Review: Three Things About Elsie

Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are three things you should know about Elsie.
The first thing is that she’s my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining.

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago?

From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them:
1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever.
2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done.
3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.

 I loved The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Cannon's debut novel, so I was keen to see if this one lived up to the same standard.  I was not disappointed.

Told from different view points and time frames this is still an easy book to follow and the characters are well captured.  Observations ring true and there is the intrigue of the mysterious new resident and how his past intertwines with both Elsie and Florence.  

It's also very poignant.


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