Cover Image: The Red Address Book

The Red Address Book

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Member Reviews

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.

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I was hooked from the first chapter. The story travels back in time through the background story of each person in Doris's Red address book. At some points, I thought that this couldn't all possibly happen to one woman. Yet with all that was happening in the world during the war, it could. Family relationships have such an important role in the story. Jenny is one of my favorite characters.

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This is the story of Doris, a 96 year old woman, who at the twilight of her life, decided to write down her memories for her granddaughter Jenny. Jenny lives in NY and is Doris' only living relative. Doris is in Stockholm and they chat weekly over skype to catch up.

Doris sure lead an interesting life. I cannot imagine her though she must've been beautiful to be a model, a live mannequin in Paris and modeled for Chanel. I was hoping for more on her life during WWII but since she was rather far from it, it was just in the periphery. I like best her memories about NY and the English countryside.

I liked reading about her memories. Jenny and her life was not necessary to me and took away from Doris, in my humble opinion. Older, senior Doris was still interesting. Jenny was at one point, truly annoying and selfish. I understand about going to Doris. But it could've all been done in a better way. Willie was selfish too. Jenny's insistence that Willie look for Allan was irritating. I guess her tone in my head was irritating. Even Willie finally getting why she wanted Allan for Doris didn't endear neither Jenny nor Willie to me. They, especially Jenny, cost this review 1 star though I wanted to rate it even lower still actually. I just wanted to read about Doris.

Last comment: I just want to say that Allan was unworthy of Doris.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for granting my wish to read this book!

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Wow! I devoured this book and loved it! Dossi is an old lady who has very little time left so she decides to write her memoirs for her niece to find after her death. These memoirs take the form of an old address book and we learn all about Dossi's life. From being a mannequin in Paris to travelling across the Atlantic during world war 2 her life is an abundance of adventures, a real triumph!

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This is a fantastic book. I cried and cried. I loved this book. It was filled with love and compassion for others.

The story takes place starting in the 1920s. Doris Alm receives a Red Address book for her birthday from her father who dies shortly after her 12th birthday.

She becomes a living model in Paris, and models dresses for rich ladies.

The book tells her life story and all of her travels through life. It shows all of the people she comes in contact wth and she keeps up to date with them and straches them off the book when they die.

A wonderful book and I would give it 10 stars if I could. It will be my Christmas gifts when it is published.

It is well worth the time to read it and I will recommend it to anyone looking for a good read!

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Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I liked this book. It was a sweet story of Doris' life. My life is nowhere near exciting or troublesome as her's was. I liked reading about her life.

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I adored this sweet , tender story that will break your heart but remind you that hearts do break, people die, and their stories have value.
Doris is a 96 year old woman reflecting on her life . As she does this she looks through her address book and writes her memories to her great grand niece, Jenny. Through these letters we learn about Doris' life and relationahips. Chapters alternate between past and present , where we see what she has been through , what she has overcome, and presently we feel her health deteriorating and how alone she is. I got so wrapped up in Doris (and her friends stories) I had to force myself to put this book down when my heart couldn't take anymore. These days a lot of books come with trigger warnings. This one has one too if you have ever lost a parent, especially if you have been through the end of life process. I have been but enough time has passed that I could read this. And I appreciate how the author isn't afraid of death. Our society has such a difficult time with death that this is an important discussion piece.
I also want to address some criticism that I've read regarding the book having elements that are too convenient. Although I can understand this, you have to ask yourself what is the purpose of this story. This isn't a thriller with too many implausible moments. This story is here to make us FEEL, to make us think have we lived enough, have we loved enough. The Red Address Book has left a lasting impression on my heart

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What a well written, sensitive and beautiful book. Doris is dying and she recounts her life in a most charming manner. I loved this book and look forward to reading more from this most talented writer

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A charming novel that reminds us that no matter how old you are in life, you still can find love! What an enjoyable read and I loved every moment of this book!

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What a truly moving book this is. It is so so sad, I felt every emotion possible.

🌟synopsis🌟
Doris is 96 years old and she is alone. At a young age she was forced to leave home and enter a world that was vast and scary. Throughout her lengthy life, Doris, has endured great sadness, as she captures this in her red address book. She loses family, friends and her one true love, all she lives for is the weekly Skype calls with her niece.

