The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg is one of the first books I read this year. It was hands down the perfect book to kick off the new year. I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley and the publisher.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. Even though I had an inkling how it might end, it was still worth reading all the way through. When Doris winds up in the hospital after taking a fall, I found myself wanting to sit by her bedside, help her continue her writing and care for her until her niece arrived. It's rare that I come across a character in a book that feels more alive than the words on the page but Doris is one of them.

Lundberg flits between first and third person; first person as Doris recalls and records her stories for Jenny and third person to move the plot along. As a reader, I found this a wonderful way to carry the story along and differentiate between memories and the characters' storylines.This is one of those books that sits with me long after I've finished reading it. It was truly heart-wrenching and beautifully written. The Red Address Book is one of those books I could read again and again. It makes the perfect book club book and would make a beautiful transition from novel to the big screen (hint, hint Hollywood).

A sweet novel with a slow, winding plot that takes a look back at Doris Alm’s life. Author, Sofia Lundberg, writes about Doris Alms, now a 96 year old Swedish woman, who does not want to be thought of as old, who has lived a life full to the brim. She has lived through very tough times, the horrors of Word War II and also had some incredible adventures, being a fashion model in 1930s Paris. She starts off being sent away from a poor family into servitude as a maid at the age of 13. There, though she has to work very hard for her difficult employer, she meets some eccentric characters who will continue to shape the rest of her life. Some of the people she reminisces about she has been involved with for a short amount of time, others are recurring through different stages of her life.

Now, as Doris sits at home alone in her apartment waiting for the caretaker to come bring her a meal and help her take a shower, she recalls all the experiences of her life. To help her put her memories in order she writes about all the people who came and went along through this long life lived over the past eighty years. Reading each name in her red address book, she marks them off as dead and writes about their connections to her life. She is intent on recording her memories for her great niece.

Going through her address book everyone in her life is dead except for her great niece, Jenny. Jenny lives with her husband and three children across the ocean in San Francisco and visits with her Great Aunt, her only living relative, through Skype on a regular basis. Jenny is experiencing her own doubts and troubles, balancing being a mother to young children and questioning her marriage. In small segments we learn about Jenny's life and how the connection between Doris and Jenny developed and became such a strong family dynamic. Doris has some wonderful advice to share with Jenny from all her life experiences. My favorite piece of advice, "May there be enough sun to light up your days, enough rain to make you appreciate the sun."

We learn a bit of the lifestyles of the early nineteenth century as we hear about Doris's exploits. Though there is always someone to rescue her just in the nick of time, Doris works through being broke and unemployed in New York and being torpedoed on a ship during World War II. Some of the people she meets are helpful others are more dangerous. There is the Swede on the bus in New York who offers her a home, a sailor on a dark pier who helps her board the ship bound for Europe.

In the end it was a three tissue book. Lovely and sweet.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Red Address Book. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

96 year old Doris lives alone in her Stockholm apartment, but she is not always lonely. Between the daily carers and her weekly Skype call with her grandniece Jenny and her family, Doris has enough of a connection to the outside world. It is her connection to her past, however, that consumes much of the woman's days. The red address book, gifted to Doris by her parents on her 10th birthday, holds a key to her past. Each entry has a memory and it is this chronicle of the past that gives readers a true picture of the extraordinary life of Doris Alm. When circumstances make her situation dire, will Jenny be able to help piece together a missing part of her beloved great aunt's life before it is too late?

The use of the address book as a conduit to the past is quite clever and is very successful in drawing the reader into Doris's life. Doris comes alive in the pages of The Red Address Book, as her experiences are conveyed through the unique format. This historical fiction gives readers a glance into life from Sweden to Paris during times of struggle for survival. The grim picture that the author paints is quite realistic and, while I was reading The Red Address Book, I often forgot that this was a work of fiction. I was hooked from the first page and was genuinely sad when I finished the book, in more ways than one. The Red Address Book is definitely a novel that I would recommend to other readers and I look forward to reading more by author Sofia Lundberg in the future.

This is the remarkable life story of a remarkable character who had an interesting, but not easy life. It may be the translation, but I found the writing a bit clunky and stiff. Still, the reader roots for Doris throughout the book and her feisty spirit at 96 is true to the strength she displayed through the difficult times in her life.

