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The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: The new and unforgettable Richard & Judy Book Club pick by [Marianne Cronin]

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Marianne Cronin

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: The new and unforgettable Richard & Judy Book Club pick Kindle Edition

by Marianne Cronin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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**LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD**

'Emotional, involving, witty and sad. Everyone is going to love Lenni and Margot'
JILL MANSELL

'Lenni and Margot are two of the most wonderful, warm, witty and wise heroines I've ever met. Beautiful and glorious' CLARE POOLEY, author of The Authenticity Project

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.
_______________________________________

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.

---------------------------------------------
VOTED BEST UPLIFTING BOOK OF 2021 BY THE INDEPENDENT

'Full of wisdom and kindness. It is just the kind of book I adore' JOANNA CANNON

'Such a delight! I fell head over heels for Lenni and Margot, their wit and vibrancy and marvellous outlooks on life. An utter joy' ABBIE GREAVES

'Charged with light and colour. Gloriously original and full of wisdom, humour, and hope. It made me think and care and laugh and cry. One of my all-time favourite books' HAZEL PRIOR, author of Away with the Penguins

'This is something special: moving, joyful and life-affirming' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Book of the Month

Print length

391 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Transworld Digital
Publication date

18 February 2021
File size

1697 KB
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A gorgeous, heartbreaking story readers won't soon forget ― ELLE MAGAZINE

Charged with light and colour. Gloriously original and full of wisdom, humour, and hope. It made me think and care and laugh and cry. One of my all-time favourite books ― HAZEL PRIOR, author of AWAY WITH THE PENGUINS

Cronin's characters are fully drawn, and chime together to tell a sweet story about connection, loss and living ― IRISH TIMES

A gorgeous, heartwarming novel. The perfect antidote to the world right now ― FABULOUS MAGAZINE

Filled with kindness and quirky characters who restore your faith in life. This debut will stay with you, answering the question, What is life made of? ― MY WEEKLY, BOOK OF THE WEEK

Full of honesty and warmth. A beautiful debut ― CULTUREFLY

An extraordinary tale of living, love and heartbreak ― The Sun

A beautiful, funny, and incredibly assured story filled with rich characters. ― INDEPENDENT

A special and lovely read. Guaranteed to leave you wanting a hug ― STYLIST, Best New Fiction

Heartwarming and remarkable stories of two loveable characters ― BBC NEWS, ones to watch, 2021 --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Book Description

An unforgettable, life-enhancing debut novel for fans of HAROLD FRY, ELEANOR OLIPHANT and THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP- 'Full of wisdom and kindness. Just the kind of book I adore' JOANNA CANNON --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08CGW4PKS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transworld Digital; 1st edition (18 February 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1697 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 391 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 6,582 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 3 in U.S. Humorous Fiction
- 21 in Lesbian Fiction eBooks
- 28 in Lesbian Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4,294 ratings

About the author

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Marianne Cronin

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Hello, I’m Marianne Cronin, author of 'The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot'. Welcome to my Amazon Author page!

Lenni and Margot took me seven years to write and I’m very excited that their story is now reaching readers here on Amazon.

Before I started working on writing fiction full-time, I spent my days in academia, writing things that nobody wanted to read (not even my mum!). I have a PhD in Applied Linguistics but I don’t use the title 'Dr' on official documents because I’m scared of being asked to help in a medical emergency and having only a thesis on linguistics to help.

I like to write at night and I like to be alone when I do. When I’m not writing, I can be found trying to be funny in various improv groups or watching my recently-adopted cat sleeping under my desk.

Bonus fact just for Amazon readers: When I was a student, I worked as a background extra in two Bollywood films. I needed the money, but what I really gained was a fun fact about myself. One of the films is currently streaming on Netflix and I’m not going to say what it’s called.

(You can find me on Instagram, @itsmariannecronin)

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Customer reviews

5 star		66%
4 star		24%
3 star		7%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Lovely

Reviewed in Australia on 30 August 2021

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Seventeen yo Lenni meets 83 yo Margot in a Glasgow hospital. They both have something terminal going on, though Lenni’s illness is never specified. With Margot it’s her heart. Despite being a quirky, interesting person, Lenni is lonely. She’s told her father not to visit (he’s lost in grief) and her mother has gone back to Sweden. So the friendship she develops with Margot and the kindly Father Arthur from the hospital chapel, and the interactions with cheerful Paul the porter and New Nurse with the cherry red hair mean a lot. Lenni and Margot embark on a project to make 100 paintings to celebrate moments in their combined 100 years of life. They tell each other stories from their lives - more so Margot, who has more to tell. Like any life, it’s had its vicissitudes. The paths of ordinary life are rarely straight. This is such a charming and heartfelt story that it’s not surprising that it’s been bought by a Hollywood studio. Let’s hope they don’t make it an American film (they probably will). It’s told with a light, unsentimental touch and Marianne Cronin is to be congratulated for conveying to us the depths of these two protagonists with an effortless-seeming wisdom that never belabours its points, leaving much unsaid.

