Here and Now: Evocative, emotional and full of life, the most moving book you'll read this year

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As Marigold's condition worsens, for the first time in their lives her family must find ways to care for the woman who has always cared for them. Desperate to show their support, the local community come together to celebrate Marigold, and to show her that losing your memories doesn't matter, when there are people who will remember them for you . . . Well. This was absolutely devastating. I spent the last 10-15% absolutely sobbing, so if you want to get your heart ripped out, this is the perfect book for you. As Marigold learns to live in the now, we are privileged to share her journey, and her precious memories. She may forget, but we’ll never forget her.

If you’re prepared to have your heart broken into a million pieces, I’d suggest you look no further than this. I was going to start this review with saying how lovely this book is, however, I do not think ‘lovely’ is the right word to use. So, let us try again, the characters are lovely, the village that the book is set in is lovely, however the subject is not lovely, in fact it is quite harrowing, and this book will send you on an emotional journey. If you are not hard hearted, then be warned this book WILL make you cry. Santa Montefiore a reușit să adune sub cupola acestei cărți: teme importante, reacții, decizii, temeri, dragoste, speranță și prietenie. Deși par acțiunile unor personaje random, ele nu fac altceva decât să puncteze atitudinea noastră și a celor din jur în fața anumitor situații. Marigold is a wonderful character, much loved by her family and neighbours and community. The way the story is written to show how her little episodes of forgetfulness become more serious is a heartbreaking tale uplifted by how her family and friends help her to stay happy. Marigold has been looking after her mum, her husband and daughters for many years, now they need to work together to help her.

Refreshing ideas 

Evocative, emotional and full of life, Here and Now is the most moving book you’ll read this year – from Sunday Times bestselling author Santa Montefiore. Nu o să vă ascund că am plâns pe durata ultimelor pagini. Nu m-am putut abține. Am plâns pentru Marigold: de ușurare și de tristețe. Am plâns pentru că este extrem de frumos să știi că ai atâția oameni pentru care ai însemnat ceva. Am plâns pentru prietenie, pentru bolile care se întâmplă oamenilor, pentru amintiri pierdute și pentru urmele pe care le lăsăm în sufletele altora. Montefiore is married to the writer and historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. They were brought together by the historian Andrew Roberts, who thought "they would be absolutely perfect for each other because they were the only two people he knew who could remember the words to Evita off by heart". [6] She says of their marriage: [5] Das hübsche Cover hat zwar nur einen indirekten inhaltlichen Bezug, gefällt mir allerdings gut. Der deutsche Titel ist etwas irreführend, da es nicht nur um Marigolds Töchter, sondern auch um sie selbst geht. In diesem Fall ist das englischsprachige Original („Here and Now“) treffender. At first Marigold tries to hide her memory lapses from friends, neighbours and family. Maybe she just needs to do some Sudoku puzzles? Perhaps a holiday will help? But as it becomes clear that her forgetfulness is down to more than “just her age”, it’s time for them to face the truth and rally round to help her. They can’t stop her decline – but can they help her live in the here and now, and preserve her golden memories for as long as possible?

Er werd gezegd dat dit boek anders zou zijn dan haar normale stijl ( heel romantisch ) dus ik wou het een kans geven maar het is helaas een dikke ‘no go’ geworden voor mij. Het boek gaat over het onderwerp dementie en dan verwacht ik ook dat als het gaat over zo een zwaar onderwerp dat de zwaarte ook in het boek naar voor komt. Helaas pindakaas. De personages zijn ronduit egoïstisch en inhoudsloos en ik ergerde me mateloos. Het boek is ook helemaal niet realistisch. Het ligt er vingerdik op dat Marigold aan dementie lijdt en haar gevoelens en gedachten worden aan de lopende band ontkracht met de irritante zin : “We worden allemaal nu eenmaal een dagje ouder.” Zelfs het verdict van de dokter brengt deze zin aan het licht terwijl Marigold vertelde dat ze op een gegeven moment niet meer wist waar ze was en dat ze gevallen was. I mean? Zelfs haar man kent haar blijkbaar niet goed genoeg om te weten hoe abnormaal dit wel niet is. What follows is a very lovely and heartbreaking novel about family and love and memory—what it means when your entire identity is made up of moments you can’t recall, when you can no longer remember those you’ve spent your entire life with. Montefiore expertly crafts complex relationships between the family members and their surrounding village people. This is my second Montefiore novel, and I absolutely adore how she writes her characters—they are all charming and messy and lovely. From internationally bestselling author Santa Montefiore—a touching and bittersweet intergenerational story about family and the power of memory. Caroline says, ‘Without giving too much of the plot away, the story is entertaining but also provides refreshing ideas about taking opportunities, appreciating people and family relationships.

