The Red Address Book is an engrossing read. Doris drifts through life. Losing people along the way. The address book was a gift from her father and at the end of her life, most of the people listed in it are gone. She writes her life story for her great niece Jenny to find. THe best part of the book is the last portion. It's super sweet and poignant, two people who just missed being together through the years, time and time again, finally are reunited. Sad, but satisfying.

96 year old Stockholm resident Doris has begun to write the story of her life for her niece Jenny, who lives with her family in San Francisco, when she falls and breaks her hip. Moving back and forth in time, this is the tale of a woman who survives the range of horrors of the 20th century but always bears a flame for Allan, who she loved and lost. The early parts of this, when Doris is in Paris, are the strongest and her trip back to Stockholm during WWII and the post WWII era the weakest (recognize this is meant to be what she was able to record but it felt like key things were missing.). Nonetheless, the writing, and the translation, was lovely and the tale a good one which I found myself gobbling up. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one for some unexpected surprises and a story about enduring love.

While this was a charming story, it started a bit slow for me, but as the story built, I was greatly entertained as each name in an old red address book came to life. What a life Doris had lived. A beautifully written book of unending love, at times heart wrenching at others heart lifting. Enchanting!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Sofia Lundberg for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it!

Doris is 96 years old and living alone in an apartment in Sweden. She lives for her weekly Skype calls with her grandniece, Jenny, who lives in America. When Doris was young, her father gave her a red address book and she has kept track of all the people who have made an impact in her life, for better or worse. She also crosses off the name and puts "dead" beside those who have died, which at her age is many. She realizes that all these people and her stories are important so she starts writing down her history with these people to give Jenny.

This is one of those heartbreaking yet uplifting stories that should make everyone sit up and pay attention to the older folks in their lives - those who made an impact on us and whose stories should not fade away. I loved Doris and her stories!

Compelling storytelling has elderly woman’s lifelong reflections stem from her worn address book. This unique approach uses a gift received from her beloved father, who died when she was a teenager, to list each memorable person in her long life. As she nears the end of her life, the address book serves as a reminder of everyone she has loved and lost. The book is gripping and very moving as it plays out across the 20th Century. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley and enjoyed it very much.

This was a sweet, quick read told through the stories Doris has of the people in her address book. I liked getting a glimpse into what early modeling was like, and found this Paris section of the book to be my favorite. It was also amazing that the main character in the book was an older woman. I liked how the protagonist was different from so many protagonists I read about. I also liked the way Lundberg portrayed her view on death. It seemed so realistic. 

I wanted more at the end of the book, though. I feel like it felt rushed to wrap up the story with Elise. I was left wanting more of a glimpse of her, Doris, and Jenny. But I did enjoy all of the other stories and seeing how people shaped Doris and her life.

I really enjoyed The Red Address Book: a reflective story, about the people we meet and the people we lose in life. A 96 year old woman, writing out her story for the only relative left, her grandniece. Capturing her fascinating tale spanning form Sweden to France to USA, and back. A wise tale of survival, love and loss. Has great flow, much honesty and tenderness. Thank you NetGalley for the early edition e-copy, all opinions are my own.

I love the concept that informs The Red Address Book. What a wonderful way to write memoir: reflect on the names of those you knew during your life, as reflected in an address book you've kept all your life.

Doris has lived a long and an interesting life. Although she never married, she has loved well. An intelligent and beautiful woman, she is resourceful and manages to thrive in spite of all the world throws at her.

The characters of Doris and her niece Jenny are well-developed, as is their relationship. Jenny's husband seems too whiny and self-centered, and his realization and apology for his behavior didn't ring true for me. After the two strong female character, Gosta was my next favorite.

I can answer the final question in the book. Doris, you loved enough.

