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

I expected to cry my way through this story but it was so uplifting. Inspirational and the characters were so believable....just a few tears near the end .

Absolutely loved it, life affirming, weepy, laugh out loud. Just brilliant.

Posting on behalf of a member of our reading group:

This novel is both funny and sad . The main characters are Lenni who is 17 and Margot who is 83 . Both are terminally ill. They meet in hospital in the art class run by Pippa. Lenni is immediately drawn to Margot and they strike up an extraordinary friendship. They plan to paint a hundred paintings to represent their hundred year age together.

Lenni has a very wicked sense of humour and also befriends the priest, Father Arthur, who develops a bond with her despite her rather critical but funny views on religion and all aspects of his faith.

The book contain stories both by Lenni and Margot about their lives which they tell each other. Both have a positive outlook despite being terminal. Lenni shares her quirky views on people and life.
Margot shares her interesting life where she married twice and also loved a woman whom she had met before her second husband and was willing to marry . She also shares her sadness at losing her baby.
Definitely a good read and holds your attention waiting for the next chapter . The story is about sadness and humour and hope as well as friendships and bereavement.

I feel it's the development of the character's stories that make the book . It's certainly not predictable.

We are introduced to Lenni, a seventeen year-old Swedish-born young woman now, for all intents and purposes, living on the May Ward of the Princess Royal Hospital in Glasgow, a ward for young people with “life-limiting” illnesses. When a new art room is set up, Lenni meets Margot, an eighty-three year old woman and together they decide to paint the story of their combined 100 years of life, one painting for each year. As they paint, they tell the stories behind some of the pictures.
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.
Along the way Lenni challenges the hospital chaplain, Father Arthur about God and why she is in the situation she is in. We are also introduced to the supporting characters that include New Nurse, Porter Paul and grumpy Jacky.
Cronin paints pictures with her words and through Lenni’s situation and encounters colours the story with wit and wisdom, with laugh-out-loud moments and weep-into-your-tissue moments too.
I read this book through a reading group and it is definitely not a book I would normally have picked up. However, I adored it. The characters are built up in your minds like a friendship builds in time and I came to love them and not want to let them go. I am recommending this book to all my book-loving friends and strangers alike.

I really loved this book and I read it in 3 days. The characters of Lenni, Margot and Arthur all made me smile, but, at times, feel utter sadness. Then, there was nurse Jackie, I have nothing but contempt for you!
At three points reading this book I had a “wow” moment. First, when I saw where Margot lived when she was young (Cromdale St, Glasgow is where my 83 year old mum lives now). Second was when I saw where she moved to when she married Johnny (Church St, Glasgow is where my mum went to school). Three was when she told Johnny she was pregnant (I told my husband the same way). I had a personal connection and it felt surreal.
I loved the way Marianne Cronin weaved the memories of Lennie and Margot throughout the book. I laughed and cried in equal measures.
Marianne Cronin is an author to watch and I hope I don't have to wait 6 years for her next creation.