I seem to be hooked on this author’s books; this is the third I have read, and I am captivated by her authentic people, with real feelings that we can identify with.
Jo has lost James, the man she was hoping to marry after six years together; he decided to take up with a colleague at work and Jo, devastated, arrives at her Uncle Wilbur’s tiny shop in London to look after it – temporarily as she believes – whilst he is in a care home. He has Alzheimer’s, and the shop, which sells hardware and stationery, has so many memories for Jo as a child. Uncle Wilbur would let her play post offices in there, her favourite thing being a receipt book with carbon paper between its pages.
Not only has she lost James, but she also seems to have lost her best friend Lucy, and she is not sure whether that is due to something she has done or not – but suspects it may be.
The shop is in an alleyway along with two other shops, and customers are few, but Jo gradually gets to know the ones who come in regularly. Next door is an optician’s, then a tattoo parlour, and when a tall, fair-haired, bearded young man come in she instantly christens him Eric the Viking, deciding he must be from the tattoo parlour as he seems to be covered in tattoos. (He isn’t – he’s Eric the optician!)
Malcolm is an elderly man who buys notebooks; one a week, and she thinks he must be writing a book. As time goes on she finds it easier to talk to the regulars, finding out more about them whilst not giving away too much of herself.
Then there is the lady who looks vaguely familiar, and it takes Jo some time to figure out who she is. She is “The Runaway Vicar”, a title given her by a journalist. Her name is Ruth, and she disappeared from her home some time ago, in the middle of a meal, with no sign of a break-in or abduction.
At Eric’s suggestion Jo has some fountain pens on display on the counter, and these in themselves start of conversations, from “no-one uses fountain pens any more” to requests to try one. She orders some in brighter colours, and as people try them out by writing something on a pad, gradually Jo amasses a collection of these on a board in the shop. Some are poetry, some just a name and others a heartfelt wish.
Jo begins to realise that her relationship with James was not a healthy one; she is a people-pleaser, and followed James’ wishes instead of her own. As she gets to know her customers better, she feels able to confide in Ruth, and then Malcolm, and when Malcolm has a small accident near her shop and comes in bleeding from a head wound, which Ruth cleans up for him, the three of them draw closer together and begin to trust each other.
A visit to check up on Malcolm results in discovering that Malcolm wants to write a book. All the notebooks he has been buying are filled with details of people buried in Highgate Cemetery. His father used to tell him that on Christmas Eve all the animals could talk, just for one night, and he wants to build a story around the same thing happening to the disparate people in the cemetery. The three of them decide to take away two books each, and imagine the conversation between the two people represented. Jo ends up with William Foyle and John Lobb, men with seemingly nothing in common, but as she does some background research she finds that they both came from a background of poverty, then by sheer hard work and determination rose to affluence. Foyles bookshop in London was the result of one, and custom-made boots and shoes the result of the other.
The developing relationship between Jo, Ruth and Malcolm, mixed with Jo’s burgeoning feelings for Eric - confused because she believes he fancies one of her customers - plus Lucy’s reappearance on the scene, Uncle Wilbur dying and James trying to reconnect with Jo keep us hooked to see where it will all lead. Now I can’t wait for Sally’s next book and her next collection of characters that I really wish I could meet in person.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Keeper of Stories, comes the next uplifting story of how the most unexpected friendships are forged in the most unlikely of places . . .
Jo Sorsby knows she is hiding from her past when she steps in to look after her uncle’s stationery shop. Glimpsing the lives of her customers between the warm wooden shelves, as they scribble notes with fountain pens and browse colourful notebooks, distracts her from the life she has left behind.
Yet far from home, Jo feels adrift . . .
When she meets Ruth, a vicar running from a secret, and Malcolm, a septuagenarian struggling to write his first book, she realises that she isn’t alone.
It’s the beginning of a friendship that can transform Jo’s life . . . if only she can let them in.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | WEBSITE
After studying history at university, Sally moved to London to work in advertising. In her spare time she studied floristry at night school and eventually opened her own flower shop. Sally came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and she began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, she continued her interest in writing when she founded her fountain pen company, Plooms UK
In her debut novel, The Keeper of Stories, Sally combines her love of history and writing with her abiding interest in the stories people have to tell. Sally now lives in Dorset. Her eldest daughter, Alex, is studying to be a doctor and her younger daughter is the author, Libby Page. Both are keen wild swimmers.
