Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Janice is an extraordinary cleaner. She really cares for her clients and spends time ensuring their needs are met with barely a thought for her own. She’s a collector of stories and shares fragments of them with us as we read on. But her own story? That is a deep, dark secret that she can’t bring herself to share. Her life begins to change when she meets Mrs B, a cantankerous nonagenarian with an interesting story of her own. At its heart this is a story of friendship and it’s really rather magnificent. This book is very different from what I expected but in a good way. I really enjoyed reading the various stories and I was sad to reach the end of the book. I highly recommend it as it’s a very good read.
She wonders if part of storytelling is not only about sharing the good things in life but also enabling the storyteller to send the bad things out, to let them disperse like dust in the wind.”
Christmas Cards & Gift Wrap
The book wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was well written. It makes you unable to put the book down until you’ve finished it. This book was a different read to my normal, but i loved it, ir reminded me of my childhood when my dada would make up stories of Hobgoblins and leprechauns in the woods..... Ultimately, I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book at first. I did think I was in for a romance read but this absolutely didn’t go the way I had anticipated. It is very different from my typical trope but I have to admit, this absolutely got me out of the reading slump I had been in.If you’re looking for something a little light-hearted and not overly taxing, I would recommend you grab a copy of this book.
Awww thanks Barbara. Welcome to Fictionophile. I appreciate your following. Say hello to your bookclub from me.
Janice is a wonderful woman whose authenticity pulls you along...the breadth and originality of supporting characters makes this debut an immersive delight' Dorset Magazine The book is warm and joyful but dies not avoid difficult potentially triggering subjects like suicide and alcoholism.It approaches these areas with sensitivity which is never banal.This is not a sweet slushy book but one that wraps it’s sentiment in truthfulness and tenderness What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adult Mystery? Niece inherits uncle's small shop with a flat (her childhood bedroom) above. Uncle had a place for everything and everything in its place. Manilla envelopes. Estranged but they solved puzzles in the shop in the past. Found 2023. [s] Janice is a collector and a keeper of stories in Cambridge. As she cleans, she hears stories. Janice has a story
The Keeper of Stories” is about human nature with all its flaws and inconsistencies. A fabulous story about storytelling and about guilt. It showcases people who are selfish and narcissistic as well as people who are kindness personified. It also portrays the blessings of friendship, and the influence parents have over their children, both good and bad, and the love of a good dog (with a foul mouth). Another key theme in The Keeper Of Stories is friendship. As Max and Emilia travel through Deltora, they form strong bonds with the people they meet along the way and rely on each other for emotional support. This reinforces the importance of friendship as a source of strength and comfort in difficult times. Absolutely spellbinding…a warm-hearted, thoughtful, funny and yet deeply poignant’ Celia Anderson, author of 59 Memory Lane In part, this book has been inspired by her own love of stationery, which started in her childhood. ‘I have particular memories of new crayons, pencil cases, and exercise books at the beginning of the school year. These gave me a huge amount of pleasure – as did playing Post Offices when I was little.’Charlotte championed The Keeper of Stories and fought for it to be published,’ Sally tells me. ‘If she hadn’t, I’m not sure what would have happened.’ Fiona ( and her son Adam)– Fiona is a recent widow. Her beloved husband John commit suicide and both Fiona and her twelve year old son are decimated by their grief. Janice cleans for them, and offers them friendship and wisdom when they sorely need it. Absolutely spellbinding...a warm-hearted, thoughtful, funny and yet deeply poignant’ Celia Anderson, author of 59 Memory Lane
Janice has many voices in her head - Decius, the dog she walks for Mrs Yeahyeahyeah, Sister Bernadette, and the protagonists of all the stories she collects. She comes to realise, over time, that she is not just a cleaner, she is a friend to many of her clients, though it takes her some time to accept this. This calls to me Lynne. I also love that quote. What great names for some of the characters. I do love uplit and unforgettable characters. Wonderful review. Definitely adding this one.Stories are the lifeblood of our collective spirit, the way we remember who we are and where we come from.” Life-affirming, hopeful fiction that can definitely fit into the 'Uplit' genre, this wonderful novel will definitely be on my list of 'Best Books of 2022'. Highly recommended! The man she’s married is so boring, but she’s still with him. Baring these stories, she doesn’t see her worth as a individual. The characters were amusing and the storyline was interesting. As we follow Janice we are introduced to some of her favourite clients, such as the recently widowed Fiona and her son Adam, famous singer Geordie and the unpleasant Mrs Yeahyeahyeah who Janice only keeps as a client because of her dog, an adorable but apparently foul mouthed fox terrier named Decius. When Mrs Yeahyeahyeah asks Janice to clean for her mother in law, she reluctantly agrees to at least visit , and it is a decision that will change her life. Mrs B is a feisty woman in her nineties who is determined not to leave the home she shared with her beloved husband, the now deceased Augustus. The meeting is not promising at first, but it is soon apparent that Mrs B can see there is more to Janice than meets the eye. Could she be the one who finally convinces Janice, the keeper of stories, that she has a story of her one, and one that is worth sharing with the right people. For Sally, it happened like this. ‘One day, in 2016, I woke up and had the idea for a story. I thought that I’d really like to try and write it and, as I did so, I discovered that I absolutely adored writing creatively and just couldn’t stop.’
Great Deal 
New Comment