia and may or may not be seeing what is really happening. Some of what Florence says makes no sense. Some of it makes too much sense. Florence relies on Elsie and Jack to help her remember.
On top of the appearance of Ronnie Butler, Florence has been put on "probation" by the nursing home and is being evaluated for transfer to the dementia/Alzheimer's home, to which she desperately doesn't want to go. She thinks that Ronnie is responsible for ordering a bunch of pizzas, claiming to be her, or buying a cupboard full of cakes, when Florence swears she bought just one. Or moving the ceramic elephant on her mantle. All of these things make Florence look like she needs the dementia home.
There are a couple of jaw-dropping plot twists that I honestly didn't see coming. And like I said before, the book puts them out there in a subtle way that makes you have to re-read just to make sure you understood what you thought you read.
Other than being mildly unhappy with the ending, I really liked this book. It is a reminder that we place so much value on youth in this society that we forget what our elders can teach us. It is also a reminder that people, while their bodies may be failing (or even their minds), have a lot to offer.
Joanna Cannon is a lovely writer. She is masterful at turning a phrase - and this book is full of quotable phrases and passages. It is almost lyrical the way it's written. I truly enjoyed the writing as much as the story. I got hung up on some things that are clearly British and I had to Google, but that isn't even a fault because I learned.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's a mystery, but it's also a meditation on getting old and society's disregard for the elderly. It's just a well-written story with characters you won't soon forget.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no other compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
thebobsphere's review against another edition
4.0
Joanna Cannon forms part of a movement called ‘Up Lit‘ , which consists of books that are optimistic. Personally that does not bother me. What I care about is if the story is unpredictable an well written. In this aspect, Cannon succeeds.
The story focuses on Florence, an 84 year old living in an old age home, One evening she falls and retells a series of events that happened to her and her best friend Elsie over the past few months.
As always when old people are mentioned the dementia trope is used and Florence does suffer from this. In fact the book starts with a new addition to the home and Florence thinks that he is a person who a played a role in her past.
The rest of Three Things About Elsie is a sort of murder mystery. As Florence is an unreliable narrator, Cannon includes different characters in the narrative and us readers see the same event from their perspective.
Through the murder mystery Cannon proves how even the most insignificant detail can have an effect on one’s destiny and shape it. All the characters have some connection with each other and Cannon pulls this off well. I also liked the fact that at some points I was surprised and Cannon did not take a conventional route.
However the book is not perfect. At times it gently echoed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (well I guess the character Ms. Honeyman is a tribute) and there’s one sequence when the old age pensioners gang up and go on an adventure, which felt a bit Enid Blyton at times BUT then in retrospect this adventure is slightly deceptive but obviously I can’t say why over here.
On the whole Three Things About Elsie is a well structured novel that is a quick and pleasant read. It’s the sort of book you would give someone who is in their late forties. It’s not offensive and neither does it insult one’s intelligence and has a feel good factor. It may not change your world but it will make it better for a couple of days.
The story focuses on Florence, an 84 year old living in an old age home, One evening she falls and retells a series of events that happened to her and her best friend Elsie over the past few months.
As always when old people are mentioned the dementia trope is used and Florence does suffer from this. In fact the book starts with a new addition to the home and Florence thinks that he is a person who a played a role in her past.
The rest of Three Things About Elsie is a sort of murder mystery. As Florence is an unreliable narrator, Cannon includes different characters in the narrative and us readers see the same event from their perspective.
Through the murder mystery Cannon proves how even the most insignificant detail can have an effect on one’s destiny and shape it. All the characters have some connection with each other and Cannon pulls this off well. I also liked the fact that at some points I was surprised and Cannon did not take a conventional route.
However the book is not perfect. At times it gently echoed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (well I guess the character Ms. Honeyman is a tribute) and there’s one sequence when the old age pensioners gang up and go on an adventure, which felt a bit Enid Blyton at times BUT then in retrospect this adventure is slightly deceptive but obviously I can’t say why over here.
On the whole Three Things About Elsie is a well structured novel that is a quick and pleasant read. It’s the sort of book you would give someone who is in their late forties. It’s not offensive and neither does it insult one’s intelligence and has a feel good factor. It may not change your world but it will make it better for a couple of days.