Blurb; When you can’t get out, let kindness in.
In a non-descript building in a gentrifying corner of London, Penny is doing daily battle with her mind. She is convinced that the world beyond her door is too dangerous for her, though her heart knows it isn’t. Penny’s neighbour, Carla, an American expat and single mother of two teens, has lived in a coercive relationship for many years, too worn down by her controlling husband to escape her situation. Mable, Penny’s upstairs neighbour, an elderly Jamaican pensioner and devout Jehovah’s Witness, has sacrificed everything for her faith, including her relationship with her family. And Woman, the housekeeper and nanny on the second floor, has been trafficked. When she is not cleaning and cooking, she works in the laundrette the landlord owns on the ground floor, a hidden slave in full view of the public.
Through grocery deliveries, glimpses through windows, and overheard conversations in the stairwell, the women come to know each other. Their small acts of compassion help them each find a way to mend the broken paths in their lives.
My Review; This was one off my library pile and is told through each of the different characters who all live in the same block of flats with thin walls. Each character has their own problems, and there are some hard-hitting subjects to contend with in this story, including control, slaves, religion, and anxiety about leaving their home. It’s is a story of hope, coming together and all wraps up beautifully at the end. This book is unique as the author actually gives us four different endings to choose from, and you pick the one you want it to end on. I love that. Highly recommend. A well-deserved four stars from me.
Apologies could not find this on Amazon US.
Between The Pages Book Club 