59 Memory Lane

May Rosevere is 110 and has had a wish since childhood to live until she is 111 that was instigated by something her father once said to her. May is a kleptomaniac but it is her view that she is "collecting their treasured objects so that she can do what she terms her thought-harvesting." There were many more opportunities when she lived in the village. Now she lives out by the sea in Pengelly, an isolated seaside village in Cornwall, and cannot physically pop in for quick visits to neighbors which lessen her opportunities to obtain things.

This is a beautifully written story about the grudges neighbors can hold in silence and miss the beauty of friendship and caring for one another if they don't wait until it is too late to begin show more talking to one another. Listening to the other side of the story can put the past in perspective and enjoy newly discovered harmony. It also conveys the worries of a single father trying to do his very best in parenting an inquisitive and precocious little girl, and the loneliness of a grandmother still grieving for the loss of her husband. It highlights the anxiety of a granddaughter who is devoted to her grandmother but also to her career and isn't sure how to be in 2 places at the same time.

Even if you rarely do, I would like to highly recommend reading the Celia Anderson's "Acknowledgements" to learn her inspiration for this novel as well as in her own words "another powerful catalyst." The story is especially enchanting for all who remember the joy of letter writing. And for all who have read "The Keeper of Lost Things" by Ruth Hogan this novel will be especially heartwarming. show less

Such a delightfully different book. May is a 110 year old woman who has a special "talent" that has helped her live to her ripe old age in the beautiful coastal Cornwall village of Pengelly. She desperately wants to live to 111, but is she willing to do so at the expense of others? Julia is her octogenarian neighbor who she doesn't particularly get along with at the onset of the book. Andy and his little daughter, Tamsin, live next door to May and look in on her often. Emily is Julia's granddaughter who currently works in NYC, but who comes home to visit her grandmother. Their lives become intertwined in the most interesting way. There are several other amazing locals to Pengelly who are equally delightful to get to know. This story has show more an almost magical quality to it in more ways than the one most obvious. The book ends with you wanting more ... and luckily, there is more available in the second book of the series, The Cottage of Curiosities. show less

‘59 Memory Lane’ by Celia Anderson has a cozy tone reminding me immediately of MC Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series, but without the crime. Anderson has created the sort of feelgood destination you long to live in, to get away from it all. Pengelly is an isolated seaside village in Cornwall with an infrequent bus service. When a local do-gooder starts an Adopt-a-Granny scheme pairing people together, 110-year old May Rosevere is paired with her eighty year old neighbour Julia. Except unbeknown to everyone else, these two women harbour a long held grudge against each other.
The central premise of the novel is that May’s long life – and she is free of the medical complaints experienced by other older characters in the book - is show more thanks to her magical ability to collect other people’s memories and extract energy from them; this is described as a kind of frisson, naughtiness, a buzz. May, determined to reach her 111th birthday, steps up her ‘thought harvesting’ and so is delighted to learn that Julia has discovered a large collection of family letters going back decades.
This book has two major storylines spliced together - the feelgood seaside life in Pengelly and the adventures of the community, the romances, the illnesses, the community spirit; and the flip side, the unexplored darkness of May’s theft of other people’s memories. I found the latter quite difficult. It feels as if May is basically stealing other people’s lives; when she takes Julia’s letters, Julia becomes forgetful, vague and weak. May’s ‘thought harvesting’ is not clearly defined, described variously as a power, skill, ability, talent. May’s father tells her, as a child, about her ‘power’ but we see her doing nothing positive with it. It is not a force for good, she simply uses it for a feeling of well-being. In the beginning she gets her buzz from handling secondhand possessions at fairs and sales and by picking up rubbish and forgotten objects. But when did the stealing start?
The community at Pengelly is large and so the first half of the novel includes lots of scene setting and explanation of who is who. For this reason, this feels like the first novel in a series. The story really took off for me in the second half when May’s ‘talent’ comes back to bite her and she starts to feel guilty at taking people’s memories from them when it clearly causes damage. Anderson does an excellent job in creating the world of Pengelly, the community spirit for a village often cut-off, its residents have become supportive and innovative. There is romance for young and old, and support and friendship for everyone when illness strikes.
At the end I would have liked more explanations; to the mystery of Julia’s letters, the death of May’s husband, the mysterious Will who went off to be a priest, or the meaning of the missing ring. I can’t help but think this is a missed opportunity to turn this novel into something more than a Cornish village romance. Pengelly is definitely an escapist village with its beach walks, barbecues, cake, biscuits and mugs of hot chocolate, and it was good to see a cast of characters across the age spectrum, from six-year old Tamsin to 110 year-old May and lots of 50-80+, all getting along together. But I was left feeling I had been led, by the cover design, to expect one novel but got another.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ show less

At the age of 110 May Rosevere lives her life of simplicity on the Cornish coast in the village of Pengelly. She wants to reach 111 but her mind is only stimulated by the memories of others, transmitted through their possessions. When her neighbour Julia discovers a hoard of letters May knows that she will have lots of memories to keep her going. however the memories also open up issues from May's past. When Julia's granddaughter Emily arrives for a visit then May knows that she can create a positive change in the lives of others.
This is both a simple and a complex story, the simple dealt with very well, the complex not really developed. At it's heart this is a gently story about a life not lived and lives yet to be lived, Anderson show more creates a lively set of characters whose interactions are busy but logical. However less successful are the areas not developed fully and only hinted at - those relating to May's husband and daughter. In the mood for an unchallenging and rather pleasant summer read, I really enjoyed this at a superficial level. show less