Title: Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
Book Beginning quote:
Helen Cartwright was old with her life broken in ways she could not have foreseen.
Friday56 quote:
The last stop before checkout is the dried good section, from which Helen draws one sleeve of digestive biscuits. Impulsively, she parks her trolley and returns to where there are small packets of unsalted party nuts on hooks at the end of the aisle. She has her tart and her biscuits -- why shouldn't the mouse get something, too?
Summary:
Over the course of a single week, a woman who is ready to die discovers an unexpected reason to live.
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.
Sipsworth is a reminder that there can be second chances. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes the world has plans of its own. (Publisher)
Review: Sipsworth is a sweet, short story about the importance of connections in our lives. It might be a pet, as the small mouse named Sipsworth, that provides the comfort and urge to go on or it may be one's willingness to be open to the care from other people. Sipsworth is a short novella, 240 pages in length with short chapters and lots of white space on the pages. It can easily be consumed in one sitting.
Now that I am done with the book I hope to buy a copy for my mother, age 95, who tries awfully hard to retain friendships and human connections but often has to lean in to her friendship with her dear cat, Juniper. I know she will appreciate it, too.
RULES:
-Anne
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