I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this novel. Doris's life is both glamorous and tragic. Her relationship with Jenny is beautiful and precious.

This is a wonderful book. Ninety-six year old Doris is a beautifully drawn character and her life story is so poignant and believable. Above all, the author shows us the importance of story-telling and the part it plays in passing down one's family history to the next generation. I could not put this book down.

After a bit of a slow start, I was totally absorbed in Doris’ story. Doris is in her nineties, reflecting back on her life. Writing notes for Jenny, her niece, each chapter details the loves and losses in a life lived in Stockholm, Paris, and more. Doris has one true love that will stay with her all her life, and Jenny tries to find out more about him. I cannot explain the emotions experienced while reading this well crafted novel. Recommended.

The Red Address Book is the life story about Doris, a 96 year old Swedish woman who is nearing the end of her life. She wants to document her journey for her only relative, Jenny. She does this by telling the stories about important people in her life that are listed in her address book. She tells her story chronologically so that it is easy to follow as she jumps into the past from the present. The present day story was a bit heartbreaking. It is hard to imagine that much pain in your body and not being able to do things for yourself. It also makes you stop and think what goes on in somebody's mind when they reach an age when everyone they know has died and the regrets that you could have in life. I really enjoyed this book for the story and all of the thinking that happens after you finish it.

I read The Red Address Book in just a few days. I enjoyed the structure of the book, which was an elderly woman dealing with her present day health struggles and telling the story of her life. I wanted to know what had happened to Doris, and expected more. Maybe I expected a twist or two because so many recent books have featured them. I didn't completely root for Doris because of two particular choices she made. I found her hard to like and empathise with. I don't want to include spoilers, so I will leave it vague. I recently read The Generation Game by Sophie Duffy, which had a similar plot structure. I absolutely loved that story. I didn't feel the same about this one. After reading it I kind of felt "that's it?"

A charming novel about life that I really feel in love with. I would recommend this to any historical fiction fans, it is character driven and a good read.

The book tells the story of an elderly woman named Doris, alternating between chapters narrating the present day in third person and chapters where Doris is using her longtime address book as inspiration to write her life story to give to her great-niece. It is lovely in many way, but too melancholy for my taste.

3.5 stars

The Red Address Book is a charming, but very sad tale about Doris, a lonely 96-year-old woman who lives in Stockholm. She reminisces about her life and those individuals she encountered as she pages through an old address book she received from her father when she was young. Few of her friends and acquaintances remain, and Doris leads a solitary life except for her weekly Skype with her American niece Jenny. While I enjoyed some aspects of Doris’s long and eventful life, the story is so sad. I received this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I fell in love with Doris Alm, and loved reading her story, told in a beautiful and unique way by recalling her relationships with the people listed in her red address book. I was enchanted by the story, and loved reading about Doris’ very difficult life. Yet, she lived through so many difficulties with grace, charm and courage.

So many of the people in the had died, and the reader glimpses into their relationship with Doris, not all described with love. We do meet the great love of her life Allan, and her most enduring love, her great niece Jenny.

Doris is so special and as a nonagenarian we learn how she faces her inevitable death. Honestly, I could not put the book down. There are so many topics for discussion, I hope it will be used by my seminar and reading groups.

This is a magical journey and I thank NETGALLLEY for allowing me to read it.

Doris is a year old Swedish woman with only one living relative, a grandniece who lives in America and whom she Skypes with once a week. With little to do, Doris begins to leaf through an address book that her father gave her decades before. Most of the people in it are long gone, but Doris begins to reminisce about her life, as a model in Paris during the 1930’s, about her flight out of Sweden during World War II and about the love of her life, Allan. An engrossing story about one woman’s unforgettable life. This book will have you look at the elderly people you know with new respect