The Keeper of Stories

I had totally run out of books from the plethora of author's I usually turn to and this book was suggested as something I might like by the kindle app. To be honest, it wasn't the genre I'm currently exploring and I wasn't sure I'd like it, but stuck waiting somewhere I thought I'd read a chapter or two just to pass the time.... Well, the characters are people you could know, believable, funny, sad, real. Decius, the Fox Terrier is as wise as he is funny. This is a story of a woman who collects stories, and in a lot of ways maybe we all do as we travel through life. The friendships she builds and the trials she faces, alongside of those of her friends make for a beautiful heartwarming story. I don't want to spoil the story by giving anything away so will just say if you want a bit of joy in your life this is a good story for you. Well written and easy to read, but hard to put down. Who would like this story... everyone. Happy reading.

This is a really lovely, gentle story that doesn’t lack depth or intrigue. Janice is a cleaner that likes to collect stories. One per person, filed away in her mind to be revisited whenever she wants. Her clients provide the basis for many of these, and there is a wonderful mix of characters, each very different and each bringing another layer to the themes of the book. It’s very much about the relationships we have with others and what they bring to our lives. How the stories we tell ourselves, are quite different to how others would tell our story. Janice uses her love of other peoples lives, to distract her from not really living her own. I particularly loved the character of Mrs B, a formidable woman in her 90’s with a fascinating life, who brings something out of Janice that has long been buried. I really liked the writing, it’s hard to believe it’s a debut as the whole structure and flow felt really accomplished. It was a pleasure to read. I’d definitely recommend this book, it covers some quite hard hitting topics in such a sensitive and thought provoking way. I came away inspired to start collecting stories of my own.

I loved The Keeper of Stories, Mrs. B and Janice are like people I once knew. Also Janice's clients are well drawn and like exaggerated characters from my mother's life.

I often tend to start my review with ‘this book has been in my library for awhile’ and this book was no exception. Another ‘why have I waited so long’ as this is a wonderful book. I enjoyed the storyline and most of the characters; it made a change from psychological thrillers. I will certainly look out for other books by this author and if like me this has sat in your library for sometime, I would highly recommend that you download and read it.

The Keeper of Stories is a novel about a woman named Janice, who is a cleaner, and befriends one of her clients, and bit by bit is told stories which reveals the history and life of the 'posh' old woman. This client relationship soon becomes a friendship between the two ladies. I enjoyed reading this book although I struggled with the plot.i have had a lot on my mind, so the problem may not be the plot of the novel, it may just be me. Although, I think I were to read it again I would enjoy it a little more and perhaps garner more from the story. One thing I must say is that the characters are real and vivid, and the old woman reminded me of the manipulative old woman in '' Away irh the Penfuins''. I am rating this book 3 out of 5 stars, although I would not be surprised if a reread would result in a higher rating.

This novel follows Janice, a married cleaner, who during her working day collects stories but cannot share her own story. I love hearing people's stories so I knew I would love reading this, particularly some of the more in depth ones. I enjoyed reading this novel, however I didn't feel particularly hooked, as much as I was interested and wanted to know what was going to happen and what Janice's story was, I felt that there was something missing. That being said I did love Mrs B, who Janice goes to clean for, she was an interesting and funny character and I think had I met Mrs B, I would have loved to have heard some of her stories. Another funny and larger than life character in the book was Decius, the fox terrier, I loved his thoughts as presumed by Janice, how he would trot around and how big of a part he plays in Janice and some of the other characters' lives. I would recommend this to others who enjoy stories, because I did love the stories even though I felt something was missing, someone else may feel totally different and enjoy it even more than I did.

Very good. Right for 1st chapter

I think that this book was recommended because I had read "A Man Called Ove". Just like Ove, Janice was, I thought annoying, but as I progressed through the books, I began to have similar feelings about them both. In the end, I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book, but at the same time, I wanted to extend the pleasure. Many of the characters are stereotypes, but nonetheless real. Stereotypes are, after all, based on fact. Without the cast of characters representing different aspects of humanity, it would not have been possible to deal with the many elements of this story. Loss, guilt, greed, love, hate, and so on, are each represented by different characters. In order to work through the angst associated with the various emotions, they had to be stereotypes in order to speak to as many as possible, ensuring that every readers can recognise themselves or others in the stories. There is a greater depth to this book than a superficial read would spot. Each of the stories should leave one considering how things could have been done differently. Although I found the start of the book a bit simplistic, once the characters became familiar, I really enjoyed it and looked forward to settling down to read. I would recommend the book. It is not great literature, but it spins a good story that draws one through the book

This book is a feel good story or rather stories I shall say. Each character is well written and connects with the reader, of course.I love Janice the main protagonist of the story but MrS.B is my favourite character. Each story is heartfelt and keeps you wanting to read the next chapter.

An unusual format of continuous unfolding of stories within stories and a wonderful cast of characters. I cared about almost all of them—with a few notable exceptions. For me, this book has been intriguing, touching, upsetting, and joyful.

This book made me laugh and cry and worry about the characters! I' m relieved that Desius finally got to have his real home! Thank you!

In some moments was boring and there was too much descriptions of the side plots

This turned out to be a bit of a page turner for me, I found a little hard to get into at first, but let me just tell you: Sally Page is a wonderful storteller, I fell completely in love with with Janice as she collected her stores and found her inner strengt and selfworth. There is so much good to say about this book, but I'm afraid to spoil anything, so I've kept it short, but this is one of those rare books I really wish I could read for the first time again!