Ohh I loved this book so much, partly I was always very close to my grandmother from my childhood. It really touched my heart.
It's an emotional, and entertaining story of three old women. All these women have their own realtionshipd with their families, secrets, etc. Since there are 3 POVs, it was inevitable to fall into the point that some were more interesting than others. But, nevertheless I enjoyed this book a lot.

I'd highly recommend.
Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I heard about Salley Vickers’ novel Grandmothers, my heart ached. Since I was a little girl, I have always been close to my grandmother. I remember eating at my grandparents every day. I remember Wednesday trips to the mall. She used to go shopping for my meat and she made me believe foie gras was a simple pâté. I ate it for years without knowing it was not a habit for everyone!

I also remember my grandmother was not a fan of cuddles. She had a temper at times. She loved her grandchildren but wanted to keep her freedom. She was a creature of habit. She had my mother’s eyes and I write the way she used to.

Now she is safe and living in a closed home because her Alzheimer is stealing her away from us. But no illness can steal the fact she is my grandmother. I chose to read this novel for her. For us. For the woman she used to be.

Just like with parents, there is no manual about how to be grandparents. Wait, there probably is. But the truth is we are all different, and this works for grandmothers too.

Salley Vickers gives us the opportunity to meet three different women. A desperate mother dealing with difficult relationships with her son and her daughter-in-law, preventing her from enjoying time with her granddaughter. A very down-to-earth grandmother with what some people would call ‘peculiar views on life’ and her grandson Billy. A woman with no blood ties with a Rose but the strongest bond you can think of.

What do they have in common? Love for the future generation.

I am grateful this book reminded me grandmothers are human. They are wise, and special, and lucky are those who can count on such a woman to grow up next to. In a world of categories, boxes, and a false idea of freedom, we forget that we are not prisoners. We can take a step back and get a new perspective. We can see them for who they really are, and not just who we want them to be.

Grandmothers deals with loss and pain, but also joy and shared memories. Nan, Minna, and Blanche struggle, they fight, they lose, they win. They take risks, they rediscover themselves. I took a lot of pleasure simply holding their hand through the pages, feeling like a companion at times, a little kid sometimes, but always loved and reassured. When those three women’s lives intertwine, life reminds us the small things matter, and there is a reason for everything, whether we like it or not. Their differences helped me understand them better.

This novel is not a happy-ever-after with bad people being punished and grannies baking cakes. Salley Vickers tugs at the present to release the threads of the past. She explores the uniqueness of a life’s experience, what it brings, what it takes away, and how much is left to share with those we love the most.

I was sincerely moved by Grandmothers. Love is a constant, despite misunderstandings, despite differences in personality. I found it so beautiful to watch Nan, Minna, and Blanche looking after their grandkids, blood-related or not. The innocence of children meets the wisdom of years on Earth. Yet, who’s caring after whom?

Grandmothers is a sensible and relatable contemporary novel that explores how soulmates find each other. It is not reserved to lovers. The book is a beautiful ode to the love we receive, and the one we give.

I enjoyed Grandmothers, but I did have reservations.

Salley Vickers tells the story of three quite different characters who are grandmothers (strictly, two are grandmothers and one is a good friend who fulfils the role) who don’t know each other at the beginning of the book. They each have a close relationship with and often take care of one grandchild, and their stories develop over one year, during which they overlap and interact. Vickers uses this structure to explore those relationships, to examine their effect on and importance to both the grandmothers and the children and to give her views on a variety of topics, some neatly, some rather clumsily.

Vickers, as always, paints intimate and compassionate portraits of her subjects, both adult and child. They are strong, thoughtful and insightful pictures by and large. (The men are peripheral and largely act as cyphers for male failings, but this is a book about the women and the children they relate to and the focus is rightly on them). She writes very well, of course, and I found the book an easy and quite involving read much of the time, but there was a lot of familiar ground: slightly lost women finding fulfilment and new delight in life, the significance of art, especially religious art and angels, the importance of great religious buildings and so on don’t have quite the freshness and emotional impact they did when I first read Miss Garnet’s Angel and The Cleaner of Chartres, for example. There is quite a lot of quotation and cultural reference which I felt verged on showing off, and I found the ending, which is intended to be moving, rather sentimental and twee. Vickers also goes a bit over the top in her prose occasionally. For example, a character is reminiscing while boarding a train:
“Her mind arabesqued – as she begged the man whose aisle seat was next to the window seat that her ticket proclaimed hers to excuse her – to how they had dined...” That’s a bit rich for me, and although it only happened a few times, I think Salley Vickers is better than that.