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This book really does show you what a community can do when it pulls together and is so apt to be reading about this during this time of 2020. I really loved getting to meet those community members and they are so well-described and so developed by this author that I could sit down and tell you all about them as if they were people I had actually met. Her early childhood and Her years at school". Biography. Santa Montefiore. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011 . Retrieved 5 May 2011. Multi-stranded with atmospheric descriptions and great characters, the enduring message of this story is that love is all that matters: love of family – those still here and those who have passed on – love of friends and love of life in all its imperfections. Sante Montefiore heeft met Naar de overkant weer een heerlijke roman geschreven. Vanaf het begin af aan zit je meteen goed in het verhaal, je wordt als lezer eigenlijk direct opgenomen in het gezin van Marigold en het plattelandse dorpje waar ze wonen. Marigold staat centraal in het verhaal, maar haar man Dennis en twee dochters Suze en Daisy spelen ook een belangrijke rol. Ze hebben allemaal hun eigen verhaallijn binnen het grotere geheel waardoor het verhaal speels blijft. Marigold maakt echter wel de meeste indruk binnen Naar de overkant. Moeder van twee dochters en eigenaresse van een winkeltje in het dorp wat ze met veel passie runt. Wanneer ze op een gegeven moment dingen begint te vergeten, wordt dit op haar leeftijd gegooid. Het wordt echter al meer, totdat de diagnose Alzheimer vastgesteld wordt. De langzame achteruitgang hierna wordt heel mooi beschreven door Sante Montefiore. Niet alleen het proces wat Marigold zelf meemaakt, maar ook wat dit voor invloed heeft op de rest van het gezin. Op welke manier ze proberen haar te helpen om toch nog zo zelfstandig mogelijk te kunnen zijn. Maar ook het moment dat Marigold niet meer thuis kan wonen en op een gegeven moment haar man niet meer herkent. Dit wordt op een zeer intense manier beschreven. Liefde is dan ook het centrale thema in het verhaal, de onvoorwaardelijke liefde tussen Dennis en Marigold, maar ook de liefde die Suze en Daisy hebben in hun relatie met hun partner. I also feel this way about the other members of Marigold's family. Dennis just has a heart fo gold and you can tell he is absolutely besotted by his wife. I enjoyed meeting Daisy and Suze. I wasn't sure about them to begin with but their lives are very real and very like my own and I totally warmed to them and lived this whole story line through their eyes. Then we have Nan who is definitely hard to like but when you get down to the roots of her ways, you can see that she does have her daughter's best interests at heart.

a b c d Siobhan Kane (3 August 2013). "Connemara's gift to Santa". Irish Times . Retrieved 5 October 2016. Everywhere. I’m a dreamer, so I’m always imagining what ifs… life inspires me the most. Just looking around me. Beautiful houses and eccentric people fire me up. What are your favourite three books? An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of Love and War She converted to Judaism before the marriage. [11] [9] The wedding was held at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John's Wood, London, [11] with which her husband's family has been associated for generations. The book is beautifully written, full of wonderful characters, some happy and some grumpy (Nan), humour (moles, christmas puddings etc), love (pink roses) and romance. At the time of reading this in July 2020, many of us are currently anxious about the global pandemic, a virus we cannot see whilst we also have an unseen condition which steals the memory of people that we currently cannot protect ourselves from. However, as the title suggests, we need to live in the here and now, to enjoy the small things – the birds singing, the food we eat, time with family and friends.

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Om er toch nog een positieve noot in te steken: de laatste 20 p… daar zat wat meer actie en schwung en gevoel in maar langs de andere kant was dat dan weer ne TGV die ineens vertrok en op nog geen twee jaar tijd was ineens iedereen getrouwd en waren er koters of meerdere in het spel. Enfin. Oja misschien twee positieve noten : er werd een kat doodgebeten. Naar mijn gevoel het enige actiepunt uit het verhaal. I loved all the characters in this book, especially the villagers with their love for Marigold and who all rally together to support her as she encounters life with the symptoms of the disease. I enjoyed reading this even with the knowledge that it wasn’t going to be the happy ending I was after; however, I applaud Montefiore for bringing to light some of the devastating facts of Dementia in a wonderfully written book. I just hope one day we manage to develop some sort of cure for this dreadful disease.