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My thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Keeper of Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook. The lead character, Janice, is the key to this eclectic cast of characters and she is superb. Quiet and unassuming, ‘just a cleaner’, who goes about her everyday life gathering other peoples stories. I simply adored Janice - she is pivotal not only to the other sub stories sprinkled throughout but also to the great life lesson in finding your very own story. Mrs B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell? There are so many wonderful stories in The Keeper of Stories that I really want to sit down and listen to this all over again. This one was a bit of a slow burn, but I did enjoy it and might just add “Vanity Fair’ to my reading pile now.
Cleaner Janice is a recent addition to the cast of marginalised women toiling on the margins of society that have been populating recent literary fiction output. Janice is so sympathetically drawn that readers will want to root for her from the beginning. Trapped in a stale marriage that has run its course and seemingly devoid of a story of her own, Janice instead collects the anecdotes of the colourful, idiosyncratic people she cleans for - until one of her clients becomes interested in her story after all, But what will happen when Janice starts reflecting on who she actually is? She wants to ask if he’s having an affair, but doesn’t know how to say it without sounding hopeful.” In a Nutshell: The book tries hard to match up to the outstanding cover but after a point, it just bored me. I have a feeling that my rating would have been lower had I been actually reading this instead of listening to it. But it does have its good moments. I immediately fell in love with the main character the keeper of stories who’s collection of peoples essence of life stories are gained from amongst the clients she cleans for and the conversations she overhears on the bus driving around
Customer reviews
Top Five Tuesday: 5 books that I’m thankful for in 2023 #Top5Tuesday #TuesdayBookBlog @MeeghanReads#TopFiveTuesday November 21, 2023 Life-affirming, hopeful fiction that can definitely fit into the ‘Uplit’ genre, this wonderful novel will definitely be on my list of ‘Best Books of 2022’. Highly recommended! And the writing is pretty good, it is engaging and the flow is just perfect for this kind of book, which is way out of my comfort zone and therefor quite difficult to rate and review. The main theme of the book is that knowledge is power and that stories have the ability to connect us to our past and create new possibilities for our future. Max and Emilia come to understand this as they explore Deltora and meet various characters who possess incredible amounts of knowledge. They learn about the power of storytelling, about how stories can shape our lives and help us make sense of our world.
Janice can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard whilst cleaning? Before long, Janice notices people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they always had done, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her… She likes all the people she cleans for except for one married couple who work from home-“Mrs. Yeah Yeah Yeah” and “Mr. No, Not Now!” She does however, love the dog that she walks for them-Decius-a Fox terrier who walks on his toes like a ballerina, and has such an expressive face that she just KNOWS when he is saying to her-“Don’t say a word. Not a f***ing word.” or “WTF?” The Keeper of Stories” is about human nature with all its flaws and inconsistencies. A fabulous story about storytelling and about guilt. It showcases people who are selfish and narcissistic as well as people who are kindness personified. It also portrays the blessings of friendship, and the influence parents have over their children, both good and bad, and the love of a good dog (with a foul mouth). The book is warm and joyful but dies not avoid difficult potentially triggering subjects like suicide and alcoholism.It approaches these areas with sensitivity which is never banal.This is not a sweet slushy book but one that wraps it’s sentiment in truthfulness and tenderness She can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge) she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they had always done so, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her …So why only three stars? Because I found the main character, Janice, pretty annoying and clueless. She is portrayed as a smart middle aged woman, but her actions are all on the contrary: she stays with her freeloading husband, she doesn't stand her ground with people that push her around, and miraculously, she is friends with many of her clients. Having said that - and if you are prepared to get past this - the stories are nice and the dialogues with the dog made me smile all the time. She wants to hammer home with true conviction that she is the story collector. That she gathers stories because she doesn’t have a story. She wants to shout this loudly to drown the little voice within her.’
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