A lovely book that left me glassy eyed! Lenni is 17, Margot is 83. When they meet in a hospital art class, they realise that together, they've lived 100 years. They decide to share their stories through art, which deepens their bond and lifts their spirits. A touching tale that alternates between the past and present. The tough subject of death is deftly handled and not shied away from.

I was attracted to this title having seen several positive reviews and being intrigued by the subject matter. This is the story of Lenni and Margot, both terminal patients, who meet in hospital and paint their memories into 100 paintings which make up the combined 100 years of their lives. This book had me all over the place emotionally, at once loving it and then not! It is without doubt a tough subject matter and I found myself particularly sensitive to it. I think that this is partly the mental affect of lockdown and a bit of trigger stacking! I also found it really tough that Lenni is battling her illness on her own as her Mother has gone back to Sweden and her Father cannot cope with her illness. I felt a sense of frustration at the author piling on the pathos in this way - however, who said that life is easy and it certainly does not have to be for literary characters either! Much of the beauty of the story and the exceptional writing for me was in the dialogues between Lenni and Father Arthur who works in the hospital chapel. This is the exploration of the big questions, philosophical debate and existential discussion and it was beautifully explored through the questions of a dying 17 year old and the responses of an old Priest who is shortly to retire. Both of them confront their own humanity in a series of poignant and comic sketches. I loved this bit of the book. I found the relationship with Margot less satisfying although I understood how Margot would be a friend to a lonely and friendless young girl. I think this is a very original read, unique and thought provoking, but for me so so sad. With thanks to Netgalley and Transworld for a digital copy of this book

Wow-what a book. Both Lenni and Margot, meeting in the hospital allow us to join them in a wonderful friendship they share.
Lenni is 17 and meets Margot, 83 both in hospital for different reasons. Their characters are so engaging, Lenni - mature with a good sense of humour and clever and Margot, who has lived many lives and experienced many things during her time on earth. Their lives are revealed to us through their painting of 100 pieces of work where they share their memories. 17 paintings for Lenni and 83 for Margot. The art room run by Pippa becomes an important area for both of these women.
I found this book sad, poignant, funny, endearing, the strong characters of both these women shone through.
An excellent read - 5 stars.
Many Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

You might think a novel set on a hospital terminal ward would be a little depressing - but this book is far from that. It's a brilliant uplifting tale with laugh out loud moments.

The 100 years comes from the ages of Lenni 17 and the friend she makes in hospital called Margot who is 83 years old. They attend an art class in the hospital and decide to paint a picture for each of their years. Through the book we get to read about moments from their lives as they paint.

One of the things I liked most about this novel is Lenni. She is a wonderful character who despite having a terminal illness has a wicked sense of humour and is always ready to speak her mind. She does this the most with the priest at the hospital chapel, she certainly challenges him on one or two points.

There was one part near to the end of the book that had me in floods of tears, it didn't involve death but the scene was so realistically written. The whole book I found has a real honesty to the writing.

Unlike anything I have read before I am giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

As I turned the last page of this amazing book the line from Mary Oliver's most famous poem came to mind

"Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do,
With your one wild and precious life?"

because with an incredibly light touch, Marianne Cronin avoids a mawkish portrayal of life on a ward for the terminally ill and has created a wonderful ode to living life to the fullest. Lenni and Margot are the most wonderful characters, and through their art class project we learn much about their life before the hospital. Intersecting their story are characters such as the Temp, who establishes the art room and made me realise how key creativity can be to a patients wellbeing. There's also the delightful Father Arthur who's stoical nature plays beautifully against Lenni's philosophical challenges and big questions about life, death and and religion.

It is a beautiful book that packs THE most incredible emotional punch to the heart, and shouts from the rooftops about love, friendship, loyalty and trust. I won't lie, I used a box of tissues reading it, but it's not sadness I'm left with, rather a warm glow that I have been privileged to spend time with some of the most memorable and joyous characters of 2021.

I would like to thank the publishers and Net Galley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a triumph. The characters are wonderful, every page is warm (but not fluffy) and you are willing them to the next of their 100 stories and paintings. That Margot has lived a full life and Lenni has such mettle and wit make for a superb balance.