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kerry Boston

It’s no surprise why this book is getting rave reviews

Reviewed in Australia on 29 August 2021

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A touching set of tales told through art and the experiences of two unique characters facing death threatening illnesses. It will make you laugh, cry and question everything you THINK some of the dying may be feeling. It reaches into you and tugs at your heart in a way that leaves you forever changed.
Hard to put down you will fall in love with all the characters, and only wish they could go on forever. Love has many forms and this book explores many of them. I found myself having the re-read paragraphs to get their deeper meaning or insinuation. My advice is to read slowly and take it in.

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Shez Fordham

beautifully written

Reviewed in Australia on 24 May 2022

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This novel is both heartfelt and poignant exploring all the meaningful and mundane moments of life while drawing you into the very different worlds of Lenni and Margot. Cronin ties all the threads together beautifully and her use of language sweeps you away into other times and places. Well worth the read.

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A bit of a disappointment

Reviewed in Australia on 23 July 2021

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I began Lenni and Margot with high hopes, but felt disappointed with the book half way through. The story was really about Margot, rather than Lenni and her illness, which is how the book began. I think the plot lacked strength, and both the plot and the characters lacked credibility.

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laurel

amazing story

Reviewed in Australia on 21 May 2022

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This book brought laughter and tears and was a wonderful story of what women can mean to each other and the depth of those feelings over the years. The years between the women can be traversed through love and friendship. Powerful story and so worth the read.

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Funny and touching and real. Families are what you make them.

Reviewed in Australia on 3 March 2021

5★
“‘Am I in it?’ she asked.

‘If you were, would you want to read it?’

‘Of course!’

‘Then no, you’re not in it.’

‘I am in it, really, aren’t I?’

‘Who can say?’ I said.

She got off my bed and slipped her shoes back on.

‘If I’m in it, can you make me taller?’

I just gave her a look.

‘Goodnight, Lenni,’ she said. And she left me alone with my diary. To write about her.”

“New Nurse” has been visiting Lenni in the May Ward. She is Lenni’s favourite nurse, a flamboyant woman whom Lenni met when New Nurse escorted her to the chapel. She had

“cherry red hair, which clashed with her blue uniform like there was no tomorrow. She’d only been on the May Ward a matter of days and she was nervous, especially around the airport children …

I loved this one! I wouldn’t change a thing.

Lenni is 17 and is in the May Ward of the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital because she has a terminal disease. Ooops, sorry. Lenni tells us staff are supposed to say “life-limiting” now instead of terminal – and anyway, terminal makes her think of an airport terminal. Note her reference to the airport children, above. She is bright and funny and openly questioning of everything.

Her interactions with the hospital chaplain, the gentle Father Arthur, are both amusing and thought-provoking for both of them. She visits the chapel only because she has discovered they have to let her go there if she wants to – religious reasons, and all that. A brief escape from the May Ward.

“‘So tell me, Lenni, what brings you to the chapel today?’

‘I’m thinking about buying a second-hand BMW.’

He didn’t know what to do with that, so he picked up the Bible from the pew beside him, thumbed through it without looking at the pages, and put it down again.”

Poor, lovely Father Arthur. He is a delight. Then there is The Temp. The story is told from Lenni’s point of view, except she tells us about The Temp from the third person point of view, and for some reason, it works.

The Temp plays an important role because she wants to open an Art Room for the patients, and this is where Lenni meets 83-year-old Margot.

Their combined age of 100 inspires a plan to produce 100 pieces of art to celebrate each year, and as they paint, they share stories from their past. Lenni’s are of her early childhood in Sweden, while Margot’s cover a much longer life history.

Some memories come easily, but some are difficult, especially one of Margot’s.

“‘Why don’t you skip it?’ I asked.

She looked at me from a faraway place.

‘You know,’ I said, ‘move on to the next year?’

She stared down at her paper mirror. ‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because everything that happens next . . .’

She stopped. She seemed so small that I wanted to scoop her up and lay her down in a pile of soft toys and cushions, and cover her in a warm blanket.”

I read a preview sample from BuzzBooks, so I knew to expect good writing and humour, but I didn’t expect such a detailed and thorough history of Margot’s long and interesting life. She tells Lenni stories with each of her paintings, and Lenni sometimes describes how the painting shows, for example, the stars.

Margot had fallen in love with a star-gazer who was fond of quoting poetry to her, particularly “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil” by Sarah Williams that ends with this wonderful stanza.

“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light.
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

It is perfect for this story of love and friendship and the understandable nervousness about “the night” that faces us all, not just Lenni and Margot. Do not be afraid - read it!

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Top reviews from other countries

Charismatic Critic

This is Marianne Cronin’s debut novel and what a debut it is!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2021

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Wow! This is one of my favourite books and one which I will be recommending to many of my friends for years to come!

The story begins by comparing terminal illness to an airport terminal, something I thought was very cleverly done and is carried forward to the end of the book making for a very well rounded story.

The main characters Lenni and Margot are, in many ways, an unlikely pairing but their friendship blossoms and together they share stories of their combined 100 years of life. I relished the stories of Margot, she was full of surprises and it was clear that she had lived a very full life, although not without heartache and pain.

