“I think then, perhaps, we need to look further than someone’s age to explain why they behave the way they do”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon is a heartfelt novel about what it means to get old.
Synopsis: 84-year-old Florence (“you can call me Flo, you know”) has fallen in her flat in Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, she considers the charming new resident who looks exactly like the man she once knew – a man who died sixty years ago. His arrival has stirred distant memories she and Elsie thought they’d laid to rest. Lying prone in the front room, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light…
Review: This book deserves a lot of praise for its profound handling of such a sensitive topic as dementia. My family has recently been touched by dementia so this story took on a personal note for me, however as my partner always says “you love old people, Katie” so it’s a book I was bound to love anyway. About 2/3 of the way through I was thinking “I’ve got this all figured out, but it’s still such a lovely story isn’t it” and was feeling smug… but my goodness I WAS SHOCKED by the ending! Like literally sat bolt upright sweating and almost in tears.
There are so many reasons to pick this book up. It’s simply wonderfully executed.
I hope you enjoyed this review! You can order your copy of Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon online.
READING WITH KT 