THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT BY MARIANNE CRONIN

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BOOK NAME: THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT

AUTHOR NAME: MARIANNE CRONIN

GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION 

PUBLISHER: PENGUIN BOOKS

BOOK BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.in/One-Hundred-Years-Lenni-Margot-ebook/dp/B08F7SS35N



BOOK COVER IMAGE 




BOOK REVIEW

Are you done with the list of the most devastating books ever known to readers, and you feel empty right now and have no idea what to do next? Worry not; I am here with another recommendation that will tear your heart with its uplifting yet tragic dramedy. This book has stayed in my TBR for so long because I didn't want to get it over with so soon. But I realised it was time when I desperately needed a book with some delicious comedy and a heartbreaking plot.


Lenni, a seventeen-year-old Swedish girl settled in Scotland and diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, finds it hard to cope in the Mayward. She keeps nagging the nurses and Father Arthur with her never-ending questions. Things are mundane until she meets an eighty-three-year-old Margot in the Rose room with whom she forms an immediate bond. They share their secrets with each other and they soon start a project of drawing their shared hundred years of lifetime in the upcoming days. But will Lenni and Margot survive each day to complete their project? What will the hundred-year project bring out from Lenni and Margot that will make them unforgettable?


I was initially so worried that I had made a mistake of spending on this book because the beginning was just all over the place. But as the story progressed, I could hardly put it down. The initial chapters were more of Lenni being an adamant girl demanding everyone fulfil her needs immediately, and she really got on my nerves. I was so fed up with her behaviour that when nurse Jackie put her in her place, I silently rejoiced. Slowly but steadily, I developed a liking for Lenni's quirks as well. If you, too, can put up with her antics in the initial few pages, then rest assured, you are in for a wonderful journey. 


As per the title, the book should have been more about the bond between Lenni and Margot. But somehow, the story was more about their past lives, unfolding alternatively in each chapter. I, however, enjoyed Margot's story more than Lenni's, which I kept looking forward to in each chapter. Also, I loved the friendship between Lenni and Father Arthur a little more than what was between Lenni and Margot. What stood out for me the most was how death was looked at from a patient who is going through a life-limiting condition's point of view with a touch of humour and heartbreak. All the characters only made me smile even when they were on their deathbeds with their signature dialogues, and I can only imagine being so brave in the face of death.  



Trigger warnings: chronic illness, death, loss of a child, PTSD

MY REVIEW: 4/5 

This post is a part of Blogchatter’s #TBRchallenge

#penbooksandscalpel

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