I have to be honest – the first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover. I loved the shades of blue, the texture, the font of the text. And the title – that was good too. I decided to give it ago because I was at a loose end, reading-wise, and it was available from my library. It really wasn’t any better thought out than that. I therefore didn’t really go into it with any expectations, it was a complete experiment.
This is the story of Lenni, who is only a teenager, and yet nearing the end of her time on earth, and Margot who is eighty-three. Lenni has been living, largely alone, on the terminal ward of the hospital that she calls home. She doesn’t have much in the way of friends or family, and even the other sick kids are hard for her to connect to – most of them are only passing through before healing and going back to their regular lives, with futures.
One day Lenni stumbles upon an art class. This is where she discovers that she has much more in common with someone much further from her in age, but much closer to her in life expectancy. The two bond, share, learn and become fast friends. They embark on a project – the goal is to create one hundred paintings, one for each year of each of their lives. And as they work on this project, we get to know each of them – what has happened to them, the experiences they have had, what has mattered most to them and the memories that have remained the strongest.
This is a beautiful story of friendship and found family. It’s sad, because of course it is, but it’s also hopeful and full of light and love. It touched me deeply, both because of these characters and their stories, but also because I kind of understand a bit of this. I am not a terminally ill teenager, but I am someone who lives with intense levels of chronic illness that are continually getting worse, and it’s really hard to connect to other people my own age. I often feel that I can relate more to people many years my senior, because though I may be younger in years, we are at a similar point of bodily deterioration and the awareness of mortality and limitation that comes with it. So I loved that this book explores how we are not always defined as accurately by our age as by what our bodies are doing, and inter-generational friendships can be such beautiful ones. This book will make you cry, but you will enjoy every moment of it.
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
Their last one begins here.
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 eighty 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.
Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life even when it is about to be taken away, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most. – Goodreads
Book Title: The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
Author: Marianne Cronin
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook
Published By: Harper Perennial
Released: June 1, 2021
Genre: Fiction, Illness, Friendship
Pages: 322
Date Read: November 6-7, 2022
Rating: 7/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.32/5 (69,709 ratings)
I read this a couple of years ago and loved it. There were bits that angered me (mostly how it seemed Lenni’s family just disappeared). And boy, did I cry near the end. I was never so happy to be home alone as I was then because it was a straight-up ugly cry! I wish more people would give it a try.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
I fully agree! I kept wondering why there wasn’t much said on the subject, and what kind of parent isn’t there? It very much had me!