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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. Margot is eighty three and she's also dying. Her's is a heart problem. With all she's been through I can certainly understand why too. This poor woman has seen enough death and heartache for several people. She's a very strong woman though and a true friend. She's one that you will love also. Together her and Lenni are a pair. A pair of the best of friends. They needed each other and they pair so well. They take on a mission and see it to its end.
Captivated by Margot’s long and storied life, Lenni concocts a creative scheme. They will make paintings of pivotal moments from their lives, one for each of their combined 100 years, as a way to chronicle their stories and transport themselves away from the reality of hospital beds and surgeries. As they paint, their creative body of work begins to surprise them, as well as their fellow artist patients and excited art teacher, Pippa. With the encouragement of hospital chaplain Father Arthur and a favorite nurse, Lenni and Margot press on through memories both painful and breathtaking. There is nothing new or exciting about her days, so she decides to go to the hospital chapel, not because she is religious, but because she can. Lenni is an inquisitive and funny 17-year-old girl. She is also terminally ill. The Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital is now her home. When she meets Margot, a gravely ill, 83-year-old fellow patient, they form a close bond. Lenni is intrigued by the fact that their combined ages total 100 years. Together in their art therapy class, they decide to create 100 paintings to document each year of their lives. Through the details behind each of the paintings, we learn their stories. And in the quiet, as she carefully outlined her yellow star in gold, I got this feeling I've never felt with anyone. That I had all the time in the world. I didn't have to rush to tell her anything, we could just be.” Margot travels to Vietnam to see Meena – where is the furthest you have travelled to see someone you love?
I definitely cried towards the end, but mostly because this book made me really think about the friendships I have had throughout my life and how I can use my life to make a difference in the lives of others, if only in a simple way. If only we could all be a little more like Lenni sometimes. Thank you to #netgally, #mariannecronin, #harpercollinspublishers for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book. 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. An emotionally layered and engrossing story of a family that asks: Can love make a broken person whole? Lenni is 17 years old, has a gift for painting, is dying from a terminal disease and… wants to know why?
Margot is an 83 year old woman who is terminally ill with a heart condition. She meets Lenni and they decide to complete 100 paintings in the art therapy room at the hospital. Each painting represents one of their combined 100 years. The author presents each year in the form of Margot or Lenni telling the other the story of that year. Through these moments, they relive their lives together. Margot tells her life story – full of loss, reinvention, and all the different types of love she has experienced. The chapters alternate between the two women. Most cover a slice or slices of one of their lives from the past, each of which is inspiration for a painting. Other chapters take place in present time. For reasons you will find out, neither Lenni nor Margot has a close family member nearby. They just have each other. Then there are New Nurse, Father Arthur, Pippa the art facilitator, and Paul the Porter. All these people eventually become a part of the makeshift family as well. Lenni and Margot’s story definitely made me cry a few times, and the journey was worth every tear. This book isn’t just about Lenni’s terminal illness. It’s about the depth of friendship and love, overcoming immense grief, and the beauty in humanity. Gather your book club, put the kettle on and use the questions below to get the conversation started. Warning: spoilers ahead... They paint pictures for the years of their lives and during these times.. they tell each other the stories of their lives so far.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 lives – 83 pictures for Margot, 17 for Lenni, 100 in total.
This one was a quiet build and by the end I was ugly crying, yes, for what you might think, but also for this beautiful friendship. What moments would you paint from your life, excluding marriages, births, and deaths? Are there any simple, everyday moments that you would describe for Lenni? Graceful, intelligent, beautiful writing. Full of wisdom and kindness. It is just the kind of book I adore.”— Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and SheepFriendship is a big theme of the book, how do Lenni’s friendships with Margot, Father Arthur and New Nurse change her? This is a nonromantic love story. It is heartfelt and a joy to read. Yes, it did make me cry, as a matter of fact from 87% on. If you are seeking a substantive yet fast read loaded with feelings, this one is for you. Follow seventeen-year-old Lenni and eighty-three-year-old Margot as they celebrate their shared century. Together 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.
This is a book where the two main characters are both terminally ill. They will both die. You’ll fall in love with them anyway. I’m typing this review with swollen eyes, as I finished this book last night before bed. Even though it was a tearjerker, I’d read it again. Lenni is 17 years old and is hospitalized for a fatal condition. Margot is 83 and is in the same hospital for serious cardiac issues. They briefly meet at a dumpster inside the hospital, then later in the Rose Room where patients convene for art projects. Seventeen plus 83 equals 100 years of life between Lenni and Margot. Together they set a goal of creating 100 paintings covering these 100 years. With it's uplifting message, the story is both poignant and also comical." — Cosmopolitan (20 Book's You're Going to Want to Read this Summer) I shuffled in, feeling the eyes of the room on me and my pink pyjamas. I should have gone for my Sunday best slippers.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 According to the publisher, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is being adapted into a feature film by a major Hollywood studio, which I could see being quite good – the scenes in the book would lend themselves quite easily to a visual medium. Lenni is seventeen and living on the terminal ward of a hospital, and Margot is 83. The two become acquainted in the art room, and discover that their ages together equal 100 years. They decide to tell stories and do paintings for each year of their lives to honor those 100 years. I adored both Lenni and Margot, and all of the other friends that come in and out of their lives in the past and the present. I appreciated Father Arthur and his gentle spirit, allowing Lenni to ask questions and not feeling like he had to rush in with the answers. Lenni also befriends the priest at the hospital and I loved their interactions. She has some hilarious questions and challenging conversations for him. I love how she wants to start a marketing campaign to drum up more business for him.
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