Overall, this is a recommendable read, but in spite of some very good things about it, I don’t think it’s one of Salley Vickers’ best. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

(My thanks to Penguin for an ARC via NetGalley.)

This is the first novel I have read by Salley Vickers but it most certainly won't be the last!

As the title implies, this is about grandmothers - three of them, in fact. Unknown to each other in the beginning, they each have very different relationships with their grandchildren. Nan often looks after her grandson Billy and they have a strong relationship; Blanche loves both her son's children, but has a really special relationship with Kitty whilst Minna has an honourable granddaughter in Rose. These three women come from varying walks of life and as they become acquainted, it has a profound impact on all of them.

What a wonderful book this is; the author has a real ability for creating characters with an empathetic nature, a sense of fun and caring whilst all the time threaded through with realism. This is such a touching read. Perhaps I found it more so as I am myself a grandmother. Relationships with out grandchildren are the best of all; really special, to be treasured, and it all comes across beautifully in this novel. Not a book I'm going to forget for a long time, if ever, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. An absolute pleasure to have read this one, and nothing less than five wonderful stars will do!

I always look forward to a new novel by Sally Vickers and ‘Grandmothers’ doesn’t disappoint.
In my opinion, this novel is a celebration of love and how we often underestimate the strength and value of grandmotherly love. The author conveys this message so beautifully in the guise of Nan, Minna and Blanche. All three are delightful characters in their own way. Nan is quirky, organised,astute and acerbic, enlisting grandson Billy in her quest to find the perfect coffin, for when her time comes. Minna isn’t actually Rose’s grandmother but has befriended the girl through their shared love of reading. Blanche is the glamorous granny, loves art and has recently taken to a spot of shoplifting in response to her son’s decision to ban her from seeing the grandchildren (she drinks too much). These womens antics are at times hilarious but their interactions with the youngsters are heartwarming and prove how both generations have much to learn from one another. They provide wisdom, education, love,support, guidance and fun when Billy and Rose and Kitty’s parents are preoccupied with other events;in short their unconditional love is priceless and we would all be wise to recognise the way they enrich the lives of these children.
This is such a delightful novel to read, with a gentle almost old fashioned feel. When these three women’s lives overlap (Nan catches Blanche shoplifting and Nan and Minna meet on a holiday in Weymouth) they form friendships because of their common bond;their love for their grandchildren. The author’s description of the holiday in Weymouth makes it sound idyllic,almost reminiscent of a bygone era, creating precious memories for both Billy and Rose. I don’t think any of the parents are painted in a particularly good light and the men in the background most certainly aren’t but maybe that’s another way the author can showcase these wonderful women.
Brilliant storytelling with love at its heart, all the characters so engaging that I raced through to the end. Highly recommend.
Thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

Grandmothers is a poignant, amusing and well-written tale of three older women, two of whom are grandmothers and a woman who is a surrogate grandmother to a little girl who lives next door to her (I had one of those as a child so that brought back a lot of happy memories). All of these women have tricky relationships with their families as well as regrets, shame and secrets. I enjoyed it but found the switching between the three storylines got a little tiresome at times as, inevitably, some were more interesting than the others! But overall a good story well told, and I enjoyed the (mostly) London setting very much!

WIth thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

This book is the story of three women who are grandmothers or look after children and how the relationship with them and their children affects their life. The three women are very different and had led different lives, however they meet and create a bond.

I find the story interesting, because it explores an age that it is rarely found in books, but it is such a big part of our life. The three women have had (or not) a career, a family, a partner, and now need to find themselves again, to feel they are still individuals with their own interests and skill set, Sort of a second coming of age story.

The style is smooth, kept me interested. The characters are well described although I noticed there isn't almost any mention of health issues they might have, which makes it less realistic and misses the point a bit.

Overall a good book, well written, based on a good idea that couldn't have been explored more deeply.