This is a heartwarming tale about a 96 year old woman named Doris. She lives alone in Sweden and only has a Skype call with a relative in America once a week. She tells us the story of her life through people she has met thst are in her address book. I had so many emotions when reading this book. It is funny and beautiful at times it is sad as well. It is the story of a well lived life.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

This is the story of Doris, a 96-year-old woman who lives by herself in Stockholm, Sweden. Other than her weekly Skype calls with her Grand-niece in America, Doris has no visitors other than her caretaker. But, she does have a red address book that was given to her by her father where she keeps the memories of the important people in her life. As Doris reads through the names in her book, she tells her life story. And what an amazing story it is. The characters jumped off the page so I feel like I know them and I felt compelled to keep turning the pages. This is a book you will laugh and cry with until the last page. I do not want to give any more information because I do not want to spoil any part of this jewel of a book.
Thank you Netgalley for my copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A sad story of lost love and missed opportunities told through the names in an old woman,Doris's,address book as she lies ill in hospital,communicating with Jenny,her niece ,through Skype.
It tells the story of her eventful life through a series of flashbacks and reminds us that many older people have had very interesting lives and should not be seen as they are in the present day.
It's a moving story and worth reading but maybe not if you're feeling sad.

96 year old Doris was a frail woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She had a series of daily caregivers and was able to live alone. She had no other relatives than Jenny, her great niece who lived in San Francisco. She and Jenny Skyped often.

Then Doris fell and ended up in a hospital in Stockholm. Jenny continued to Skype with her great aunt but soon realized that Doris was dying. So Jenny took her 2 year old daughter, left her husband and sons and flew to be with Doris for her final days.

Doris had a favorite address book that was give to her by her beloved father. Most of the entries in the book were followed by the words Dead. Doris decides that she wanted to write a memoir so that Jenny and her family would learn something about the older woman’s life. Doris began with her father’s death and how her mother forced her to work as maid to a wealthy socialite. Doris was taken to Paris where she eventually worked as a living mannequin who modeled clothes for wealthy women in fancy stores.She became a model for Chanel and other designers. It was in Paris that Doris met Allen, an American who became her the love of her life.

The memoir followed Doris when she and her sister traveled to New York in response to a letter Allen had written a year before. By the time the women arrived in the city, they were told that Allen had married and could not meet Doris. Her sister eventually married a man who took the the girls in so they could help his Swedish mother.

World War II was raging in Europe but Doris felt she had to leave New York and return to France where Allen was fighting. Doris and Allen never met but she ended up living with a recluse in England until after the war ends.

Jenny discovered the pages of the memoir and read them when she was not at the hospital with Doris.

I enjoyed meeting Doris and reading the descriptions of life before and after World War II. I felt that some of the other characters were it as well developed as Doris. I found the ending was not realistic but that it fit into the story nicely.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg was first published in Sweden in 2017. The book has since been translated to English by Alice Menzies and is available as of January 2019. This novel documents the sentimental journey of Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in Stockholm. Her only living relative is Jenny, her grandniece who lives in the US with her young family. The two women skype once a week and have a close and loving relationship. Doris was given a red address book by her father when she was a child. Throughout her long life, she wrote in many names of people who were part of her journey. In her old age, she started to write the story of each person in her book so that Jenny would know the history of Doris and herself. In failing health, Doris cannot forget one man who passed in and out of her life. Whatever happened to him? This small novel is a beautiful story of one woman's life. It is a little gem. Highly recommended. Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Doris’ story is rich with details, friendship, love, laughter and loneliness. From the perspective of the present to endowed glimpses of her past, Lundberg pieces together a story of a life fully lived. Told across time and generations, Doris has experienced so much through the changing times. A lovely look at a life and a generation.

This book was very beautiful and heartwarming. I really liked the way Doris narrated her story through her red address book and the people mentioned in it.
The author goes between past and present in a very smooth and beautiful way. Also the ending of the book was beautifully done and very emotional .

This book told the life story of a 90-something year old woman through the entries in her address book. I found Doris' story to be quite interesting. She was an extremely strong person who besides surviving WWII, also survived many heartaches and challenges in her long life. I loved that she was writing her life story for the benefit of her great niece Jenny. She wanted her to know about her entire life, not just the bits and pieces you normally learn about an older relative. Reading this made we wish I had asked my older relatives about their lives...they also lived through challenging times and I wonder what that was like.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book for review.

In The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg, Doris is an elderly woman who acknowledges her death is imminent. She has one great niece who is dear to her; as they live in different countries, their connections are limited to Skype sessions. While Doris values those encounters, she doesn't want Jenny to be unaware of the life Doris lived as a young woman, a life that spans countries, beginning with the circumstances that cause Doris to be sent away from home at a young age to work as a servant, only to be welcomed into the live mannequin world, filled with glamour and drudgery. Love, loss, and heartache follow.

