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

Product Information

Numbers don’t mean a lot to me. I don’t care about long division or percentages. I don’t know my height or my weight and I can’t remember my dad’s phone number, though I know I used to know it. I prefer words. Delicious, glorious words. Eighty three year old Margot is at the same hospital due to heart problems that required surgery and will require more surgery. Lenni and Margot first catch sight of each other as Margot is trying to fish something out of a recycling bin and Lenni distracts the porter and nurse so that Margot can accomplish her rescue effort. Later Lenni gets herself enrolled in the art class for eighty years and up so that she can spend time with Margot. Margot and Lenni decide to record their combined 100 years of life with their artwork. Margot is a talented artist and for her 83 years of life Lenni records the stories that Margot tells with each picture she creates. Lenni's artwork is not of the same artistic talent but I would love to have gotten to see the pictures she made of her 17 years.

A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—a brave testament to the power of living each day to the fullest, a tribute to the stories that we live, and a reminder of our unlimited capacity for friendship and love. 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. Lenni soon notices 83-year-old Margot when she sees Margot dumpster dive into a recycling bin to retrieve a letter. Margot who is spry for her age, wears purple pajamas and is a rebel. She doesn’t intend to go quietly into death. She also has some adventures she wants to accomplish.Author Marianne Cronin has written a beautiful, emotional book that will surprise you and will stay with you for a long time. And yes, you will cry. Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. MY THOUGHTS: "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.” - Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer to his Pupil.

Lenni, a terminally ill teenage girl, befriends an elderly woman (Margot) in an art class at the hospital where they both are residing. Lenni is looking for somewhere to fit in, in this odd situation, and decides the class for the older folks is where she feels best, rather than the groups designed for those of her own age. Lenni, já te aconteceu perder algo importante como as chaves de casa, os óculos ou o telemóvel e… procurares, procurares, procurares… até que… já frustrada e esgotada… finalmente desistes?! Instead of troubling herself and others with a question she couldn’t answer, she embraced her gift for painting and… celebrated the rest of her life exploring that talent… 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 … The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margo by Marianne Cronin is a heart-warming, funny, and sometimes tear-producing story of a unique friendship. It is a celebration of life and friendship amid the saddest of circumstances.

Select a format:

Lenni is a terminally ill 17 year old Swedish native who will spend the remainder of her short life in the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Although she is dying, she is not inclined to spend the rest of her life in the sterile hospital room where her daily visitors consist only of doctors and nurses. She heads to the hospital chapel to break up the monotony of dying. There, she meets the soon-to-be-retired Father Arthur. While there are moments of extreme sorrow , loss and grief, the beautiful moments of camaraderie and friendship will have you smiling through your tears. With a wonderful cast of characters , thought provoking dialogue and an engaging narrative, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is a moving and emotional story that will stay with me for a long time. The author’s skillful storytelling turns what could have been a morbid tale of imminent death into a heart touching celebration of life with wit, wisdom and humor. I especially enjoyed the dialogue conversations between Lenni and Reverend Author about ‘why’ was Lenni dying — at age 17. Inspired by David Copperfield, Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South. 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.

There are other characters that are also wonderfully described, the New Nurse, who befriends Lenni, sits on her bed and chats as though they are old friends.

Member Reviews

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. So we find out about Lenni’s first and only kiss, and when it might be appropriate to kiss someone. We hear stories from Margot’s life, including her life-long relationship with anti-vivisection campaigner Meena, her first marriage to Johnny and her much later second marriage to Humphrey.

This is a wonderful and beautiful story despite the fact that Lenni is dying, she’s living her last months with as much joy as she can. It captivates, grabs you by the heartstrings and makes you laugh out loud at some of a Lenni’s actions and innovative thinking. The ending is a deeply emotional tear jerker and really touches you as you feel as if you have become friends with the characters. Ensure tissues at the ready. An amusing chance encounter between Lenni and Margot, followed by an actual meeting in the new art therapy class sees an unlikely blossoming friendship form. Together they decide to paint one hundred paintings, each representing a story from their combined liv The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Sheila Reid and Rebecca Benson and takes you on a memorable one-hundred-year journey during the 11 hours of listening time. 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.” A big thank you to Marianne Cronin, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for providing a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.This author really did a good job of bringing out the tears. This book is good. It's well written and has that feeling you look for in a book. The feeling that you are there. That you are a part of it. That you are involved in these two people's lives. You will feel it. I certainly did. 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.