The life stories Lenni and Margot tell are the heart and soul of this book. I dare you not to feel the full impact of the richness and depth of their stories. The humor and tears, joy and heartbreak, the isolation and loneliness of illness, grief through the loss of a loved one, and the power and love of friendship will hit you like a punch to the gut! Since I lost a dear, long-time friend unexpectedly recently, I might have expected to find The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot too difficult to read. After all, both Lenni and Margot, our main characters, are in the hospital. Lenni tells us she has a life-limiting illness and Margot is being treated for a heart ailment at age 83. I could expect the outcome to be one or both deaths. Because the story is about love, friendship, a bond between two unlikely people and celebrating little joys, I found it an absorbing read and one that appealed to my heart.

Doubleday said: “ The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margottells the story of a friendship between two extraordinary women, one young and one old, both terminally ill, who meet unexpectedly in art class. As their unlikely friendship blossoms, Lenni and Margot realise that between them they have lived for 100 years. With the help of Lenni’s cherry-haired nurse and gentle Father Arthur, the two friends determine to leave something everlasting behind: one hundred paintings showcasing their one hundred years. As they work together in the art room and from their hospital beds, Lenni and Margot share, and paint, the stories of the lives that led them to their serendipitous meeting.

November Book Selections

Rights have already been snapped up at auction or pre-empt to HarperCollins US, Fayard in France, Planeta in Spain, Mondadori in Italy, United Sky in China, Baltos Lankos in Lithuania and, concluding a seven-way auction in Germany, to Penguin Verlag. It is also under offer or at auction in Sweden, Hungary and Romania so far. The nurse says it gently as she explains that the hospital has started to offer a counseling service for young patients whose conditions are “terminal.” She falters, flushing red. “Sorry, I meant life-limiting.” Would I like to sign up? I could have the counselor come to my bed, or I could go to the special counseling room for teenagers. They have a TV in there now. The options seem endless, but the term is not new to me. I have spent many days at the airport. Years.

While there are moments of extreme sorrow , loss and grief, the beautiful moments of camaraderie and friendship will have you smiling through your tears. With a wonderful cast of characters , thought provoking dialogue and an engaging narrative, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is a moving and emotional story that will stay with me for a long time. The author’s skillful storytelling turns what could have been a morbid tale of imminent death into a heart touching celebration of life with wit, wisdom and humor.

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I was a bit perplexed by the Scottish hospital system where a heart patient is allowed to stay over 4 months between surgeries. Other than that, I found this story endearing. These characters will stay with me for a long while. Beautifully narrated in lilting Scots voices, one mature, the other youthful, utterly credible, for once, never distracting.