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yusufmohi's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
4.75
Iain Reid is one of my favourite author...i read all his thriller novels and they're mindblowing and give you chills...but this Iain is a an soft, funny and caring grandson who planned a trip for her gramdma for 4 days to tay in his rooms and check out nearby restaurants, coffeshops, bars etc...his 92 year old gramdma share her life stories while she was in her twenties about her families brothers, how she become a nurse and travelled to italy for her brother, how she met love of her life a.k.a author's grandpa.. And share her thought about being in her nineties and what she thinking about dying...reveals what lucl truly means to her to his grandson and to us beautifully particulary how she met her brother donald during the war after a lontime really breaks me... The whole trip is filled with rainy days and breezes like this novel. it gives you a feeling while you're reading a novel in an rainy day you read that novel relaxingly and leisurely feeling a bit cold due to the rain and someone makes a coffee and gives it to you...How do you feel at that instant how do you feel after taking a first sip and think about that very moment you're in... I am sure it makes everyone very very happy that how this novel makes me feel.
amn028's review
4.0
A really lovely book full of humour and insights. It was enjoyable "watching" as the relationship moved from felt awkward to companionable as the week moves along.
asperdrewsual's review
5.0
I have now read all of Reid’s published work. All 5 stars and so he is solidified as my favourite author.
This was a touching and warm memoir. I saw the relationship I had with my grandma reflected in the stories. I also lived in Kingston for a decade and so it was cool to see places I’ve been represented in the book. Even though none were explicitly named I could often tell where he was talking about.
This was a touching and warm memoir. I saw the relationship I had with my grandma reflected in the stories. I also lived in Kingston for a decade and so it was cool to see places I’ve been represented in the book. Even though none were explicitly named I could often tell where he was talking about.
kickpleat's review
3.0
A 28 year old freelance writer decides to give his grandma the gift of time - a road trip from her home in Ottawa to his in Kingston, Ontario. There isn't much to do but talk and reminisce. It starts off slow and a bit rough. Reid is such a guy with an old car, a dirty house and a mattress on the floor instead of a bed. He's sweet to his grandma but for the first half of the book, he's just internally apologizing for his life. The second half of the book grandma talks and tells stories of her life, previous unknown to her grandson and that's where the life of this book lies. It's sweet, sincere and earnest but a little wobbly too.
heather_d's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
gemmadee's review
4.0
Memoir, especially in the casual language that Reid uses, could easily fall victim to the kind of navel gazing to which bloggers like me are prone. The greatest strength of the book is the way that Reid’s memoir isn’t really about him. It’s pretty daring to try to stretch a whole book out of a week’s worth of chatting with your grandma, but his focus on the life and wisdom of a really interesting woman gives it substance.
clarehitchens's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars for this one. I would have gone to 4 if it had started as well as it finished. By the time I was done reading I was thoroughly charmed, but the first half of the book dragged a bit. When I think about that, I think that it mirrors the story itself. A twenty-something young man on a "staycation" with his elderly Grandma? At first he had no idea how to entertain her or what to say. But as the days went on it became obvious that Grandma was a lot more interesting than he had originally thought, and as his interest grew, so did ours. A tender, lovely memoir that I think would be enhanced by a live reading to bring out the author's wry humour.
jillann's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful with some laugh-out-loud moments and touching scenes with Grandma.