The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
A Summer Beach Read
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4.5 • 253 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“A beautiful debut, funny, tender, and animated by a willingness to confront life’s obstacles and find a way to survive. . . . It celebrates friendship, finds meaning in difficulty and lets the reader explore dark places while always allowing for the possibility of light. Lenni and Margot are fine companions for all our springtime journeys.”—Harper’s Bazaar, UK
A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—a brave testament to the power of living each day to the fullest, a tribute to the stories that we live, and a reminder of our unlimited capacity for friendship and love.
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Though the teenager has been told she’s dying, she still has plenty of living to do. Joining the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets the magnificent Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.
As their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years. Though their days are dwindling, both are determined to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Lenni’s doting palliative care nurse and Father Arthur, the hospital’s patient chaplain, Lenni and Margot devise a plan to create one hundred paintings showcasing the stories of the century they have lived—stories of love and loss, of courage and kindness, of unexpected tenderness and pure joy.
Though the end is near, life isn’t quite done with these unforgettable women just yet.
Delightfully funny and bittersweet, heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot reminds us of the preciousness of life as it considers the legacy we choose to leave, how we influence the lives of others even after we’re gone, and the wonder of a friendship that transcends time.
From the beautiful cover to the heart-warming story, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a book that will touch your soul and make you appreciate the beauty of life. This literary fiction novel is one of the best books of all time, and it's perfect for anyone who loves novels about love, grief, and friendship.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cronin's touching debut is a joyous celebration of friendship, love, and life. Lenni Pettersson, 17, is dying from an unspecified illness. During her stay as a patient at Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, she befriends Margot Macrae, an 83-year-old dying of heart disease. After an art therapist named Pippa shows Lenni how to paint, an idea slips into her mind "like a silverfish": she suggests that she and Margot make 100 paintings illustrating their cumulative years of life. Meanwhile, Margot's life story gradually emerges in chapters from her point of view. She has been in love with a woman named Meena since before she met her husband, who has since died, and decides that if her surgery goes well she will meet Meena in Vietnam and accept her marriage proposal. While the narrative voice sometimes feels a bit too childlike for a 17-year-old, the story offers plenty of uplifting wisdom (Pippa reminds Lenni and Margot they are "living," not "dying"). Fans of life-affirming tearjerkers will be touched.
Customer Reviews
Beautiful Book of Friendship
This book was lovely. The friendship between Lenni and Margot was enjoyable to read about. It had a unique, sometimes funny and uplifting plot.
Amazing!
I knew I would love this book after only reading the first sentence. I didn’t need the sample, I bought it immediately. The story of Lenni and Margot is joyous. It’ll having you smiling with tears rolling down your cheeks. I love books such as this one. So it was easy to keep me captivated the whole read. I still cried over the book 30 minutes after finishing when I remembered the love and lose.
Sweet, sad and funny!
Such beautiful tale of unexpected friendships and how lives have so many twists and turns. It’s navigating the tricky, sad hairpins with grace that build us.