Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Fiona ( and her son Adam)– Fiona is a recent widow. Her beloved husband John commit suicide and both Fiona and her twelve year old son are decimated by their grief. Janice cleans for them, and offers them friendship and wisdom when they sorely need it. Cleaner Janice knows that it is in people’s stories that you really get to know them. From recently-widowed Fiona and her son Adam; to opera-singing Geordie; and the awful Mrs ‘YeahYeahYeah’ and her fox terrier, Decius, Janice has a unique insight into the community around her. She can't recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge), she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they had always done so, but now it is different. Now the stories are reaching out to her, and she gathers them to her. On a positive note, the book had some endearing simple messages, it was devoid of smut, death, and violence. If you don't read every day then you could rejoin this book with ease.
This is a fabulous heartwarming story. I loved Janice. Although I wasn’t sure how she had the time to clean for all those people. Her own story gave her the strength to accept other people’ s stories. A keeper of stories, is a must read . Kindle Customer, 9 March 2022
About Fictionophile
There are so many wonderful stories in The Keeper of Stories that I really want to sit down and listen to this all over again. This is a story that offers something quite different. It is about a very quiet woman who seems to be on the outskirts of society, but has more power than she realises. I enjoyed reading her monologue of the dog she walks and appreciated seeing Janice’s lioness emerging as she finds her voice. For instance, I’m not sure I could have tolerated Janice’s husband as much as she had!
After studying history at university, Sally moved to London to work in advertising. In her spare time she studied floristry at night school and eventually opened her own flower shop. Sally came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and she began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, she continued her interest in writing when she founded her fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk. Ultimately, I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book at first. I did think I was in for a romance read but this absolutely didn’t go the way I had anticipated. It is very different from my typical trope but I have to admit, this absolutely got me out of the reading slump I had been in.If you’re looking for something a little light-hearted and not overly taxing, I would recommend you grab a copy of this book. I deal in other people’s stories every day. Everyone does indeed have a story to tell, and like Janice, I believe it is a privilege when someone chooses to share their story with you. That’s what is at the heart of The Keeper of Storiesand what made it a poignant and lovely book to get lost in. And the writing is pretty good, it is engaging and the flow is just perfect for this kind of book, which is way out of my comfort zone and therefor quite difficult to rate and review.Mrs B’s character was very well written and I instantly liked this woman. Sharp, witty but also very intuitive. Mrs B instantly knows that there is more to Janice and whilst trying to uncover her story, they form a heartwarming relationship. Cleaner Janice is a recent addition to the cast of marginalised women toiling on the margins of society that have been populating recent literary fiction output. Janice is so sympathetically drawn that readers will want to root for her from the beginning. Trapped in a stale marriage that has run its course and seemingly devoid of a story of her own, Janice instead collects the anecdotes of the colourful, idiosyncratic people she cleans for - until one of her clients becomes interested in her story after all, But what will happen when Janice starts reflecting on who she actually is? Mrs B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell? Secrets On The Estate” by Mel Sherratt – Book Review @writermels #SecretsOnTheEstate #EstateSeries #BookReview#NovNov23 November 28, 2023 We are introduced to our lead, Janice. A cleaner who goes about her days working within the houses for her regulars. Janice loves her regular clients; apart from one couple, “Mrs YeahYeahYeah” & “Mr NoNoNotNow”. Most of her regulars know nothing about her and Janice continues to listen & collect their stories. Never asking for more, never sharing her own. Her husband knows very little about her and is so self-absorbed that Janice feels she isn’t seen. Blending in, Janice likes it this way. Until one day, she doesn’t.
The book is warm and joyful but dies not avoid difficult potentially triggering subjects like suicide and alcoholism.It approaches these areas with sensitivity which is never banal.This is not a sweet slushy book but one that wraps it’s sentiment in truthfulness and tenderness This is a life-affirming book in which ordinary people each have their own story that will resonate with the reader. These ordinary stories are not usually heard but here they are told with such empathy and understanding that you feel you really know the characters and become absorbed in their lives and what happens to them. I have read this book three times now and I find new insights on each reading. I recommend this book highly and look forward to further books by this author. AnneH, 9 March 2022 Life-affirming, hopeful fiction that can definitely fit into the ‘Uplit’ genre, this wonderful novel will definitely be on my list of ‘Best Books of 2022’. Highly recommended!
Find a Book
She wants to hammer home with true conviction that she is the story collector. That she gathers stories because she doesn’t have a story. She wants to shout this loudly to drown the little voice within her.’
Great Deal 
New Comment