Beautifully told and touching throughout, I would thoroughly recommend this book. I read it in two sittings!

With many thanks to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for an ARC.

'The One-Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot' was a heart-breaking, funny, wise, profound and deeply memorable story – a book with characters that will stay with me for a very long time; they are so perfect, so flawed, so bruised and so hopeful that they entwine themselves around your heart and don’t let go.

Brimming with love, life, questions… and lots and lots of art!

This is published next month and there is a LOT of buzz on book Twitter about it. I was lucky to get a review copy via Netgalley and it really is a lovely book. Lenni is a 17-year old who has an unnamed fatal condition and is living out the last of her time in hospital. She is bolshy and sparky and, as one character says, "so alive". She makes demands on the hospital chaplain, and on the nurses, and then chances on an art project set up by an intern. Here she meets Margot, an 83-year old woman who is being treated for another unknown condition. The two of them make friends, both of them being inclined to rebel, and embark on an art project to tell their stories to each other. We learn about their lives, their loves and their losses. This debut novel is absolutely right for our dark times, being full of honesty and pain and laughter and questions. I loved it.

I did wonder if a book about two terminally ill people was going to be too depressing to read in the middle of another Covid lockdown, but I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed meeting Lenni and Margot. I’ve seen a lot of love for this book from other reviewers on social media, and it was well deserved.

Lenni is an amazing 17 year old, who know that she won’t be leaving the hospital Glasgow. After a difficult relationship with her mother and now terminally ill, she makes friends with Margot in the Rose Room and they decide to create 100 pictures to celebrate their combined ages.

I loved the way the characters interacted in the book, the meetings with poor Father Arthur in the church chapel made me laugh out loud. As the story develops, we find out why Lenni doesn’t have visits from her family and what has happened to Margot in the past, stopping her from using her talent for art. A book about the importance of kindness and friendship, with help from New Nurse, Pippa the art teacher, Paul the porter and Sunny the security guard.

This is a book that made me laugh and cry, full of stories within stories. I raced through the book and didn’t want to put my Kindle down, and was totally lost in the story of Lenni and Margot (sorry to my family!). I look forward to reading more by Marianne Cronin in the future.

A five star read for me.

Thank you to the publisher for an early opportunity to read and review

A lovely moving read that is sad yet hopeful at the same time. Lovable characters and a swift moving story that Will stay with you

Set in the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, Marianne Cronin's debut novel is sprinkled with magic and star dust as it relates the intergenerational friendship and love that develops between the vibrant, full of life, Swedish born, 17 year old Lenni Pettersson and 83 year old Margot Macrae. Lenni is a resident of the May ward, for those with life limiting/terminal illnesses, she goes searching for answers for fundamental philosophical questions of life from Father Arthur, her candour a joy to behold and have a host of characters enter her life, providing her with a family she could hardly have forseen. Whilst her life is to be cruelly cut short at such a young age, she is to metaphorically live a longer one through the experience of the joys, love, losses, and grief of Margot's well lived life, who is in hospital for heart surgery.

It is Lenni who notes that the combined age of her and Margot adds up to 100 years, and comes up with the inspirational idea of them painting a picture for each year of their lives, accompanied with the key stories and events in their lives, ensuring their lives intertwine ever more closely with each other. They are there for each other whenever the need arises, as they paint in the Rose room, for their art therapy classes run by art teacher, Pippa, with Lenni becoming an honorary member of the octogenarians art group. Lenni's curious, kind, irreverent, wise and artful spirit of honesty brings chaos and commotion in her wake, but attracts a circle of friends and 'family' that counters the isolation and loneliness of her life. Apart from Father Arthur and Margot, they include New Nurse, Paul the Porter, Pippa and Sunny, the security guard, although there is one fly in the ointment in the unsympathetic character of Nurse Jacky.