Lenni also has a very special relationship with Father Arthur whom she visits on a regular basis. Their conversations made me laugh out loud and highlighted Lenni’s quick wit and sense of humour.

Although the plot is built around death, it focuses so much on life. There is no emphasis on the illnesses that either of these woman have, there is no unnecessary details shared about their suffering. Instead, this part is very much skimmed over to make way for moments of happiness and the joy they bring to one another’s final chapter.

If you only read one book this year, make it this one. It is such a beautiful looking book to own and one which I chose to buy in hardback because it will look amazing on my book shelf.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is an incredible debut novel from Marianne Cronin, an author who is going to go far and I look forward to joining her on her journey.

28 people found this helpful

Nicola

Perfection!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2021

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"We can’t know why you are dying in the same way we can’t know why we are living. Living and dying are complete mysteries, and you can’t know either until you have done both."

WOW!!!!

Having read this book I now need to reassess my previous 5 ⭐️ reads. This book is up there, in the top 3 of the best books I have ever read!!!!! I have so much to say about it, but I’m struggling to do it the justice it deserves. Here goes….

This book tells the story of Lenni a 17 year old who has a terminal illness. Although fighting this illness Lenni is alive and wants to live. She refuses with all her strength to let this illness take her life. She sees herself as the person she should be, not who she now is. Lenni is wise beyond her years. She is a beautiful character who is well liked by everyone that she meets, in walks Margot.

Margot is an 83 year old within the same hospital as Lenni and she is suffering with heart problems for which she requires more surgery.

They become unlikely friends at an art class set up for the patients within the hospital.

This book is absolute perfection. It tells the story so beautifully of two unlikely friends and how they bond over a joint project dreamt up by Lenni. We hear about the lives of both, the happiness and sadness leading up to them being in hospital. There is a lot of the story that is of Margot’s life, not surprising really as she has a lot more to tell as she is much older.

I laughed out loud several times during the book. However as the book went on the sadness started to hang over me. This book is a complete celebration of life and love and to be honest it makes you think about the impressions you leave on your own friends and family. This book is thought provoking on another level. The writing is beautiful, the characters are all so well developed. I cannot believe that this is Cronin’s debut novel!!

If you were wanting to choose a book that will leave a lasting impression on you, then don’t delay in reading this, you won’t be disappointed, sad definitely but not disappointed.

15 people found this helpful

Audrey Haylins

Vibrates with wisdom, wit and grace

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 December 2021

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I love a tale about unlikely friendships, but I don’t recall ever reading anything quite as affecting as this emotionally charged story about teenager Lenni and octogenarian Margot.

At 17 and 83 respectively (a combined lifetime of 100 years), they should have little in common. They were born into different worlds, different eras. Margot has lived a long and rich life, while Lenni’s is coming to an end before it’s barely begun. It’s a heartbreaking foundation for a friendship kindled on a palliative care ward.

In many ways, this should be a dark, disturbing read. And, yes, it does have its darker moments. Paradoxically, though, the takeaway is a celebration of life rather than the tragedy of a young girl’s death.

Quite how Marianne Cronin pulls off this astonishing feat, I’m not sure.

Much, of course, is down to the two main protagonists. Lenni: feisty, irreverent, brave, and dying; an old head on frail, young shoulders. Margot: a survivor with a lifetime of regrets and a wicked sense of humor. The two are kindred spirits; drawn to each other like moths to a flame.

Through their friendship and the hours spent on their joint hospital art project, Margot gets to relive and reassess her life, while Lenni gets to vicariously live a life, an experience she’ll never own. The symbiosis is simple but achingly beautiful.

The layers to this novel, Cronin’s debut, are so richly textured, it’s impossible to unpick them. They vibrate with wisdom, wit and grace. They pluck at your heartstrings. And they cling to your consciousness long after you turn the final page.

A triumph of a debut and one of my top five reads of 2021. I can’t wait to read Cronin’s next masterpiece.

Thanks for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful. You can find more candid book reviews on my Amazon profile page.

21 people found this helpful

Nicmac

Beautiful and moving.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 March 2021

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Just lovely. Emotional but not depressing tale of a terminally ill 17 year old who meets an 83 year old woman in the hospital and forms an art club with her which celebrates the 100 years they have lived. Add in a friendship with a hospital vicar and a helpful nurse and this book explores friendships and the need to live your life to the max every single day. I loved it, despite the ugly crying!

12 people found this helpful

Jay Ray

An original idea

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2021

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This is an interesting book, featuring two very different people who become friends in an unusual hospital. The main characters and their "supporting cast " are well written and we become absorbed into their stories.
My only niggle, which really annoys me in books, is several basic historical inaccuracies which should have been picked up.
Girls in 1948, bemoaning the lack of young men because they'd died in the trenches in France. That was WW1 not WW2.
A child in 1940 asking for a tissue. Rare, a handkerchief was more likely.
Someone wearing a very short mini skirt in 1960, when hemlines were only just above the knee.
If the author gets it wrong, someone should get it right.

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The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: The new and unforgettable Richard & Judy Book Club pick Kindle Edition

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