The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

 

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Magot: A Novel by Marianne Cronin. New York: Harper Perennial, 2021. 322pp. About the Author, About the Book, Read on. *****

Lenni is 17 and Margot 83 years old, together they have lived 100 years. Lenni lives in the section of the Glasgow hospital for those who are terminally ill, where she meets Margot in an art class.  Margot has heart disease.  Both Lenni and Margot find it difficult to relate to people their own age and are left alone without family in the hospital. 

Told in alternating voices, Lenni and Margo forge a friendship and share their life stories in their art.

I received this book as a book club's choice, the Colony of Readers, a Facebook Book Club. 

I am so glad this book was chosen because I probably would not have picked it up myself. There are no happy endings in this bittersweet debut novel, however, the journey is worth it. Cronin doesn't try to soften the blow of being "terminal" however, comparing it to an airport terminal and suggesting "life-limiting “as an alternative label is brilliant! Lenni's interactions with Father Arthur are thought-provoking and humorous. She wants to introduce herself to God before she meets him and, in the process, discovers a friend in Father Arthur. Anyone who has spent time in a hospital with a family member who has a long-term illness knows that the experience can take on a life of its own. The nurses become confidants, the other families become friends and the doctors viewed as saviors. Many reviewers have suggested it is a sad, tear-jerker book, I found it to be touching, life affirming and hopeful. There are so many elements to this story that I highly recommend it for a Book Club. 

Marianne Cronin was born in 1990, grew up in Warwickshire, England, and began writing stories as soon as she could hold a pen. She spent seven years this novel  and now counts herself very lucky that she gets to spend her days while her rescue cat, Puffin sleeps under her desk. In her spare time, Marianne performs improv in the West Midlands, where she lives. 

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