Book Description:
Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most.
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Life is short.
No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. 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 friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. Their last one begins here.
My Thoughts:
Sometimes a character comes along who turns your world upside down and steals your heart and this is what seventeen year old Lenni did to me in this story.
We never actually find out what Lenni has wrong with her but we know from the beginning that whatever it is, it’s terminal. I knew from the off that this was going to be an emotional read and if you are anything like me, you really need to have a box of tissues on stand by!
Lenni and Margot become firm friends in hospital and when they decide to do an art project which celebrates their combined ages, we get to discover more about both characters through the stories behind the pictures. Whilst I found the friendship between these two characters sweet, the one that really grabbed my heart and twisted it fiercely was the relationship between Lenni and Father Arthur, the hospital chaplain. Father Arthur has the patience of a saint with Lenni’s constant questions about death and god. It was both humorous and heart-breaking. I found myself welling up every time these two characters came together.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot was both wonderful and tear jerking. Lenni is one of those characters who is like a whirlwind of fresh air. She felt both young and innocent, yet wise beyond her years. What both characters portray is to live your life to the fullest. This is one of those books where the characters will stay with me for a long time to come. Whilst the ending was also uplifting, boy did I sob my heart out! Get those tissues ready and read this beautiful novel for yourself!
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