The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Summary:
Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it’s not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.
Dodging doctor’s orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.
To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.
As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.
My Review:
A debut novel that will tug at your heartstrings and a story of the gift of life. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin (Doubleday) is released on 18th February and Marianne’s gorgeous debut took seven years to write but Marianne has written a very beautiful and poignant story.
Life is precious, that is something the last year has really taught us. Grab hold of life and celebrate it and live for each and every day. This is the story of Lenni and Margot. Lenni is 17-years-old and Margot is 83.
A hospital in Glasgow is where Lenni is and the news is not great, she is now living with a terminal illness. But the thing is about Lenni she is young and poking death in the eye and giving it what for and that is not all, at the hospital there is Chaplin, Arthur is his name and Lenni will raise questions about life and death at the tender age of 17 when she has a whole life of adventure just waiting for her. There are no real answers of course because no-one has answers to these questions. Lenni joins an art class as part of a therapy programme.
At the same hospital there is Margot (83) a life lived and a love lost. For Lenni and Margot they meet at the art therapy programme and a special bond is formed and that is not all they discover they combine 100 years. So what a better way to celebrate life than to paint their stories of their lives. For these paintings will tell their stories after they have gone. Happy times, sad times, of love and kindness. Every painting will tell a story.
The story of Lenni and Margot will make you laugh and it will make you cry, take my word for that. I did both. I loved the characters I met in the story and Marianne writes like she has written many a bestseller. I have a feeling we will be hearing more from Marianne Cronin in the years to come. A book to treasure. You will not be disappointed it is just wonderful.
400 Pages.
Thank you Alison Barrow for the review copy of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is published by Doubleday and is released on 18th February 2021 and is available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org
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