One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may make a small commission if you purchase through the links within this post at no additional cost to you. Please see my Full Disclosures + Privacy Policy for more details.

Synopsis

An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.

Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Though the teenager has been told she’s dying, she still has plenty of living to do. Joining the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets the magnificent Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.

As their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years. Though their days are dwindling, both are determined to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Lenni’s doting palliative care nurse and Father Arthur, the hospital’s patient chaplain, Lenni and Margot devise a plan to create one hundred paintings showcasing the stories of the century they have lived–stories of love and loss, of courage and kindness, of unexpected tenderness and pure joy.

Though the end is near, life isn’t quite done with these unforgettable women just yet.

Delightfully funny and bittersweet, heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot reminds us of the preciousness of life as it considers the legacy we choose to leave, how we influence the lives of others even after we’re gone, and the wonder of a friendship that transcends time.

Synopsis source: StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQ+
HB&W Rating: 4 stars
View on StoryGraph | Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

For a story about two terminal patients in a hospital, this book is full of life, as well as friendship and love. I always love a good character study and that is what we get with Lenni, a 17-year-old with a terminal illness, and Margot, an 83-year-old with a serious heart condition. The two become friends in an art therapy class and, discovering that they have lived 100 years between them, decide to paint a picture for each year they’ve lived.

Lenni and Margot complement each other so perfectly. They are both feisty and daring, and have something to teach one another. Margot tells her life story to Lenni so that Lenni can live vicariously, and Lenni gives Margot the courage she needs to reach for what she most wants, to keep living for both of them.

I laughed, I cried, then I cried some more. It is a very sad book, but for all of that, I took much joy from the story. It just goes to show you that no matter how short or long your life, there’s time to live it well.

Until next time,

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you never miss a review! You can also sign up for my newsletter for a recap of titles read, crochet patterns I’ve released, and more! I only send it out sporadically so that I don’t spam you, promise. 😉