A novel about reading and how it saves the life of a young widow, this was light and serious at the same time - and unfortunately, a little sentimental, a risk I see in many of these reads.
But, there were some engaging things, too, and any bookish reader will be interested in finding out which books play a role in the storyline! The plot is as follows: Tilly Nightingale is a new widow; it's been a few months since her beloved Joe died. But for her birthday in January, she gets a call from a bookshop nearby - there's a gift for her there, from Joe. Before he passed away, he'd arranged with the bookshop's owner, Alfie, to give Tille a book each month for a year, with a message for her included. He is trying to get her to live again.
At first Tillie resists this but as the books continue monthly, she is pushed to expand her life again, to return to books, to cooking, to travel, and to making new friends -- the employees (and cat) at Book Lane. Joe has thoughtfully chosen a series of books to get her moving back into life.
There is a lot of grief talk in this book (spouses dying is one of the hardest things for me to read) but it's leavened with hope and forward movement, and some romance as well. That's the part that I was kind of "eh" about but I see where she was going with it.
I was a bit so-so on the sentimental bits (a bit heavy in parts), but enjoyed the story of the trajectory of Tillie's return to life -- and of course, the books, and the bookshop. The author has a
list of all the books mentioned in this novel at her website - both the books that Tillie is given monthly, and all the other titles mentioned in between. It's quite a bookish read!
