Lenni is 17. Margot is 83. Together they are 100. They have something to say, and one day, in an art class, they sit down to tell their life stories in 100 drawings.
We do need to address the elephant in the room before we go any further. Neither Lenni nor Margot has long to live, and the reason they meet is that they are in the same hospital. For an NHS staff reading group, this book choice could have been a little close to home, particularly considering its sharply-drawn portrayals of hospital staff. Nurses, porters, chaplains and doctors all have their encounters with these somewhat rebellious patients documented from a patient’s perspective.
Having said that, in the real-world, present-day NHS, it was a busy month at our Trust, and only a very select group could make it to our lunchtime virtual meeting. Some didn’t have time to finish the novel, but a number shared their thoughts in messages before or after the meeting
Given the potentially heavy premise (terminal illness), the novel went down well with the group, and we appreciated the light and shade, and the threads of humour that often stemmed from Lenni’s quirky thought processes and turns of phrase. It would be fair to say that there was a slight divide between those who didn’t have a bad word to say about the book (“beautifully-written and heartfelt… I loved, loved, loved it!”) and those who thought the premise and narrative slightly too simplistic, cosy and serendipitous (“not blown away”).
More than one of the group really enjoyed reading the novel, and admitted to “quite a few laughs and tears” (this blogger included). Readers described the characters’ relationships as “spot-on” and appreciated the hospital chaplain’s sense of humour when confronted with a no-nonsense, terminally ill teenager.
One reading group member said it was their favourite book that they had read with us so far, and that they had been prompted to buy their own copy to read again. Another wondered if it would be made into a film, and we agreed it could be interesting to see the pictures that Margot and Lenni paint during the story reproduced on canvas.
On balance, this is a read we would heartily recommend – but have tissues at the ready!
June sees Libraries Change Lives Week (2nd-8th June), and what better way to celebrate than by holding a joint reading group with George Eliot. The book is Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books,
We have free copies donated by the publisher, so pop in and claim yours now! We’re meeting to discuss it on Tuesday 3rd June, 12:30-1pm, so there’s not long left to read this one.