"Where've you been?"
"I've looked for you forever and a day."
"Where've you been?"
"I'm just not myself when you're away."
--Where’ve You Been, Kathy Mattea, Songwriters: Don Henry / Jon Vezner

”So many names pass by us in a lifetime. Have you ever thought about that, Jenny? All the names that come and go. That rip our hearts to pieces and make us shed tears. That become lovers or enemies. I leaf through my address book sometimes. It has become something like a map of my life, and I want to tell you a bit about it. So that you, who’ll be the only one who remembers me, will also remember my life. A kind of testament. I’ll give you my memories. They’re the most beautiful thing I have.”

At the age of 96, Doris is living in Stockholm, after having lived many places in those many years. The one person in her life that she is still close with after all those years is her grandniece, Jenny, who lives in San Francisco with her husband, sons and young daughter. While they may be many miles apart, they talk through Skype weekly.

Doris wants to leave a written story of her life, and her reminiscences are told as she wanders through her red address book, noting the names, and if they are deceased, and through these connections Doris tells her story, a love story that shares the connection of all the people she has loved, along with the one true romantic love she had many, many years ago. There is much to tell, to share with Jenny before she passes, and as she shares these stories, she finds herself reliving those feelings. Her life in Sweden, and Paris, New York and England, all of her experiences, including those during WWII, her life as a model, and the man that she loved, loves still.

This was lovely and sweet, overall, if a bit slow to really begin. It really was worth the wait to really feel as if I knew who Doris was and feel what she was feeling. I appreciated that this gave us another look at life during WWII, and overall I just loved following her life through her years, meeting all the people who she held so dear to her heart, and those who were important to her story in other, less lovely ways, and I felt my heart break a little at the end of this story.


Pub Date: 08 Jan 2019

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

This was a charming concept, though the writing seemed to fall a little flat. One can't help but wonder if the translation caused a loss of charm.

Sweet but also just a little too fantastical for my tastes. Doris, the main character, has lived a very full and varied life, but at times it just pushes into unrealistic territory. While she does encounter some pretty rough patches, everything seems to turn out for the best regardless of the outcome for the people around her. Predictable ending, but not bad - a good read for fans of books like A Man Called Ove who want a female grumpy but also sweet character.

Thanks to the publisher for providing this copy for review through Net Galley.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of The Red Address Book. This was a wonderful little story spanning decades of Doris' life through her red address book. Each entry and address weaves a story through the 30's all the way to the present. I wasn't entirely sure I would like the way it was written - letters but not letters- but it really told the story in a way that I felt I knew more about that time and place. In the end, Doris' story is much different than what you might see. There is a lot more to a person's life that the facade that is on the outside. Great book and I would highly recommend.

This book is a little slow in the beginning and a little hard to keep up with as it flips back and forth between time periods, but then it really pulled me in and I got into the flow of the writing. I finished it the same day I started it to see what the ending would be. I even shed a few tears. In the beginning though, I wasn't sure if it was just going to go through her address book and have a short vignette on each person who had passed away, but that doesn't go on for very long.

I received this book "The Red Address Book" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. The story of Doris was beautiful. I enjoyed seeing the world through her. I've never been to Europe but I've seen some of it in this book. You never forget your first love no matter how much time has past. I believe this is true for most everyone. This was a very heartwarming story.

A lovely but sad tale of an elderly woman looking back on her life. If you enjoyed The Little Paris Bookshop and The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, I would recommend this book as it is written in a similar vein.

This book absolutely captivated my heart! The Red Address Book is the perfect book to get lost in and forget the rest of the world! Time hopping between between the 1920’s to present day, Doris recounts her life to her grandniece, her only living relative.

Starting as a 10 year old girl in Sweden, Doris narrates monumental moments in her life that ultimately takes her from Europe to America (and back again). As she retells her trials and tribulations as well as her successes, Doris will burrow a big spot in your heart! I loved Sofia Lundberg’s writing style- the timing was spot on and the descriptions were so vivid the novel plays out like a movie in your mind (this book would make an epic movie)! The Red Address Book is a total and complete 5 star novel! This will be a book that stays with you long after you finish!

The story, filled with nostalgia, was spot on when it came to emotions. It felt like sitting with and listening to your grandmother reminisce about a life lived.

This one sucked me in and made me ugly cry in public (bad timing!). I love the idea of a life told through the people in an paper address book, something very few still use. Dorris's story is ultimately one of love. Beautiful and touching.

I fell in love with this book from the first page forward. Doris, the main character, intrigued me and I immediately wanted to know more about her and her life.

