Blurb; Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.
Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.
When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.
My Review; I am one of those readers that if the book has the word reading, bookshop or library in the title I know it will be a brilliant read and this was spot on. Highly recommend. A must read. One that will stick with me for a long time.
This story brings a lot of people together over books. From non readers, widows, to carers to the lonely people from old to young in society they all come together over one reading list but do not know where the list has come from or who wrote it. Heart-warming. Uplifting. The story focuses on two characters in particular Mukesh and Aleisha with a few chapters from others inbetween.
A story that will stick in your heart. One you won’t regret reading. A must read for me. High chance this could end up in my top reads of the year. A well deserved five stars. A beautiful ending which might make you tear up. Books are powerful things.
Between The Pages Book Club 