The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

 

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.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot kept appearing on my Twitter feed and when I popped over to read the synopsis, I loved the sound of the original concept and was desperate to read this one.

The storyline follows the new friendship that develops between two hospital patients, 17 year old Lenni who was my favourite character and dear 83 year old Margot who are both in hospital and realise between them they have lived 100 years. The pair embark on a task of painting a picture of each year of their lives telling us their story along the way.

One Hundred Years of Lennie and Margot is not like any book I have read which made this such a fresh and exciting read that I was completely captivated by. The characters were well and truly brought to life and it isn’t long before they feel like friends talking to us which only makes the emotive side of this novel feel more raw. I loved both Lenni and Margot they were both wonderful and engaging characters who have lead eventful lives but Lenni sure was my favourite. Lenni had such a wicked dry sense of humour which had me chuckling away especially with her conversations with Father Arthur, she definitely wasn’t one to worry about voicing her opinion or questioning certain beliefs! Her illness has made her grow up so quick and she is certainly wise for her years but the way she deals with her dad in relation to her illness showed a maturity that no teen should have at her age and this really broke my heart.

Margot’s life story was one that has been a rollercoaster of events and there was a certain part of her life that was incredibly sensitive and the author delivers this topic with such gentle care.

This is undeniably a remarkable debut and without a doubt this book will be a big hit for 2021. The characters wit and friendship build the reader up into a false sense of security only for the poignant parts to then really hit home and leave an ugly crying reader with a pile of crumpled tissues!

 

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