🌟review🌟
This was such a lovely book and the writing is wonderful.....I felt Doris’s loneliness, it tugged at my heart and made me cry, this loneliness she felt throughout her long life is palpable. It was touching and emotive and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I loved the ending, as sad as it was.

Thank you to @netgalley for approving me to read this book, I really really enjoyed it and I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

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Really enjoyed the Red Address Book!

Loved the writing style -- it was descriptive and I didn't want to put the book down. It was the perfect mix of the past and present and I loved the bond between Doris & her grand-niece Jenny.

The idea of the Address Book and crossing out the names of those who have passed is sad, but that is the reality for Doris and I loved that despite everything she''d lived through she still had the address book and some of the photos! Loved the ending and thinking about how life sometimes has little secrets.

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An address book could be a trite and obvious device with which to weave together an intricate plot -- some might even say a lazy writer's cop-out. This is not the case with the Red Address book. The device is used sparingly when needed and Lundberg deftly constructs a novel that travels continents, time periods and generations with seamless ease. The story unfolds in bits that are vivid and fully realized canvases upon which the author layers more and more detail and complexity as the story continues toward it's clear conclusion. The reader; however, anxiously and urgently hopes that the truth is revealed before it's too late.

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Let me start with a little backstory. I love Christmas cards. I love sending them and I love receiving them. Some are shared family updates from the past year, pictures or just a simple signature on a beautiful Christmas card. What I also love are the memories of my Mother and Grandmother pulling out their address books from the cabinet, sitting at the table and one by one addressing dozens of cards to family, friends and neighbors.
My Mom’s book was a light blue leather with two simple gold bands on the edge, while my Grandmothers was a black rectangular book thats pages were frayed and full of torn address labels that needed to be added at a later date. As I got older, I helped with the Christmas cards. My job was to address them while they wrote the cards. What seemed so innocuous at the time, as I would ask them about someone in the book, was really them sharing our family’s past with me. Both of them would tell me a story about the person while I was addressing the card. I loved to hear these stories of the special people who made it “into” my family’s books. Christmas card sending sometimes turned into a multi evening affair because of my curiosity. Sometimes there was melancholy and sadness in their voices about a relative or friend but the laughs and smiles were always greater.
As I got older lines appeared in these books. These were the lines that crossed through someone’s name. Never blacked out, only a simple line which meant that person was no longer part of the book. Sometimes it was because they drifted out of our lives, but most of the time, it was because they passed away.
Sofia Lundberg’s book, The Red Address Book, obviously resonated with me and I found it bringing back so many wonderful memories. It is the fictional story of 96-year old Doris who recalls the story of her life as she turns the pages of her red address book, a childhood gift from her father. Doris shares the memories and events that shaped her colorful life.
While Lundberg tells the story of one individual, it is really the story of so many people that shaped Doris’ life.
Doris’ life is full, rich, sad, and sometimes heart wrenching. It is a story that you will want to learn more about and anxiously await the introduction of the next person in her address book.
While I can’t relate to specifics in Doris life, I can relate to the importance of an address book.
It’s so much more than just names and addresses, it’s the story of our lives.
Ten years after her death, I still have my grandmothers and one day I will inherit my moms but I have my own now. As I fill the pages with names, I too am telling the story that on my deathbed will be my life.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #netgalley #theredaddressbook

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I enjoyed this book a great deal. The characters were engaging and realistic. Ihave never read a book quite like this and can’t wait to share it with mypatrons.

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Have You Loved Enough?

Can you imagine being so old that nearly every one in your address book is dead? Each contact represents someone who was important to you on your life's journey, but now they are gone to their eternal rest.

Sofia Lundberg has used a very clever writing technique in The Red Address Book to tell the story of an incredible woman whose life makes an astonishing tale. Ninety-six year old Doris reminisces about her remarkable life as she browses through her address book. Lundberg takes us back and forth between the present as Doris lies on her death bed and the past as she relives her life through her minds eye.

