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A review by okiecozyreader
The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
While this book features several points of view, for some reason, it was hard for me to get Sloane out of my head. I had to keep reminding myself which section I was in and try to see the story from that pov.
Sloane is a librarian, who is known for her “only skill—was how good I was at being inoffensive.” (Ch 1) She gets along with everyone and doesn’t get destroyed by grumpy Mr. Arthur McLachlan who makes everyone else cry and stay away. She keeps trying to make him see the lighter side of things. When he becomes home bound, she can’t help but check on him, even if it means losing her job.
As she cares for him, a little community comes together, along with its own bookclub. I liked her other book The Library of Borrowed Hearts) better, but if you want to try a found family / grumpy-sunshine friendship story, lots of people have liked this one.
“Banning books from the public? What’s next? Shutting down food pantries? Painting the rainbows out of the sky?”c h 1
“And if a certain grouchy someone with wire-rimmed glasses, a gold-tipped cane, and a hole where his heart should be thought that made me naive, so be it. Other people could have their big and bright lives.
I could make do with much less.” Ch 3
“I’d always thought that grief turned people inward, forced them to clutch their memories around them like a cloak against a gathering storm, but the opposite was true. The moment my mom had closed her eyes for the last time, it was as if I’d been plugged into some vast network of other people’s pain.” Ch 23
“They couldn’t just walk away in the middle of a book. They wouldn’t. No matter how strong the provocation. Or how terrible the man.” Ch 28
Sloane is a librarian, who is known for her “only skill—was how good I was at being inoffensive.” (Ch 1) She gets along with everyone and doesn’t get destroyed by grumpy Mr. Arthur McLachlan who makes everyone else cry and stay away. She keeps trying to make him see the lighter side of things. When he becomes home bound, she can’t help but check on him, even if it means losing her job.
As she cares for him, a little community comes together, along with its own bookclub. I liked her other book The Library of Borrowed Hearts) better, but if you want to try a found family / grumpy-sunshine friendship story, lots of people have liked this one.
“Banning books from the public? What’s next? Shutting down food pantries? Painting the rainbows out of the sky?”c h 1
“And if a certain grouchy someone with wire-rimmed glasses, a gold-tipped cane, and a hole where his heart should be thought that made me naive, so be it. Other people could have their big and bright lives.
I could make do with much less.” Ch 3
“I’d always thought that grief turned people inward, forced them to clutch their memories around them like a cloak against a gathering storm, but the opposite was true. The moment my mom had closed her eyes for the last time, it was as if I’d been plugged into some vast network of other people’s pain.” Ch 23
“They couldn’t just walk away in the middle of a book. They wouldn’t. No matter how strong the provocation. Or how terrible the man.” Ch 28