The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot - Marianne Cronin

  “And I will be forever changed by the people I have met and their bravery, their courage and their light.” 

To start off this review, this book was a Book Club pick. I probably wouldn't have chosen this book on my own, but I am so glad that I got to read and experience this book about hardship, grief, love, and friendship. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Started: March 25th, 2024

Finished: April 6th, 2024

Synopsis:  This book follows the perspective of Lenni and Margot, both terminal patients in the Royal Princess Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland. In their time in the hospital, they decide to create a hundred paintings to signify their total of 100 years lived. Lenni, who is 17 and Margot who is 83. Throughout the story, we get little tidbits of their lives in the hospital, but also in their past, trying to reconcile with their terminal illnesses and enjoy the time they have left. 

My Review: At the start of this book, we are introduced to Lenni Paterson, a young girl who was diagnosed with a terminal illness at the age of 16. She lives alone in the May Ward of the Royal Princess Hospital in Scotland until she befriends Margot McCrae, an 83-year old woman with a heart condition. Lenni saves Margot one day when Margot goes trash diving for an envelope. Lenni distracts the nurse away from Margot and allows her time to get away or else she will be punished for being out of her bed. 

The two meet again in the art room where they decide to create 100 paintings, one for each year of their life combined. The characters here create such emotion within the reader, that by the end of the book, I was crying...a lot. 

Lenni, in the beginning, was a bit annoying. But as her story unfolds and the reasoning as to why she is there BY HERSELF, makes the story even more sad. I enjoyed Margot's story overall, mainly because we looked back at her life and all of the adventures she had as a young woman. Margot was married, had a child who died in infancy, and her husband left her shortly after. Then, she fell in love with another young woman named Meena. Meena, who was an activist, reciprocated Margot's feelings, but couldn't say anything out loud. As the years went on, Margot married a man named Humphrey James. They lived together in peace and love until Humphrey started showing signs of Alzheimer's. On the final day of Humphrey's stay in the hospital, he told Margot to live her life and find the woman she loved. 

This story, while slow to start, really builds up into something beautiful. I found myself angry at some of the nurses in the hospital who treated the patients poorly, especially Lenni. I also found myself mad at every bad thing that happened to Margot when she was younger. It was like she couldn't catch a break. This book basically speaks to gender roles in history and how women had to fill a certain role in society. It also talks about how unfair life is and all the bad things that everyone has to go through just to make their life acceptable, instead of livable. 

Final Thoughts: This was a beautiful book and I highly recommend that everyone read it in some capacity. I listened to the audio of this and both narrators were fantastic! It will make you cry though, so have some tissues on the side.