Welcome to Litsy!

A sweet book that reminded me of a novel about Hendrick Groen and his nursing home escapades. Heartwarming and yet full of hilarious drama. I enjoyed this sweet story. Book #112 in 2024

I loved this bittersweet story. It is a tale of mistaken identity, forgiveness, love, and aging. The author captured the life of the aged and their problems with accuracy and humour. She realistically portrayed nursing home living based on my experience, as my mom suffered from dementia and was in one for a few years. I so enjoyed Fred and his ability to make the best of things. Thanks to Edelweiss+ for the digital ARC. A great debut - 5/5!

It's exactly what one would expect from the comparison to Remarkably Bright Creatures and A Man Called Ove. [full review to come]

I enjoyed much about this sweet story with an overall theme of love, forgiveness & kindness, but the writing was repetitive - perhaps to reflect dementia in aging people, but it didn't work for me. I was also confused at the beginning. I mixed up characters thinking that Sadie & Hannah were Denise's daughters as I didn't realize the early chapters about the girls were flashbacks. While the premise was good, the format didn't work for me.

I mean, warning here, this story has the capacity to put its reader into a deep sugar coma - it‘s incredibly sweet. And did I cry at the end? Why yes, I did! …I like the release date of this book because if it is on your TBR and you have a pile of creepy or fantastical October reads on that stack this might serve as a good palate cleanser between creepy reads.

I absolutely loved this debut novel!! Part comedy of errors, full of heart and part found family, this Australian novel really has all the feels from tears to laughter! While walking by the river, Fred stumbles across Bernard & ends up literally borrowing his life— a remarkable resemblance between the octogenarians turns into at times a comedy of errors & ultimately ends in an unexpectedly emotional tale of healing! Brilliantly written!!

I won‘t lie, I have mixed feelings about The Borrowed Life Of Frederick Fife. I really wanted to love it, but I found it danced too close to the line between delightful and depressing for me to truly enjoy it. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-borrowed-life-of-frederick-fife-anna-jo...