Margot's paintings acquaint us with her first kiss with Johnny, a devastatingly desperate loss that sends her to London, her fateful and key meeting with Meena, her marriage to the offbeat astronomer, Humphrey and so much more. Through Lenni's artwork, we learn of her childhood, the mental health issues of her mother, her move to Glasgow at 7 years old, her continuous outsider status in life that persists through her school life, right up to what is important to her in the present, living under the shadow of death. Cronin's quirky characterisations are stellar in all their complexity, there are tears, heartbreak, grief, loss and drama in this engaging storytelling, but this is skilfully interspersed with the love, friendship, humour and joy, a blend that makes this an unforgettable, heart tugging debut. A read that will melt the hardest of hearts. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

This is a book like no other. It should be heart breaking you sad and yet somehow it is life affirming and heart warming.

The story is mostly told by Lenni, a teenager who is dying in hospital and appears to have no visitors. I love Lenni’s character, her rebellious nature and her determination to enjoy the time she has left.

Lenni meets Margot, an 83 year old patient, and they form an unlikely friendship. Between them they have lived 100 years and start a project to commemorate this.

The style is unusual in that most of the stories are about Margot’d life and yet Lenni’s voice is the strongest.

I love the character of Father Arthur, and the unlikely suggestion that he had a previous brief encounter with Margot!

Through the book we get to know much about Margot’s eventful and extraordinary life. We learn about life, love and friendship.

A lovely read

This story is about Lenni who is terminally ill and Margot who is waiting for heart surgery in hospital. As we read through the chapters of the book, we learn about both of their lives which are told through their stories which are painted as pictures, one for each year of their lives - one hundred of them altogether.

I loved all the characters, Father Arthur being one of my favourites along with both Lenni and Margot who had a truly wonderful friendship. I laughed and also shed tears at the end. It is beautifully written and a fantastic debut.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book. I wasn't entirely 'sold' on Lenni as a character as I've worked with teenagers for many years and, for me, she didn't quite ring true. Margot however in the telling of her life story was very much of her age, the grief, the initial unwordliness, the embarrassment and the unwillingness to take part in the demonstrations. My favourite mini story in the book was the love between her and Humphrey. Their final scene in his nursing home was so very tenderly written and I literally spluttered at the scene with the other holidaymakers, when they asked about family. A very fine debut novel about friendship and self discovery.

"When people say terminal, I think of the airport". This was the opening line that greeted me when beginning The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot and somehow I knew I was going to love this book. Lenni is an instantly likeable narrator and I loved following her and Margot through their one hundred years and memories in this absolutely delightful read.

You may think a book set in a hospital, about a terminally ill teenager and her 83 year old companion would be a bit depressing. You would be wrong. This book is beautifully uplifting. Yes, are moments of sadness (please have tissues ready), but there are moments of laughter and of joy, with characters that nestle in that comfy spot right next to your heart. This is literary fiction at it's finest, a charming and quirky debut (and I can hardly believe it's a debut to be honest).

I cried for many reasons during the reading of this novel. I cried at the sad parts, I cried with laughter at the funny parts and I cried at the end. I cried at the end because not only was it a beautiful ending, but because it was finished and quite simply, I didn't want to leave Lenni and Margot. During the experience of reading this book I actually felt sad when I didn't have the time to pick it up, I longed to be back in the hospital hearing of Lenni and Margot's antics! There's very few books that have made me feel this way and this is credit to Marianne Cronin's writing style, engaging and enrapturing.

Everyone needs to read this book. Everyone. They need to hear this story. I only hope that someday I shall see the pictures that Lenni and Margot made, if not, they shall live in my head for a long, long time because this is one book that will stay with me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this breathtakingly beautiful novel.

This tugs at the heart strings from the outset. A young woman has a terminal illness and is waiting out her time in hospital. An elderly woman is looking at the end of her life regretting a lost love. They meet in a hospital art therapy room and an unlikely friendship blossoms.

Lenni is 17 and Margot is 83. Their combined age makes one hundred, a significant number to celebrate so they decide to produce 100 paintings to be displayed in the room, each one with a story from their lives.

It's beautifully done. All the characters are charming, and the relationship between Lenni and the hospital chaplain is wonderful.

I enjoyed it but I felt a bit raw and exposed reading it at this time, with so much death and illness all around us. However, it's a reminder that this is a subject not to be shunned, and we should all be encouraged to be prepared for the end of our lives. I look forward to reading it again sometime.

Such a beautiful yet heartbreaking story. 💖Loved every moment of Lenni and Margot's journey together.

