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.’ This book really isn’t something I would’ve found organically and chosen for myself to read, but I was actually pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it in the end. If you want something a little bit different, and you’re the kind of person who makes up a little narrative about every stranger they people watch on public transport - you might really like this one.

The Keeper of Stories | Bookclubs Discussion questions for The Keeper of Stories | Bookclubs

Janice is a cleaner who collects stories. However, she doesn’t know her own worth. She doesn’t think she has her own story until she meets Mrs B. She finally learns her value and her own story and can choose to create her own story as she wishes. The characters are well rounded and developed. Janice is so lovely but has a devastating past that controls her, along with her waste of space husband. Euan is a bus driver who looks like a geography teacher; he is kind and caring and likes Janice. Adam, a twelve-year-old who has recently lost his dad to suicide, is heart-breaking, his pain is evident, and he needs to lash out and then learn to live his best life. The editing needed to be tighter and better. Some of the plot developments are too abrupt, almost entirely dictated by character and not by requirements of the story. The plot feels very cluttered and has a lot of convenient settlements at the end. A charming, uplifting debut novel—full of humor and depth—that has taken readers around the world by surprise.She wants to ask if he’s having an affair, but doesn’t know how to say it without sounding hopeful.” 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? Then there Janice’s own story - and she does have a story - but has hidden it away. Digging deeper you can see that topics such as suicide, our treatment of the elderly and alcoholism are sensitively handled with this book offering varying degrees of depth and sentiment but all up providing such truth through its tender writing. You will be cheering loudly for Janice and dearly hope she gets her happily ever after from a past that has confined and defined her for too long. Janice is an extraordinary cleaner. She really cares for her clients and spends time ensuring their needs are met with barely a thought for her own. She’s a collector of stories and shares fragments of them with us as we read on. But her own story? That is a deep, dark secret that she can’t bring herself to share. Her life begins to change when she meets Mrs B, a cantankerous nonagenarian with an interesting story of her own. At its heart this is a story of friendship and it’s really rather magnificent.

The Keeper of Stories - Sally Page - Google Books The Keeper of Stories - Sally Page - Google Books

THE AUTHOR: After studying history at university, I moved to London to work in advertising. However, in my spare time I studied floristry at night school and eventually opened my own flower shop. I soon came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and eventually I began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, I continued my interest in writing when I founded my fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk. 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.In my stories, and I do collect stories…” She feels a sense of relief at saying this out loud. “I love that normal people do the unexpected, that they are courageous, funny, kind … selfless. I know these people have faults - of course, that’s life.” Everyone has a story to tell. But what if you don’t have a story? What then? If you are Janice, you become a collector of other people’s stories.’ Janice is a cleaner who collects stories. However, she doesn’t know her worth. She doesn’t think she has her own story until she meets Mrs B. She finally learns her value and her own story and can choose to create her own story as she wishes. EXCERPT: 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 always had done, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her… Janice can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard whilst cleaning? Before long, Janice notices people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they always had done, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her…