Not many books are written from the perspective of a 96-year-old woman, and it was refreshing to understand what it is like to look back across a lifetime of memories, happiness and disappointment.
Doris lives in Stockholm, and is alone except for her grandniece Jenny, who lives in San Francisco. They maintain contact weekly via Skype, and that relationship is the lifeline for a woman who while mentally strong, and relatively healthy for her age, has a lonely existence, except for the aides who come to help her dress, maintain her apartment, and bring her meals.
When Doris was a young girl, she received a red address book as a gift from her father, and has kept it ever since, recording the names of all those she knew. As her friends and family members died, she crossed out their names and wrote "dead". As she reviews the names in the address book, the novel recounts the experiences of her past, and her interesting life included years in Paris as a fashion model, a great love and deep friendships, privations and loss during World War II, a period of time in New York, and her return to Stockholm.
Alone in her apartment, she has written her memoirs so that her beloved great niece will know the story of Doris's life, and the history of her own. This is unbeknownst to Jenny until Doris becomes seriously ill and Jenny travels to Sweden to be with her.
This is a gentle and touching story that left me feeling satisfied, peaceful and hopeful, and is a reminder that no one, no matter how old, is any less important or is any less complex, than those with many decades ahead.
Note: this book was translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies.
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