Lillian's Story, One Womans Journey through the 20th Century. [Kindle Edition]

It was before I began reading this book that I struggled with what particular genre it would fall into. The title `Lillian's Story' gave little away and made me wonder if the novel was generally directed at a female audience.

Sally Gardner announces the piece as "one woman's journey through the 20th century' which immediately struck alarm bells with me. Was I about to be subjected to an autobiographical tale which I've never been attracted to and avoided because I've always felt excluded from? Would it be an historical novel full of the usual musty clichés? A girlie love story where the heroin eventually gets her man after years of dire poverty, heartbreak and abuse before she eventually opens up her first chain of hotels?

I started the book later in the evening and was surprised how easily the author drew me into the life of this remarkable woman known as Lillian. Sally Gardner's writing sapped my attention and I regret that work, eating and sleeping got in the way of not allowing me to finish this lovely story in one sitting. But I'm glad I didn't read it all at once because the breaks helped me to reflect on some of the events the book covers.

Lillian's Story recounts the life of a woman who was born at the beginning of the last century in 1900 and her life ends in November 1999 when she is almost one hundred years old. The story is made up of extracts from the main characters diary and provides the reader with a personal and quite beautiful history of the century. The human and emotional themes of love, death, tragedy, hope, despair and extreme happiness and joy are all covered in a truly organic sense that just about anyone with any feelings at all can associate with. But the rather intelligent twist here is that the major and some minor events of the twentieth century, which readers will be familiar with are inter-woven into the personal life of this lovely woman and readily demonstrate how we all participate in human events even though we sometimes feel isolated from them.

She begins her life in domestic service and then somehow survives the two great wars but suffers a great deal of loss. She fares well through the unfashionable forties and fifties but finds true love with two husbands she devotes herself to. She has children, then grandchildren and then great grandchildren but like us all, she gets older. Nothing too special about the story some would say except that the reader becomes integrated into this woman's life and becomes a willing participant in experiencing the emotions of events we know of but have taken for granted.

We've heard of Rudolph Nureyev but I'd never considered what might have been the impact of his death to people who were familiar with during the thirties or the psychological affect of film, especially musical film and that incredible transition from black and white to colour. Or the emotions and despair many thousands of people would have felt when they emerged from the shelters after a bombing raid. Or that terrible sense of loss and fear in sending a child away to the country and not knowing if you would see them again. And the cold war and the fashions and the building projects. The deaths and cures for diseases and Nixon and the Queen and walking on the moon and Princess Diana. And all the other events of the twentieth century which have moulded all of you lives

This book is a pleasant reminder of the events which have brought us to where we are now but the writer never allows the reader to forget that this is a personal account of a private life. How many of us who have little to do with religion or have lost the religious faith that was drummed into us as children have mentally made pacts with the man upstairs that we'd worship him every day if he'll just do this little thing for us? How many of us pretend that the death of an animal is simplistic and logical and just shrug it off as part of life but secretly we've been dying and screaming inside but don't want to (somehow) appear weak? How many have wanted to dance or sing or wear something outrageous that says "look at me" but decide against it because it might make us look foolish?

Well this happened with Lillian and Sally Gardner allows us to meander through Lillian's personal thoughts and become a part of the woman's life and offer empathy and affection. This is a lovely book which moves confidently along and it was hard to put down though when I did it brought back memories of some of the events. I still remain unsure about which genre this fits into because fiction is far too broad. But that just doesn't matter because it's a bad habit to pigeon-hole everything we do. Better to just accept it as a good read.

I have no reservations in recommending this book and would suggest a little rummage through its riches when you need a lift. Sally Patricia Gardner's writing is "a little bit of what you fancy" and yes, it does you good.

I cannot believe this book was free. I would pay to buy this lovely story. It is not a page turner but a moving literary work. There is the whole range of life, love, politics, events all wrapped up in Lillian's life. The emotions come across so well.
I defy anyone not to learn something from this book as well as enjoying the reading experience.
Highly recommend this book

Wow, this really blew me away! Sally Patricia Gardner may not be an author well known to the general public as yet, but boy on the evidence of this is that going to change! Mark my words here and now this is going to be BIG and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it dosen't eventually end up as a mini - tv series a la 'The Mallens'.

As the title suggests, this is the story of one womans life throughout the whole of the 20th century. Living such a long life, Lillian lives to witness so many social changes that to try to describe here the rich tapestry of her life in detail would be impossible. For this reason, I shall make do here with simply telling you about my idea of the most impressive part of the story, namely, the authors skillfull portrail of life during the second world war.

With every page you are made to feel that you're 'right there' with Lillian, living with the fear, coping with the terrible things that happen to some of the local people she knows and sharing in the temporary but incredible highs when good news is received. Thankfully, I am not old enough to have lived through either wars but, after reading this book, I now feel that I can almost genuinely say that I know how it felt. A crazy thing to say I know yet, such is the skill of the author, I'm sure if you read this you will know what I mean. The other impressive thing about the book being the way in which contempary events(throughout) are so acurately described, brought to life and interwoven into the text. This book is guaranteed to bring memories flooding back to not just those that lived through the war years, but to pretty much anybody old enough to have experienced any significan't period of the 20th century. I am even prepared to wager a good many tears shall be shed over these pages in the coming months (in fact the resulting emotional release might even help to patch up long festering family feuds!) But, don't take my word for all this, buy yourself a copy and share in Lillians fantastic and emotional journey. I'll see you in the trenches then!