Born in Sweden during the depression Doris' early years were not sunshine and rainbows. After her father dies she is taken out of school and sent to work as a servant for wealthy Madame Serafin who holds Art Soirees. It is during one of these Soirees that Doris meets Gosta, a homosexual artist who will become one of her dearest friends. Her tells her tales of his fabulous past life in Paris and together they dream of that fairy tale city. Surprisingly Madame Serafin decides to move to Paris and although Doris is only 13 she is taken along as a servant. After bidding a tearful farewell to her mother, who wishes her “enough”, and her little sister she travels to The City of Lights. She is soon “discovered” by a fashion designer who flatters her away from Madam Serafin to become a “living model”.

This reviewer was interested to read about the life of living models, and Lundberg embellished Doris' time in Paris with much detail, drama and several plot twists such as embracing the reappearance of her sister upon her mother death, but more importantly, finding her one great love, Allen. Their whirlwind courtship is amorous and passionate until suddenly, and without explanation Allan disappears from Doris' life. Heart break ensues, as WWII looms ominously on the horizon.

The saga continues when Doris eventually gets a well travelled letter from Allan explaining why he had to return to the States, he encloses money for her to join him. Yet by the time the two sisters arrive in New York he is married. More heartbreak. The sisters eventually end up living with a gentleman and his elderly mother. The sister marries the gentleman, dies in childbirth and Doris leaves for Europe in the hopes of reconnecting with her one great love, Allan. Has he died or been injured on the battlefields of France?

Doris' ocean crossing is horrible and reveals mankind at its worst. Eventually she is rescued, and lives for two years with a reclusive British fisherman. The next chapter in her life takes her back to Sweden where she lives with Gosta as both his friend and housekeeper.

Many years later she is on her death bed, her one big regret is that she lost Allan. Whatever happened to him? Was he killed during WWII? Was he still alive? Did he ever think of her?

Lundberg uses her incredible understanding of both the human condition and the ways of the heart to write the best book I have read all year, with the most poignant and meaningful epilogue I have even experienced. I highly recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Set in Europe and the United States starting in the thirties and going from there,this book will keep your attention.I wanted to keep reading to see what was next!Doris had to leave home to work at a very young age for a not so nice woman. However,she met a surprising lifetime friend while working there.He helped her to dream of a better life and to go after it. Over the course of the next eighty years she did just that.Full of up's and down's,sadness,grief,happiness and love,she braved ahead.She kept note of people in her address book,hence the title.
You will laugh,cry and rejoice with her. A very lovable character!! Just a nice easy read.

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What an incredible story! I read this in two sittings and was gripped from start to finish. I loved the structure of the story; the life of Doris told through entries in her address book and of the people who entered and changed her life. With each new person you discover another chapter of Doris’ life, each completely unexpected and more riveting than the last. I was desperate to find out it was a true story, and that is thanks to the author for doing such a great job of creating a fascinating character whose life was so extraordinary and yet believable at the same time. I laughed and then cried (a lot). So moving and such an enjoyable, easy to read book to lose yourself in. I hope you love it as much as I did!

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Nearing the end of her life, 96-year-old Doris wants to leave her memories to her grandniece and only living relative, Jenny, so they don’t die with her. She does so by reflecting back on her experiences with the people whose names are in the red address book given to her by her father when she was a child. Hers was an exciting, but not necessarily happy, life and the names of most of the people she cared about have since been crossed out in the address book and annotated as “DEAD”. Throughout her life, Doris has survived all kinds of hardships, often relying on strangers and friends to get her through the hardest times, yet she still comes across as a strong, stubborn, and resourceful woman who has retained her sense of humor and is clinging fiercely to her independence. Jenny is a less well-developed and less interesting character, but serves the purpose of moving the story forward and tying up one of the most important loose ends in Doris’s life. I thoroughly enjoyed Doris’s story and found the book hard to put down. I’m already recommending it as one to watch for.

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Sofia Lundberg's ode to a life is truly worth the effort. Her clear writing, descriptiive and sympathetic, was one of the reasons to like this story. The other reason is the honest way in which she portrays the life of the protagonist, 96 year old Stockholm resident Doris. Some might fear that a book that reviews the tumultuous life of this woman in failing health would be too sad. Far from it, this book walks unflinchingly with Doris as she reflects on the full life she has lived, the people she has encountered- loved and hated--, the changes that she has endured, and finally the love that she is passing on to the one important person she still has in this world, her grandniece. Truly, when the telling is done, I missed the storyteller.

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This book was so heartwarming and insightful to everlasting love and the devotio of family and friends.

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