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The Book of Beginnings

The Book of Beginnings 1

by Sally Page
Paperback
Publication Date: 06/03/2024
5/5 Rating 1 Review

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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.

Netgalley reviewers LOVE The Book of Beginnings!

'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
9780008612870
Category:
Humour
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
06-03-2024
Language:
English
Publisher:
HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Pages:
416
Dimensions (mm):
200x129x34mm
Weight:
0.29kg
Sally Page

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, Sally continued her interest in writing when she founded her fountain pen company.

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Reviews

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1 Review

“I have often thought we spend too much time obsessing about finding, “the one”, and we forget that a best friend can be a lifelong love. There is a fundamental truth, comfort and joy in having a best friend.”

The Book Of Beginnings is the second novel by British author, Sally Page. Heartbroken when she realises her boyfriend of six years doesn’t love her, thirty-nine-year-old Jo Sorsby sees her mother’s request as an opportunity to avoid James and his new girlfriend in Northumberland. Jo’s Uncle Wilbur has gone into respite care, and his hardware-cum-stationery shop in a little alleyway off Highgate High Street needs a caretaker.

Taylor’s Supplies is where Jo would spend a few wonderful weeks each summer during her childhood, and was the source of her passion for stationery, so being there brings back fond memories. Living in the flat above the shop, the next few weeks see Jo meeting the tattooed optometrist and the Spanish tattooist whose shops share the alleyway. And if one of them is extremely attractive, well, she reminds herself that she’s not in the market for romance. Is she? And anyway, her time in the shop is temporary…

Encounters with quirky customers are interesting: the notes they write when testing her fountain pens prompt discussion and are worthy of her pinboard. A friendless schoolboy who loves fountain pens and chess, a policeman unhappy with his handwriting, a beautiful young woman recalling an Italian penfriend: Jo manages to helpfully direct their course. One enthusiast advises her on inks.

But it’s some of the regular or repeat customers, of which there are increasingly more, who have her truly intrigued. Soberly dressed Malcolm Buswell knows her from her childhood visits, buys and fills notebooks, and is writing a book, but remains reticent about the subject matter.

Ruth Hamilton is a vicar mysteriously absent from her parish whose remarks are perceptive and astute, and something she says spurs Jo on to try to repair the disconnect with her best friend by taking up one of her fountain pens, selecting the right paper, and writing a proper letter. Is she seeking forgiveness for something she tries to avoid thinking about?

As the story progresses, firm friendships form and Jo finds herself going for a December swim at Hampstead swimming ponds to commemorate a Spitfire Girl, contributing to an intriguing literary project and, eventually reconnecting with her best friend. The new friendships have profound effects on each of them, allowing them to reveal their troubling secrets.

Eventually, “Jo knows what it is that Ruth brings to people. What she carries as a precious gift, along with her bottle of wine, to the sick, the dying, the bereaved, the frightened. It is not her belief in God. It is hope.” Will Jo lose these precious new relationships when her stint at Taylor’s ends?

There’s plenty of wisdom and insight in this tale, but also a good dose of humour. Always direct, Reverend Ruth occasionally comes out with delightful surprises: “‘On the way here, I walked behind a young man smoking a really powerful spliff. I was so annoyed,’ she says. ‘He went so quickly that I had to walk really, really fast to keep up with him.’ She breathes in deeply, smiling, ‘And now,’ she concludes, with a sway from one foot to the other, ‘I’m feeling rather mellow.’” Funny, moving, heart-warming.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins UK.

Recommended
Contains Spoilers No
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