The Keeper of Stories: The most charming and uplifting novel you will read this year!

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This one was a bit of a slow burn, but I did enjoy it and might just add “Vanity Fair’ to my reading pile now.

The people she cleans for are mainly rich and some high profile. One new client is the brusque Mrs B, the mother of the one she refers to as “Mr No, No, Not Now” his wife “Mrs Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” the only saving grace is their dog a fox terrier called Decius. Cleaner Janice knows that it is in people's stories that you really get to know them. From recently widowed Fiona and her son Adam to opera-singing Geordie, the quiet bus driver Euan and the pretentious Mrs. "YeahYeahYeah" and her fox terrier, Decius, Janice has a unique insight into the community around her. Basically, this is a sweet book that means very well and has its moments of sunshine. But it could have been so much more had it been handled differently. I don’t know how I would have felt about this had I read it, but I know that the audiobook was certainly a wonderful way of getting to know this story. Mrs B is my favourite character; she is a grumpy, old and wise ex-spy who doesn’t initially want a cleaner but soon becomes firm friends with Janice. Her detestable son, Mr Nonono is horrid, and his wife, Mrs yesyesyes, is very annoying and no better than him. However, their dog, the cursing fox terrier, Decius, is brilliant. I love how Janice reads his expressions and thoughts. Secrets On The Estate” by Mel Sherratt – Book Review @writermels #SecretsOnTheEstate #EstateSeries #BookReview#NovNov23 November 28, 2023There are so many wonderful stories in The Keeper of Stories that I really want to sit down and listen to this all over again.

Mrs B is in her 90’s and there is far more to her than meets the eye. She is the one who wants to hear Janice’s story. Is Janice ready to reveal it? It is the most engrossing stories. One that has scarred Janice. THE AUTHOR: After studying history at university, I moved to London to work in advertising. However, in my spare time I studied floristry at night school and eventually opened my own flower shop. I soon came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and eventually I began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, I continued my interest in writing when I founded my fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk. Thirty Days of Darkness” by Jenny Lund Madsen – Book Review @OrendaBooks @JennyLundMadsen #ThirtyDaysOfDarkness #BookReview @edelweiss_squad @meganeturney November 26, 2023 EXCERPT: She can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge) she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they always had done, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her… Janice is a cleaner, she's married to Mike and they have a grown up son Simon. Janice spends her days catching buses, cleaning people’s houses, some of her customers are nice to her and others don’t consider she’s a human being and has feelings.There are some really beautiful lines in the book, the most memorable being the ones related to stories. Sample this: “ Every man should leave a story better than he found it.” So why only three stars? Because I found the main character, Janice, pretty annoying and clueless. She is portrayed as a smart middle aged woman, but her actions are all on the contrary: she stays with her freeloading husband, she doesn't stand her ground with people that push her around, and miraculously, she is friends with many of her clients. Having said that - and if you are prepared to get past this - the stories are nice and the dialogues with the dog made me smile all the time.

Mrs B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell?This was a well-written story that really focuses on characterisation. It is what I would consider an ‘observational’ drama, and this feeds into Janice’s character as a ‘story-teller’ or, as some may call her, a bit of a gossip. She can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge) she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they always had done, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her… Then there Janice’s own story - and she does have a story - but has hidden it away. Digging deeper you can see that topics such as suicide, our treatment of the elderly and alcoholism are sensitively handled with this book offering varying degrees of depth and sentiment but all up providing such truth through its tender writing. You will be cheering loudly for Janice and dearly hope she gets her happily ever after from a past that has confined and defined her for too long.