“I wish you enough. 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. And enough friends that you can manage a farewell now and then.”
📕📕
These words from her mother became her guiding light in life and has always given her strength. Now 96, Doris is telling her story to her grandniece Jenny. This sweeping tale about Doris’s life takes the reader from childhood to present day. An amazing tale of strength, resilience, and perseverance. I was completely captivated by Doris’s story and the events in her life. This is a beautiful novel and at one point, during quiet reading time in a class full of students, I was struggling not to sob. Doris led quite a life, saw a lot, experienced a lot, and shares all that she has learned. It’s an amazing story and I absolutely loved it! For me, The Red Address Book was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @hmhbooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg is an amazing novel. This is my first novel by Sofia Lundberg. She has a wonderful way of moving from the past to the present and back again. Her characters are deep, charming, loving, sad, devoted and very memorable. The settings are realistic, and deeply discriptive so much so that you can smell the ocean, feel the rain and sun and picture the characters surroundings. Ms. Lundberg has a gift of story telling. As a reader you can easily get swept up in the story which makes you want to read "just one more chapter". I am not going to give any spoilers about the book. Suffice it to say that if you are an historical and woman's fiction fan this book is well worth the read. Well done Ms. Lundberg! I look forward to more of your stories.
I would like to thank the publisher, Sophia Lundberg and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for granting my Netgalley wish for The Red Address Book.

As soon as I saw the cover for this book and briefly skimmed the blurb, I knew it would be a book I loved. I immediately tracked down the publisher and inquired about an advance review copy, only to be turned down. I don’t think I have ever been so bummed to be denied for a book, but as fate would have it, I ended up with a copy a month or two later. This beautiful book by Swedish author, Sofia Lundberg, was the exact reason I held out on publishing my “Favorite Reads of 2018” list yesterday when I wanted to. I had high hopes for this one and knew it was going to touch the deepest parts of my heart.

There’s something about the nostalgia of an elderly person reflecting upon their life that I’ve always been drawn to, even as a child. There’s age in my soul, the empathy I’ve been given, that allows me to deeply feel a connection to stories like this one. I desire to make my life a life well lived because I know precisely the things I will come to feel remorseful about if I make it to old age. Even from childhood, I have lived life resistant to regret, thanks to the wisdom I’ve garnered from stories like this one. The ups, downs, and in-between moments of a person’s life are fascinating, and since I only get one chance of my own, being able to dive into these stories, fictional or not, fulfills my curiosity.

“When time is all you have, your thoughts become quite deep.”

The Red Address Book is intensely sentimental, often depressing, and wholly captivating. I loved reading about each person that impacted Doris’s life in one way another, whether for a short time or decades. The attachments we form to some people are always intriguing and to read about the history and shared moments between these characters felt real. I loved how this story read, in some ways, like a memoir and Historical Fiction, combining two of my favorite genres into one. In many ways, this story made me think of my all-time favorite movie – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.

As I was reading, I had to pause to underline many beautiful sentences and thoughts I wish I had the words to craft myself. Those moments are what reading is for. It connects us with people who live far away, people we are unlikely to never meet, and find a kindred spirit in a stranger. It makes us realize we’re all connected and we all share the same emotions and innate desires for lives.

“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.”

Though this book had a predominately melancholy tone, I couldn’t help but love it all the more. If this book would have been wholly cheerful, I would not have connected to the story in the way I did. The ending, though sad, is worth sticking around for. I was able to finish this with dry eyes and fullness in my heart. If you like sentimental stories, definitely pick this incredible book up on January 8, 2019, and start your new year off right!

An address book contains real history. Doris's red address book was given to her just as she was becoming a teenager in Stockholm. That little volume stays with her the rest of her life and travels with her to Paris, America, England and back to Stockholm. She has just turned 96 and as she looks through that little red book she writes down her memories for her great-niece, Jenny. Doris has not had an easy life, but she leaves an amazing legacy for Jenny. Their relationship was my favorite part of the story. Would make a thought-provoking book group selection.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.

Doris, a 96 year old woman living in Sweden, has no family apart from her great-niece Jenny who lives in San Francisco. When Doris falls and breaks her hip, Jenny goes to visit her as she's afraid her only living relative has little time left. Doris has been writing down stories of her life and people she's met to share with her niece so someone knows the truth of her life experiences. We learn about Doris working as a clothing model, moving to the U.S. with her younger sister at the start of WWII, and meeting the love of her life. It's a very well spun tale that had me hungry to read the conclusion and see how everything turned out.