I loved this book; it is so nice to read a book about older women for a change. Nan, Blanche and Minna all have different experiences of being a grandmother and it is interesting to see how these intercept at various points. It also actually gets you to realise that you can be a 'grandmother' without being a blood relation. The children and grandchildren of the women are on the periphery but still central to the story. This was a really satisfying read and the characters so well constructed that I hated getting to the end. Thank you Netgalley and Penguin books for letting me read and review this book.

This is a very gentle read, perfect for the chillier weather, I think, as it thaws the heart a little. It charts the lives of three different grandmothers (or grandmother substitute) in a contemporary setting of texting, separated parents, petty larceny and somewhat dysfunctional families. Through the disparate relationships with their young charges we discover much more about the grans themselves and their earlier lives, branching into an understanding of their present difficulties and definite hopes for the future. I really enjoyed this book, as I have much of Salley Vickers' writing, which often focuses on the details to enlighten the wider picture. I would say this book is less demanding than some of her others, but still entertaining and engrossing for the coming winter nights.

A lovely book, gently told with realistic and appealing characters. Exploring not just the relationships that grandmothers have, with their grandchildren, but all of the steps in between, there is so much in this book both to love and to learn.

I was sent a copy of Grandmothers by Salley Vickers to read and review by NetGalley.
This novel is written in true Salley Vickers style. It is poignant, engaging, amusing and very readable. It tells the interwoven stories of three grandmothers who come from differing walks of life with different experiences of what we call family. Don’t be put off by the title or feel that it will only appeal to a niche older market, this is a well written, insightful novel that just happens to have the said grandmothers as the protagonists!

I love Salley Vickers’ writing so was very pleased to have the chance to read her latest novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the theme of grandmothers. It made me think about the powerful bond between grandparents and their grandchildren. There were some delightful descriptions in this book- for example Minna’s shepherd hut and Kew Gardens. I also particularly enjoyed the dialogue - Nan and Billy’s being a real delight. I laughed out loud quite a few times! The story is gentle, enjoyable and contemporary and kept me turning the pages. I found it easy to immerse myself in the characters’ lives and was sorry when the book ended.

Salley Vickers is one of my 'go to' authors and I always get her books no matter what. So when Netgalley gave me the opportunity to read her latest offering I jumped on the chance with alacrity.
Grandmothers is about... well, grandmothers. Concentrating on an age group that is normally not well represented in fiction it tells the story of three women, their relationships with their children and their children's partners and, of course, their grandchildren. Nan, a feisty woman, is trying to teach Billy to think for himself,.Blanche has been banned from seeing her grandchildren because of a stupid mistake. Minna isn't actually related to Rose but is better than many a blood relative.
The three relationships intertwine with each other in a satisfactory way making a readable story with a beautiful ending.

This is a tricky book to review. It’s quirky, but not in a cute or amusing way, it’s just a bit odd. The three ladies who are the grandmothers are a disparate trio, and make unlikely friends when they do all eventually meet up. The narrative jumps about from one to the other, sometimes without any obvious break to let the reader know we’re on to a different character.
There are some very odd passages, like the in-depth analysis of a religious painting in the Louvre in Paris, and what exactly the artist was trying to convey in this particular work. This rambled on for several pages for some inexplicable reason.
The ladies were all portrayed as much older than their years, early to mid sixties, so were somewhat unconvincing in my view.
Some of the the children by contrast, came over as younger than their years.
But the main issue I have with this story is the cynical exploitation displayed by all the parents of the children in their attitude towards the ‘grandmothers’ , without even a nod to the selfless love and human values they are be bringing to their children’s lives.
The ending was unexpected to say the least. I am sure many people will enjoy this book, sadly I did not.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title,

This story charts the coming together of three older women and their relationships with their grandchildren. All three are very different with differing challenges in their current lives and different pasts to contemplate but their meetings bring changes for them all.
Beautifully written, sensitive without being mawkish or over indulgent, this is another novel by Salley Vickers in which her ability to articulate the inner workings of the minds of a range of characters shines out. Just as I wanted to be in Venice when reading Miss Garnet’s Angel, this book made me long to be in Minna’s shepherd’s hut or Nan’s London flat.