It was an interesting way to tell a story. I was a bit skeptical when I read the description before starting the book but it worked so well. Each chapter, sometimes chapters, told the story of a character in her life. Through these characters you learned the highlights of her earlier years and then of course there was the story of her present life and her relationship with her great-niece Jenny. The story unfolds at a fast clip with no repitition, no page evokes any boredom, a rare treat for me who bores easily.

At its heart I believe the book is a social commentary on life and aging. It is a sad reminder of how the elderly lose the power to control their lives along with the indignities they must endure and a happy reminder that although life is hard work it is time well spent especially when you have others with whom to share your memories and to create new ones.

I don’t often put quotes in my reviews but I just love this thought so I wanted to share it.

“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.”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful story. It's an all-encompassing lifetime of stories, told through the eyes of 96-year-old Doris Alm, in a confidential tone to her grand-niece, Jenny. There were times, during the book, that I wanted to reach through the pages and shake this Jenny person, who is both myopic and, dare I say, shallow. Ugh.

Doris deserved better and Lundberg, in the end, gave her better. This author is a voice to listen for in the future.

This book was gorgeous. I love the idea behind it--start with an address book and then use each chapter to describe a vignette of life with that person,, all the while building up the story from the twenties to present day. I also appreciated the author pulling us back to the main character regularly--going back through her memories but dealing with her daily moments at the same time.

Lovely book.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. I can truthfully say I have never read a more touching, beautiful book in all of my 69 years. I don’t know if it’s because we are experiencing this with a dear relative or what but I would highly recommend this book to anyone no matter your age. It will certainly enlighten your heart whether you are 20 years old or 90 years old! To see Doris go back and tell her story through the years the people she has met and all those involved in her life couldn’t be more touching. You’ll cry and you’ll have such a warm spot in your heart after you have read this book. I hated to see it come to an end, but again it was absolutely the best book I have ever read! I hope you all come away with a true appreciation for those who have passed your way!

This was not an easy book to finish. What I liked most were the stories of Doris' past. Some of the tales she told of her time in Paris and then in America when she was young were interesting to read. Unfortunately, the story is extremely disjointed. The strategy the author employed, where chapters that depict the past are represented as a character from her past, was poorly executed and the book comes across as various, separate essays thrown together. The chapters do not flow from one to the next; it is as if each chapter is a separate, unrelated short story. Doris is clearly the link from one person/chapter to the next but it doesn't feel as if they are connected and part of a larger whole other than Doris playing a starring role in each. That, however, wasn't my biggest problem. What I disliked the most were the present-day chapters, particularly when she's skyping with her niece, Jenny. It was like listening in to the most boring, mundane conversation ever. I was unable to connect to the characters; therefore, it was difficult to care about their situation and maintain interest in their story.

I wish to thank the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an ARC of this book. Opinions are strictly my own.

This was both lovely and poignant.

There’s so much to be gleaned and digested within this small book! The author did a superb job of exploring human relations within our “passages of life” in a very subtle manner. In this day and time where people think they have to scream and shout to be heard, this fictional memoir focused on the value of true love – love that steps back and allows the loved one to grow up and grow apart.

There were basically 2 characters: the 96 year old great aunt and the niece who is late 30s, I guess. The author gave us many comparisons and contrasts (very subtly) with their lives and life styles and emotional needs.

It was easy to engage with both characters and to feel their emotions. The book was very well written. My only criticism would be of the ending which was a little too pat. It was almost like the author (or editor) wanted to tie up the book with a pink bow to give the reader a smile at the end. To me, the ending didn’t go with the reality of the rest of the book.

I will put this author on my “read more” list and hope to see many other books coming from her.

This was an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This review will be published immediately on GoodReads and on Amazon once it is released.

This Book was formatted so creatively; as an address book. It drew emotions up in me of memories that were similar to some of my life. I got a little slowed up in the middle with the book and therefore, gave it 4 stars. A fabulous, emotional book.

I tried - twice - but gave up on this one early both times because the beginning is much too soft. Life is too short for books that don't pull me in very early.

Doris is a lovely 95 year old women. She was once beautiful but now she is wrinkled and her body is failing her. The Red address book is a gift from her father that she received as a child. The book contains the names and addresses of all her former friends who have since passed away.
Doris is lonely and she realizes she doesn’t have much time left. Her niece, Jenny, is her only living relative but she lives so far away. This is a lovely story that goes back and forth in time as Doris uses her Red Address Book to remember her old friends and lost love. Doris and Jenny do come together and Doris reveals secrets and her life story to Jenny. This is a feel good kind of book about life, family and and true love.

It was so easy to begin to care deeply about the central character, to suffer with her during her hardships growing up to the indignities of old age. Wasn't a huge fan of the ending - to me it seemed like the focus should have been elsewhere, and not on those sad lost letters.