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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Doris Alm is 96 years old and is writing about her life by recounting her relationships with the dead people in her address book. She doesn’t want her memories to die with her so she is writing them for Jenny, her grand-niece. Doris and Jenny video chat to keep in touch. One day Doris falls while trying to get something to eat on her own. Her hip fractures and she ends up in the hospital.
Jenny decides to go to Sweden to see her aunt before she dies. She asks her husband to try to find her aunt’s one true love if he is still alive because she thinks that her aunt needs to see him again before she dies.
This book had some very sad moments but also some beautiful ones about love and family. I enjoyed reading the book.
Jenny decides to go to Sweden to see her aunt before she dies. She asks her husband to try to find her aunt’s one true love if he is still alive because she thinks that her aunt needs to see him again before she dies.
This book had some very sad moments but also some beautiful ones about love and family. I enjoyed reading the book.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book had a little bit of a slow start for me, but picked up. The story was one of the more sad ones I’ve read in awhile.
My great grandfather was born just 19 years after Dorris is said to have been born. He, much like Dossi for Jenny, has been one of the few constants in my life. I moved in with him at the age of 18, and stayed there until 21. Those three years were the hardest I’ve experienced in my personal life, but I never could have made it through without his consistency. He tells me stories of his life, a life much like Dorris’ was. He served in Germany and France immediately post-WWII, and he hates Paris as much as Dorris did when she first arrived. He loved Germany, and the Swiss Alps were his favorite place he visited while on tour. Reading about Jenny coping with her inner child during the wake of her only living family member dying… her having to care for her own baby while she recalled all the times Dorris cared for her… discovering the truth of her conception and the product of sexual assault that Dorris, too, carried into the world… It was all a lot for me. It’s a beautiful read, an inspiring read. Well worth the time. I feel so blessed to have heard these words just when I need them most.
3.75 for this one. They actually did a nice job with the back then & now. Loved the concept of the book and the main characters journey through life. Recommend this one.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Life takes many paths for the central character, Doris, and the telling of the story through an address book makes for an interesting way to shift though time, place and characters.
With Doris close to death Jenny, the grand niece, becomes a more pivotal character and the story becomes the unraveling of her childhood and future.
At times the story seems a bit lost and the ending is a bit too tidy but still worth the read.
With Doris close to death Jenny, the grand niece, becomes a more pivotal character and the story becomes the unraveling of her childhood and future.
At times the story seems a bit lost and the ending is a bit too tidy but still worth the read.
Compelling storytelling has elderly woman’s lifelong reflections stem from her worn address book. This unique approach uses a gift received from her beloved father, who died when she was a teenager, to list each memorable person in her long life. As she nears the end of her life, the address book serves as a reminder of everyone she has loved and lost. The book is gripping and very moving as it plays out across the 20th Century. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley and enjoyed it very much. -Suzanne R.
96-year-old Doris has nobody left in her life, save her great-niece who lives halfway around the world. A bad fall sends Doris to the hospital and Jenny, her niece, hops on the next plane to Stockholm to be with her. Upon Jenny's arrival, she finds that Doris has chronicled her life in stories through people listed in her little red address book. Next to the name of each person is the word "dead,"- a theme throughout the book as Doris struggles with loneliness. Each person and story are integral to Doris' journey in four different countries, in a world at war, and of a lost love. A quick read with a bit of a cliche ending but nonetheless enjoyable. – Hanna G.
96-year-old Doris has nobody left in her life, save her great-niece who lives halfway around the world. A bad fall sends Doris to the hospital and Jenny, her niece, hops on the next plane to Stockholm to be with her. Upon Jenny's arrival, she finds that Doris has chronicled her life in stories through people listed in her little red address book. Next to the name of each person is the word "dead,"- a theme throughout the book as Doris struggles with loneliness. Each person and story are integral to Doris' journey in four different countries, in a world at war, and of a lost love. A quick read with a bit of a cliche ending but nonetheless enjoyable. – Hanna G.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No