3 women who don't know each other eventually come into contact through circumstances. Blanche and Nan are grandparents, but Minna has become find of her neighbours daughter Rose. An easy read which kept me turning the pages.

The story of three grandmotherly figures and their grandchildren, this is a beautifully written and endearing read.

Blanche is currently distanced from her grandchildren due to family disagreements, although she manages to see her granddaughter Kitty in snatched moments. In a bit of a midlife crisis, she starts shoplifting, takes herself off to France to embrace her past, and starts to think about a new and adventurous future.

Nan is a quirky grandmother to Billy, her most recent project being to order her own willow coffin, which she installs as a sofa in her living room, where Billy enjoys to sit while he watches television.

Minna is a substitute grandmother to Rose, caught up in the unravelling of her parents’ marriage and knowing more about this than she wants to.

The stories of the three separate groups of people gradually come together with new friendships being created. I found all the characters deeply interesting, and wanted to keep finding out more about the story. Blanche’s interest in Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary was also interesting as an anchor to the grandmother theme. An easy book to read and engage with. Well recommended.

This was a charming book and a welcome antidote to my usual diet of crime and psychological thrillers. It's great to have three women of over a 'certain age' featuring as the protagonists but not so great that this itself is a rare thing. I hope this brings about a rash of books about older women.

The three women, Nan, Minna and Blanche are all well drawn characters. Nan in particular was a great character, somewhat abrasive at times, but hiding a great tragedy in her life (as well as the fact that she's an award winning poet) and completely realistic about life in general. I liked her a lot. Minna and Blanche were also very likeable. Minna who despite her frumpy appearance has great understanding of people and Blanche, although seeming a bit of a cliche at the beginning (well heeled woman who unravels after the death of her husband and turns to drink and shoplifting) also turned into a believable character.

The book focuses on the relationships between these women and their grandchildren (in Minna's case, ersatz grandchild). At the beginning of the book they don't know each other but eventually all meet. I thought there was scope for more. As with all good character driven books you wanted to stay with the characters and so I was a little disappointed by the end which was somewhat abrupt. Overall though, a lovely book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a lovely gentle book that deals with some compelling and very modern issues with an adept and light touch.

It's lovely to see a book focused on older women, giving them the page space to appear as very different characters with different life experiences, and the three main characters are well-drawn and presented with humour. What they have in common though is first their definition by failed or happy relationships with previous men in their lives, and secondly their bond with their grandchildren.

Nan, Minna and Blanche all lead interesting lives that are enriched by time spent with the children in their lives, and it's lovely to see that grandparent-child relationship drawn so boldly. The multiple storylines come together naturally and the women, who are all quite different, enrich each others lives as they get to know each other. Late friendship and finding common ground, knowing what to talk about and what to leave out between new friends are explored with delicacy and presented believably. And these friendships contrast nicely with friendships between the children in the book, although the children are less acutely drawn.

The novel skates along at a surface level and is full of humour and kindnesses. Towards the end this starts to contrast with the increasing interior monologues of Nan, as she pieces together some of the strands of her life. This contrasts a little too much for me with the lighter tone of the rest of the book, and I was slightly disappointed by an ending that, while touching, was a little too neat.

An enjoyable light read with some great truths in it about women in later life, thanks for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Grandmothers by Salley Vickers
I read this book having just become a Grandmother for the first time and was fascinated by the way in which these very different grandmothers were portrayed. I thought that it was a very interesting study of intergenerational relationships and the way in which they are forged. There are three “grandmothers” in this story. Nan who is an award winning poet hiding her writing from everyone. She has formed a close bond with the grandson Billy even though she has become distanced from her son. Then there is Blanche who has become unravelled by the death of her husband and turns to drink to sustain her resulting in her being cut off from her treasured granddaughter Kitty. Finally there is Minna who has never married but has formed a close bond through reading with Rose a young girl she met when she was working as a teaching assistant.
It is clear that these three characters will meet at some point but the way in which this occurs is unforced and well devised. As always with Salley Vickers the writing is of a very high standard and I found myself fully engaged with these interesting and stimulating characters. It was an exploration of how we are defined and in each case these women had been set free, or torn from, relationships with men. How they coped on their own varied greatly. I found the ending satisfactory bringing the story full circle. Many thanks to Net Galley and Penguin for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.