**Sally Page's remarkable new novel The Secrets of Flowers is available now**
From the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Keeper of Stories, comes an utterly beautiful and charming novel full of mystery and secrets waiting to be uncovered…
'Filled with compassion and insight … a true ode to friendship' HAZEL PRIOR
'Masterful storytelling' CELIA ANDERSON
'A powerful ode to friendship'Fabulous
Her new chapter starts now…
Jo Sorsby is hiding from her past when she agrees to run her uncle's beloved stationery shop. Glimpsing the lives of her customers between the warm wooden shelves, as they scribble little notes and browse colourful notebooks, distracts her from her bruised heart.
When she meets Ruth, a vicar running from a secret, and Malcolm, a septuagenarian still finding himself, she suddenly realizes she isn't alone.
They each have a story that can transform Jo's life… if only she can let them in.
The perfect gift for book lovers, The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Bookshop in this gorgeous novel about secrets, second chances and finding friendship in the most unlikely places.
'Another extraordinary read by the author of The Keeper of Stories' ?????
'What a gem of a book!'?????
'Everything about the story moved me'?????
'I am in awe of Sally Page's writing' ?????
'So refreshingly original' ?????
'You just have to read it' ?????
'A read cover-to-cover-in-one-sitting book that gives all the feels' ?????
'Wonderful, just wonderful'?????
| ISBN: | 9780008612870 |
| Publication date: | 28th September 2023 |
| Author: | Sally Page |
| Publisher: | HarperCollinsPublishers an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 406 pages |
| Genres: |
Family Drama Narrative theme: Love and relationships Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss Narrative theme: Identity / belonging Modern and Contemporary Fiction Contemporary lifestyle fiction Sagas Humorous Fiction |
A cosy gentle read
This is not my usual type of book, but I found it to be a really enjoyable cosy read.
Jo lives in the north of England and is in her thirties. She has a long term relationship with James and is looking forward to marriage and children. However James has other ideas and breaks off the relationship. Jo is distraught and very hurt.
Her favourite uncle runs a small old fashioned shop in London and he is ill in hospital so Jo decides try and make a fresh start by moving to London and helping out by looking after the shop on a temporary basis.
The story unfolds, introducing the reader to various customers in the shop and also the disparate group of people that Jo befriends.... Read Full Review
A heart-warming story about friendship, love and new beginnings.
Through the voices of not only her trio of main characters, but each of her subsidiary characters (especially Jo’s neighbouring shop owners, gentle-giant Eric the Viking/optician, with his walrus-like laugh, and Lando the tattoo artist … as well as all the historic characters ‘encountered’ in Highgate Cemetery), the author has provided her readers with this delightful story about friendship, love and new beginnings. I enjoyed how she controlled the narrative with her slow revelations about the back-histories of each of the characters, thus creating stories within stories and providing a credible psychological underpinning to her storytelling. Although this is in many ways an easy, undemanding read, I also found it a surprisingly moving and thought-provoking one.
A central message in the novel is that all friendships are precious and that, whatever your age, it’s never too late to make new ones.... Read Full Review
A ray of sunshine on a grey rainy day, The Book of Beginnings is warm and comforting, feel-good book.
When Jo Sorsby swaps the Northern Dales for North London to look after Uncle Wilbur’s stationery and hardware shop while he is in care she hopes to leave painful memories of her ex and trepidation about her friendship with Lucy behind. Determined to resurrect the dying art of letter writing, stock is replenished, tester fountain pens are ready to hand and the noticeboard fills up with customer’s trial jottings. Average Jo finally has the confidence to embrace new friendships.
The descriptions of Ruth (the runaway vicar), Malcom (the grey tax analyst) and Eric (the Viking from next door) are wonderful.... Read Full Review