Doris takes to typing up her life story, both in hopes Jenny will be able to come into possession of the stories and to fill her empty days. The story is framed by the entries in her red address book, nearly all of whom are deceased. Some individuals only warrant one chapter, others we return to repeatedly.

Both the flashbacks and the present-day sections are engaging and their juxtapositions give us pause as we try to make the transition, much as Doris experiences when she's deep in a captivating flashback, only to be returned to the present day with an impatient caregiver and the reality of her failing body.

The Red Address Book is a solid story. It may not linger with me after having completed it, but the experience was pleasant.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for my honest review.)

Although I was a wee bit confused in the beginning of which characters the chapter was talking about (because they read like names in an address book), once I got into the rhythm of the book I really enjoyed it. 96 year old Doris knows she is dying and decides to go through her address book she had kept all her life making note of all her friends and acquaintances, and leave behind a history for her great niece who is the only family she has left. Doris leads an interesting life full of glamour, a passionate love, as well as moments of total despair as the war rages on and she faces personal tragedies. While sad, I really liked how the author wrapped the story up. She has a very engaging writing style and I found myself totally absorbed in this story. I read it all in one sitting.

I received this free in exchange for an honest review. I was really looking forward it - I loved the concept of reflecting back on the the memories of people in an old address book and was expecting an heart-warming story. But I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I found the writing a little jarring at times with the short sentence structure - maybe this had something to do with the translation in English. And while I thought the history in the book was fascinating and a couple of the characters were interesting, I found the book rather depressing as we made our way through all the DEAD people in Doris' life. 3 stars.

This was a fun novel to read, as it is told to us through the people who Doris knew and had in her address book, which was given to her by her father when she was a child. Doris is now 96 years old and living in Sweden, almost house bound at this point and has just her memories to keep her company.
Jenny, Doris's grandniece and only living relative, lives in San Francisco, but they talk once a week on Skype, which is the highlight of her week.
Doris has lived a full and very interesting life, and so she starts writing her stories addressed to Jenny. She goes through her address book and tells us about the people, places and what was happening in her life when she knew them. When Doris ends up in the hospital, Jenny comes over to visit her and they are able to have a wonderful time as Jenny discovers, a lot of things she never knew, and tries to right something from Doris's past.
Well written and a fascinating look at what her life was like, the loves, tragedies, hardships, privileges and not.
I definitely recommend this story for those who love a good tale.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the ARC of this book.

A refreshingly written novel based on a red address book that Doris was given by her late father and as she is now in old age she sees how many of the people that she knew and loved are gone so she begins to record her life from her flat in Sweden whilst talking regularly to her great niece in America. And what a life from being a maid in Sweden to modelling in Paris, fleeing to Manhattan as war comes to Europe then finally returning to Sweden. Meanwhile her grandniece suffers torment in her role as a mother and questions her ability based on her own early childhood years. Beautifully paced with a great cinematic feeling about it, it shows how the human heart can survive all that the world throws at it. It is something that you cannot put down - a great read!

The Red Address Book is a walk through memory lane of the life of 96 year old Doris. Doris lives alone in Stockholm and spends her days in near isolation except for her Skype calls to her niece in the US, but she's got so many stories to tell. She has spent her whole life writing names in her red address book and crossing names out upon their death. Now, as most names are crossed out, she revisits these very important figures in her life and how they fit in to her own story. From Sweden, to Paris in the 30's, to New York upon WWII, this story takes you on quite an adventure.

I am not going to lie to any of you- this Goodreads rating is totally influenced by my emotions. Although I like to play my cards close and portray myself as a cynic, Swedish author Sofia Lundberg's Doris squirmed her way into my heart. Just how do the Swedish keep doing this to me?( looking at you, Fredrik Backman)

The greatest comfort in life comes from freely expressing one's opinion and being met with nothing but love in return, even when opinions diverge.

Usually when a reviewer writes a review we are trying to list all the reason you should/shouldn't read this book. I can only think about one reason you should LOVE! This book is all about that in big capital letters with tears rolling from eyes that have witnessed regrets, loss of family, terror, and above all love. If you need a second reason- well, you just need to meet Doris!

I wish you enough sun to light up your days, enough rain that you appreciate the sun. Enough joy to strengthen your soul, enough pain that you can appreciate life's small moments of happiness, enough meetings that you can say a farewell.

A 96 year old Doris who doesn't really have contact with anyone except for a weekly skype call with her grandniece. She was set to work at 13. Her Memories were lonely besides that of a red address book that her dad gave er. In itt was every person she every meant. A heartwarming book.