I’m typing this review with tears streaming down my face, having just finished this amazing, heartbreaking, laugh and cry out loud, debut novel. Wow! Marianne Cronin! How proud you should be.

This is not my usual gentle and it’s thanks to the wonderful NetGalley that I requested it. I’d somehow seen a preview and reviews and am so pleased not to have missed the opportunity to discover this absolute treasure of a read.

Margot and Lenni are so different, in age and in experience, but, following a meeting they come together in a wonderful story that includes; relationships, sickness, hope, memories, humour and the incredible strength of human spirit.

I absolutely adored this book and will be shouting about it from the rooftops when it’s published. In the meantime, I need to grieve, having finished it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld publishers for the opportunity to preview and many congratulations to the author.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK for sending me an ARC of this extraordinary debut. This was another book that I buddy read with my good friend Meg Readz and I think it’s safe to say that we both loved this book!

I honestly don’t know where to begin with this review. With contemporary fiction I often find that I’m not always hooked from the word go, it’s a difficult genre because there aren’t the usual tropes you tend to find in crime and romance. However Marianne Cronin has knocked it out of the park, from the first page I was invested in Lenni and Margot’s story. Everything about this book was perfect!

The tone of the book is set at the start and whilst there were plenty of moments that I found myself sobbing my heart out I also found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. Most of these lighter moments occurred during Lenni’s conversations with Father Arthur, who I imagined to be like a big cuddly teddy bear. The relationship that developed between them was endearing and the love he developed for her in a fatherly role was a welcomed addition to an already fantastic story.

Margot had an incredible history. She had suffered and lost but she never gave up. Her chapters with Davey and Humphrey left me once again reaching for the tissues but it was her chapters with Meena that intrigued me most. Their friendship was one that started in an unusual way and Meena was definitely one of a kind but they had a way of bringing out the best in each other. As the story progressed I could see a similarity between Lenni and Meena and I understood why Margot loved them both so much.

Lenni, oh Lenni! What can I say about her. She was candid, vibrant, memorable and thoughtful, she had a way of looking at people and life that was refreshing. By the end of the story I felt that I knew Lenni and I didn’t want to finish the story and lose that voice who had been making me laugh and cry the past couple of days. She was a person who may not of had a lot of friends or family but she certainly left her mark. All of the characters were endearing, charismatic, funny but also flawed, which made them more loveable and relatable.

What struck me most about this story though was the element of surprise that it had. I went into this thinking it was going to be quite a sad predictable story, I didn’t think I would be laughing out loud, or falling in love with the characters. The art element was brilliant and I only wish I could of seen some of their paintings. It wasn’t until I reflected on the story that I realised how clever Marianne Cronin had been in connecting all the dots. The way the story is told you don’t realise until the end how circular the stories are and it made the moment between Lenni and Margot all the more special.

I honestly could go on and on about how amazing this book was but I honestly think you need to read it for yourself to appreciate this breath taking debut. Thank you Marianne for introducing Lenni and Margot to the world, they are characters that have left an imprint on my heart that I will never forget.

This is a beautifully written, bittersweet tale of love and friendship across the decades, and shows sometimes true friendship can be based on what you have in common rather than all the things that you don't.

17 year old Lenni and 83 year old Margot meet in a hospital. Unfortunately the one thing they have in common is that that they are both dying, and neither will be leaving the hospital alive. They spend much of their precious remaining time in the art therapy room at the hospital, and so begins a project that they start - to paint a picture for each year of their joint lives - 83 for Margot and 17 for Lenni so 100 all together. As each picture is done, the story is told building up a picture of Margot growing up in the war, marrying, and the heartbreaks in her life. Lenni's story is so short, and so sad too.

In eachother Lenni and Margot find acceptance, and love, and a friendship which is strong whilst time permits, leaving a legacy of 100 pictures of their lives.

I really enjoyed this book. Despite the subject matter it was not maudlin. Lenni is very philosophical and is trying her best to understand why this is happening to her, but she has an innate sense of fun and draws others to her, and makes them smile - Father Arthur the Hospital Chaplain, the new nurse, the porter and others from the Art Therapy room. It will make you smile, but a little bit sad at times too.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3763599806