Crazybookgirl2003

There are five patients in the story, each with different backgrounds: an office worker on the verge of burning out, a father who cannot connect with his family, a perfectionist designer, etc. It feels like the book operates with stock characters, as we don't learn much about them, just enough to understand their situation.

Each of these characters gets a cat, specifically chosen to meet their needs, and in most cases, the cats find their forever home with the patients, or encourage them to have a cat. That's an important detail, as the clinic, the assistant, and the doctor are the elements that connect these stories and the urban fantasy parts.

The clinic has no website, and people learn about it through a friend of a friend, but it only appears if you need it; otherwise, it's just an empty apartment. The assistant and the doctor are also interesting, as they don't act like people in their profession should. There are hints in the father's story, but it became obvious to me in the fifth story that the assistant and the doctor are, in fact, cats turned into humans.

There is an explanation of how the doctor and the assistant know each other and what their connection to the apartment is, but that would be a huge spoiler. I recommend the book if you want to read something light, with a little magic, and a focus on animal-human connections.

The story shows people in very different situations: some just became parents, while others have been guiding children for quite some time. In Lili's story, we meet the other parents of the premature babies and the hospital staff recorded in a journal Lili writes to her daughter. In Élise's part, the reader gets to know her everyday life, the people she meets, and the changes that occur at that time.

The book has many humorous parts to balance out the sad or infuriating ones, as some scenes at the premature unit are heartbreaking because of how much guilt mothers feel over not being able to carry their baby to term. As for the annoying parts, Lili's husband does not want to stand up for himself when his parents move in to 'help', and Élise's boss and one of her neighbours are just terrible people. But that's what makes the story lifelike, as in our lives, we definitely meet all these types of people, as well as the likeable ones.

I recommend it to people who want to read something that focuses on motherhood in an understandable way, as well as redefining oneself after a change in one's life.

First, let me say that even though the book was less than 300 pages, I read it for a month or more, as I had to stop after a few chapters, as it became too much to read.

As for the book, the main character is Marcos, who now lives alone because his wife moved back in with her mother after the couple lost their infant son. Marcos works for the Krieg meat factory as a travelling representative, and on one occasion, he is given a female specimen as a gift. First, he leaves her in the barn, but when Marcos gets drunk, he commits a crime that can cause much trouble for him.

The story is told from Marcos's perspective, and we learn about his childhood, his family and how others deal with the new world order. Most of the things are explicit: the tour of the meat factory and a sexual scene between Marcos and a female butcher are quite detailed.

Many topics appear; the most obvious is the ethical question of eating human meat. Others are the dehumanisation of people, grief and how media and other forces can manipulate people.

I would recommend this book for people who want to read a horror-dystopia; be warned, it can be gruesome, but it gives a lot to talk about.

The book takes place in 2023, when Jiwon still mourns her mother, who passed away 7 years ago. She goes to a clinic, but doesn't get the help she wants, although I don't think she knows exactly what she wants.

Later, she finds the Memory Bookshop, where, instead of memory books, she finds books about her past memories. The manager, 'K' tells her that she can revisit past memories in exchange for some time she still has. Jiwon can travel back 3 times, but she can't jump back and forth. For example, if she goes back to a memory from 2010, she cannot visit a memory from 2015, as she has already gone past that time.

First, Jiwon wants to prevent her mother's death, but she realises with the help of K, that it is not possible. So, Jiwon uses the other two travels to spend quality time with her mother and to get to know her better.

The book shows that sometimes you don't have to change the past drastically to make you feel better in the present. It also allows the reader to think about what they would change if they got the same chance as Jiwon.

The Memory Bookshop also shows a mother-daughter relationship, how important it can be and how much it can influence someone's personality. 

Even though it isn't a long book, I would say it is slow-paced, as sometimes the reader needs to put the book down and think about what they read.

The book is a memoir about the author's time in the East End during the 1950s, and what she saw during her work as a midwife and nurse.  Those who are familiar with the series can find the stories of Mary, the Warren family, Mrs Jenkins, and Cyril and Doris Smith in this book. Some of them appear in several consecutive chapters, making it easier to pause if the story becomes too overwhelming.

What I really liked is how the author re-creates the Cockney dialect in writing, and at the end of the book, she explained the phonological background as well. Another positive thing is the glossary for medical terms at the end of the book. For a non-native speaker, some words still do not have a clear meaning, but can be guessed from their context.

What I haven't seen in the show are Sister Monica Joan's poems, which appear in this book; I've just finished season 3, so they might appear later on. From these poems, the reader learns a little about the nun's relationship with her father and a past lover, with whom Sister Monica Joan's relationship was too brief.

If you like the Call the Midwife series or historical and medical non-fiction that is more subjective than usual, then this book is for you.