4.3/5⭐️

This book ran the gamut of emotions...heart wrenching, despairing but ultimately triumphant. The life of a 96-year-old Swedish woman is told through letters she writes to her great-niece as she nears the end of her life. It’s unique, as she centers her narrative around those folks she’s met in her life who made it into her red address book...some she knew well, some not but almost all ended up with a strike through their name and DEAD written in the margins of the book. It’s a story of loss, love, and desperately trying to survive during the tumultuous years of WW2 in Europe and the US. It was a bit depressing but also absorbing and yes, there were a few tears while reading. There was an uplifting ending however. Trigger: There was a rape scene, not overly graphic.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HoughtonMifflinHarcourt for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

As the book opens, Doris is a Swedish woman in the twilight of her life. She has a nursing service come in to help her once a day, but the caregiver is simply getting the job done without caring about the person she is paid to help. Doris is kind, but doesn’t bother to interact. The caregiver doesn’t notice. Doris’ body is betraying her with weakness, but her mind is still sharp and her memories clear.

There are two things Doris does interact with. One is the computer phone call to her niece in the States, which happens every day. Both of the women delight in seeing the other from around the globe and sharing their lives. The other is the red address book that her father gave her for her tenth birthday in 1928. Just by opening the pages and scrolling through, she can walk through her past and relive the good and the bad of all the years.

At this stage of her life, Doris’ red address book holds many names of the dead. As each friend or family member passes away, she draws a line through their name and writes in one word. DEAD. She has lived a full and interesting life and has accepted the fact that her life is soon to be over. Her niece realizes that her beloved aunt is failing fast, and makes the journey to see her one last time. Her bittersweet journey will open her eyes to the woman Doris once was and still is until her last breath.

Lundberg skillfully takes us from past to present by using the entries in Doris’ red address book to tell us of the people she has encountered and events that have happened in her long and interestingly colorful life. Not all of the experiences have been good – but each of them has shaped Doris into the strong woman she remains to be today.

Oftentimes as people get older they are not seen as the young, vibrant person they were before age slowed them down. I have been fortunate to have close older family members tell me about their lives, just like Lundberg does for Doris. By the end of the book, I had laughed and cried with her as if she was an Aunt I was truly fond of.

This is the first book Sofia Lundberg has written and I am excited to see what this promising author does next. The former journalist that resides in Sweden is an author to put on your radar. I have read hundreds of books this year. Some of them fantastic, some mediocre, some made me want to chuck them across the room for various reasons I won’t mention. But hands down, The Red Address Book is the best book I have read this year. Do yourself a favor and get it now. Share it with your friends and read it for your book club. Tell me what you think!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Copyright © 2018 Laura Hartman

This book is wonderful! It is about life, love, aging and what it is like to reach an advanced age and still find joy in what you are left with. Doris is 96 years old and has a red address book with all the names of the people who are important to her written down. When someone passed away she draws a line through their name and writes Dead beside it.
She was abandoned as a child and had some really tough times but in spite of that met many good people along the way. The love she shared with Allan was a beautiful thing.

I received this book. from net galley to read in exchange for a honesty review.
This one definitely gets 5 stars from me.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This is a heartwarming story about Doris, who is now 96 years old. As she lived her life, she recorded the names and addresses of people who were meaningful to her in her red address book. Now, as she is nearing the end, she reviews the entries and writes a memoir for her niece, Jenny.

Absolutely beautiful story with a protagonist leaving you speechless. Doris is amazing - her strength and grace admirable, Allan is incredible - together their undying love leaves the reader paralyzed. Lundberg crafts a story of love and how life has its challenges but we wade through its heaviness.

Fabulous ending, I understand why this book is favored by many not to mention a world wide audience. The hardest heart will melt after reading this evoking story. A must read!

When I started The Red Address Book, I could not figure out how this old woman could have any interesting stories to record. But as I got to know Doris and her friends, I was totally mesmerized. Doris lived through some horrible times and somehow managed to find great people to help her through everything. Occasionally she was taken advantage of by evil people but she stayed strong. While Doris was not a perfect person, she seemed to live with passion and a well meaning heart. After being abandoned as a young child she could have easily become a skeptical, negative person but she chose to live and love. Her love story with Allan was absolutely beautiful. I can only hope that if I get to be 96, I will be able to say I loved enough.

I started this book 3 times and didn't get very far each time. It just didn't keep my interest. I couldn't connect with the main character.