Member Reviews
There are some people who move through our lives that most never notice. Such is Janice, "who is just a cleaner". But as she cleans, Janice hears the stories of the lives around her. She gathers them to her like gifts, until one day she meets Mrs B. Mrs B collects the stories around her, but she also shares those stories with anyone who will listen. Janice and Mrs B will become friends, on different social steps, but still friends.
We all gather stories. That's the main purpose of social media, to gather and share stories. Sally Page has written an emotional story to remind us all that the story of our life is uniquely ours, but meant to be shared. 5 easy stars.
This is the first book I've read by this author and it didn't dissapoint.
The main character is Janice and she is a cleaner who likes to collect stories whilst going about her job. Her clients are what she mostly bases these on.
As you read the story teaches us about relationships we have with others. How the stories we tell ourselves, are quite different to how others would tell our story. I love how she uses the stories about others and their lives to distract her from what is happening in her own life as I could really relate to the character and made me see that I also do that.
It really is a lovely read and I'll be happy to read more by this author
A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.
This is a lovely book which is uplifting. The characters are interesting. I felt that the pacing was too slow. I found it difficult to emotionally attach to the characters
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page and narrated by Jessica Whittaker
is a book to treasure it was a beautifully written book that just took my breath away. The characters were believable and it was an emotional ride from start to finish so you will need tissues. However, an imazing book with a beautiful cover. Sally has written from her heart and the narrator Jessica Whittaker was perfect reading this book.
I highly recommend this book.
Big Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio and One more Chapter for my ARC.
I enjoyed all the mini stories in the book and how the delightful Mrs B manages to get Janice, 'The Keeper of Stories', to tell her own.
Great characters, some laughs, some tears and altogether a lovely read!
The Keeper of Stories is an interesting concept and was told in a series of punctuated stories about the people in Janice’s life. Everybody has a story and Janice collects the stories of the people who’s houses she cleans while she seemingly seems separated from her own story and life. It isn’t until she meets “Mrs B.”, the elderly mother of one of her regular houses, does someone ask her what her story is while also sharing a story she might enjoy.
Thank you @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
This is such a wonderful charming story. It was so well written and I loved everything about it the plot, the characters.
I will definitely be reading more by this author.
I have had this book on my TBR pile for what seems like forever so when I fancied a change of pace and genre it seemed the ideal time to move it to the top of my reading list.
Janice loves to collect stories of the people around her. She doesn’t know when it started, and I don’t even think she knows why it started but it is a respite from her life and her job. There is only really one client that she is not keen on and that is in part because she feels like she is not trusted so when she is asked out of the blue to go and clean for their elderly relative she agrees to meet with her and decide after that. What follows is not only the development of a true friendship, but we get to hear new stories and lean about the story of Janice herself.
This is definitely one of the slower paced books I have read, and it does take a little while to gel with the main character but once she starts interacting with Mrs B then for me that is when it became truly interesting. Mrs B is quite a prickly character, and it takes a while for Janice to warm to her. There are times when you can see them playing off each other to get what they want out of the relationship but after a while you can see that they truly are friends.
I enjoyed Janice’s interactions with Fiona and her son Adam as she tries to help them get over their recent bereavement in her own way with the help of fox terrier Decius. For them she is a link to normal even if she does not always get everything right. If there was one thing that frustrated me about her it was the way she let her husband treat her but throughout there was a glimmer of hope that she would rectify the situation. (you will have to read the book to find out for yourself).
Janice may be the Keeper of Stories as in the title of the book and you can see this as a book about the stories that she has collected over the years, or you can see it as a book about the person herself. It is the second version that I have put this under as it is Janice and her relationships that are what drew me in to this book more than the stories that we learned about over time. I am not sure what I was expecting from this book but what I found was something that reignited my reading mojo.
Thank you to NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.
The perfect antidote to a stressful week at work. A gentle read, sometimes funny, sometimes sad with a great array of characters (particularly Mrs B and of course, Deicus the fox terrier) and reminding myself that no matter how bogged down we get in mundane daily life, everyone has a story to tell. Uplifting read.
Highly recommended. A beautiful and poignant debut.
Quietly and conscientiously working as a cleaner, Janice sees herself as a collector of the stories people impart, but does feel anyone would be interested in her story. At least, not one she wants to talk about.
Mrs B may be her most difficult client yet, but there is more to both of them than meets the eye, not least their shared love of collecting stories.
Imbued with kindness and thoughtfulness, and a reminder not to judge a book by its cover.
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
Janice collects stories of other people but doesn't feel worthy of her own, thinking of herself as 'just the cleaner'. In this book we follow her as that gradually changes and she has real chance of happiness.
What a lovely book! I read it in one go and found it utterly compelling. Loved Mrs B and the story of Becky, rooted for Janice and sobbed at Adam and Decius. Very, VERY highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
Although this has had rave reviews I found the book hard to get into. It just wasn't the book for me.
I really enjoyed this book. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I did really like this one! I’d definitely recommend this to others to read. Good job!
I ended up reading this with my book club as one of our picks.
Honestly, it was just an ok read. I enjoyed it enough, but by the end of the book I was just left with a feeling of ‘is that it?’ There just didn’t seem to be much point to it. Sadly, all six of us felt the same way and we collectively gave it a very average rating of 3 stars.
Janice is "just a cleaner", or so she, or more precisely, her husband Mike, would have you believe. Janice collects people's stories - in her mind, not written down. But she never tells her own story. When she meets the irascible Mrs B, stories are exchanged and gradually Janice opens up to this remarkable former spy. A wonderful collection of characters whose stories are woven together by Janice's quiet presence in their lives. I loved this! #netgalley #TheKeeperOfStories
This is a duvet novel. Although this has had rave reviews I found the book hard to get into. It just wasn't the book for me.
What a joy!
I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I'm so glad I have joined.
Sally Page's debut is beautiful and poignant and calm and brilliant.
Janice is a cleaner who collects stories while holding tightly to her own. She moves between her client's houses and sprinkles a little bit of magic wherever she goes. The Keeper of Stories unravels slowly, but it doesn't feel like a slow read. Instead, it offers contemplation and nuances and humour, all packaged up in brilliant characters whom I now miss! Especially Decius.
A wonderful debut novel, engaging characters and very clever storyline all about stories. This was a delight to read and I highly recommend it.
Thank you for letting me read this book.
This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!