"She can't recall what started her collection... she noticed people were telling her their stories... She knows she is a receptive vessel. As she listens to the stories, the small nod she gives acknowledges what she knows to be true: that for many, she is a simple, homely bowl into which they can pour their confidences".
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page is an enjoyable easy read, set in Cambridge.
It is arated as no.1 in Women's Sagas and Family Sagas on Amazon, also no.1 in Humour and Satire, however, each of these genre attributions covers only some facets of this story. To be fair, it's not entirely either of them. It's more of the so called uplifting women's fiction.
Following one of my friend's Insta book recommendations, I spotted that it was free on Amazon Prime (still free currently, or £2.99 to buy if you don't have Amazon Prime). I cannot say it's been my read of the year as advertised, but it is entertaining enough.
The main protagonist, Janice, works as a cleaner in a series of Cambridge households. She is good at her job, and is very observant.
"Many of the people she cleans for do bring something special to her life and she hopes, in some small way, that she contributes to theirs".
When Janice is asked to start working for Mrs B, an elderly lady who lives on her own and slowly drowns in the accumulated mess, she is not sure whether to take on the task. Mrs B clearly resents any intervention. In her 90s, she is a formidable harridan, who enjoys her little power games. Under her shrewd and ill-mannered facade, there is a vulnerability which Janice manages to spot.
Mrs B wants to hear Janice's story. "The old lady sniffs suddenly and demands, "So, what's your story?" No one has ever asked her this before".
Yet Janice is reluctant.
"Everyone has a story to tell. But what if you don't have a story? If you are Janice, you become a collector of other people's stories". Of course, Janice is economic with the truth. She has a story to tell, and what a story it is, she is just not forthcoming to share it with anyone.
Mrs B claims to be a former spy, and could tell a story or two, or several dozen. This promise of adding new stories to her collection draws Janice like a magnet.
Thus the game begins. Mrs B is telling Janice a story of the ex-mistress of the former king, as well as tidbits of her own adventures, and is hoping to catch her unawares to find any scraps of information from Janice's life. What is the quiet cleaner trying to hide?
As we listen to all the stories, collected by Janice, we have glimpses of her own personality. She is kind, loyal, trustworthy and very unhappy.
Her marriage to a feckless Mike is shambles. He is an unbearable buffoon, who looks down on his wife because of her "lowly" status. Mike cannot hold a job, because he's the type who loves bossing around and coming up with unsustainable projects.
Janice finds escape in listening to the other people's stories.
"Often the stories are unexpected; at times they are funny and engaging. Sometimes they are steeped in regret and sometimes they are life-affirming. She thinks maybe people talk to her because she believes in their stories."
If the story is not complete, for example, when she hears a snippet of someone's talk on the bus, Janice invents her own ending. She is a dreamer. During her trips on the bus she notices a kindly driver, and immediately creates an image in her head of what he might like to do when he is not driving the bus.
Getting to know Mrs B better, Janice becomes involved in the drama unfolding before her eyes.
Should she keep a neutral position and not take sides? Will she ever tell Mrs B her story?
The premises of the story sounded promising. I liked the idea of the multiple stories, woven together into one big tapestry. There is a lot of quirky supporting characters including a "swearing" dog Decius.
However, I found it hard to relate to any of the main characters. Mrs B might have mellowed towards Janice, but she is still very much an interfering busybody with bad manners. You might feel sorry for her for having such a nasty son, yet in a way, she is partly responsible for what he has become. Mrs B is one of those women who neglect their offspring in favour of the husband. She failed Tiberius as a mother, and it's not surprising he is not overly fond of her.
As for the free retelling of Marguerite Alibert's story, I am still not sure why it was necessary to change her name to Becky. It's not like it is not in the public domain, so there is no need to be so hush-hush about it.
The Keeper of Stories will appeal to readers who enjoy uplifting modern fiction. In a way, it reminded me of The Keeper of Lost Things, minus the occult elements. It also has plenty of eccentric characters and dispenses hope and wisdom in equal measure.
