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A review by jmatkinson1
The 24-Hour Café by Libby Page
5.0
Hannah and Mona are waitresses at a cafe in Liverpool Street. They are also performers but waitressing is their way of paying the bills until they get their big break. The pair share a flat and their lives are completely intertwined but as Hannah mourns her lost relationship, something changes for Mona. Over the course of a 24 hour period the lives of Hannah and Mona are reflected in the lives of the customers of the cafe.
On paper this isn't the sort of book I would normally choose however having loved Libby Page's previous novel (The Lido) I knew that I liked the writer. This book does not disappoint in the slightest. Whilst Hannah and Mona re a little irritating at times the sweep of the narrative is a true reflection of what it is like to have loved and lost, both personally and professionally. The peripheral characters are beautifully imagined and the final section brings a little update to each, both happy and sad. That's what makes this book stand out, it is not completely sweet and happy but it is life-affirming in many ways
On paper this isn't the sort of book I would normally choose however having loved Libby Page's previous novel (The Lido) I knew that I liked the writer. This book does not disappoint in the slightest. Whilst Hannah and Mona re a little irritating at times the sweep of the narrative is a true reflection of what it is like to have loved and lost, both personally and professionally. The peripheral characters are beautifully imagined and the final section brings a little update to each, both happy and sad. That's what makes this book stand out, it is not completely sweet and happy but it is life-affirming in many ways