The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson- general  fiction

A book that is a treasure, a real gem and one I might just read again, it touched me so much in so many different ways. Thank you Laura- you put into words some things I was thinking which enabled a thought process in a good, Mabel way and this might just with other readers perhaps.

 Mabel has just lost her husband Arthur aged in his late eighties, so as she says afterwards it wasn't a surprise. However his passing has changed her life and her routine. One day she finds a piece of paper with Arthurs handwriting on it and a list of one item: Find D. D? The only “D” Mabel can think of is her once close friend Dot with whom she lost touch with over sixty years ago when Dot moved to London and for some reason didn’t keep in touch despite Mabel writing several times. Arthur had thought ahead and Mabel soon finds herself with a carer Julie who becomes a friend, and through her, a small group is soon formed and they set out to find Dot, if she is still alive and what happened to her with Mabel doing her utmost to help her little group in more ways than one.

This is more than a book telling a story. It's about life, and sometimes moving on despite difficulties and taking a hand (or paw) of help to the next stage. Of friendship and laughter, of tears and memories and the little things we all treasure whether material or memory. I loved Mabel and her attitude to life- one of can do, or more like in Mabel speak “ I'll give it damn good go”! A life affirming read I can’t recommend highly enough. One of my books of the year. 10* if I could.

I’m not particularly religious but found this rather moving:  “I remember Arthur saying that God wasn’t in churches, that that wasn’t where you found him. God was in the flowers and the snow, the tiny robins in the garden and those tigers we’d see prowling around on David Attenborough documentaries”. There are more wise words within the pages and I really didn't want this to end. 

For more reviews please follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

-----------------

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont The list he left had just one item on it. Or, at least, it did at first… Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’. But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’. Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty years ago. It seems impossible. She doesn’t even know if Dot’s still alive. Also, every person Mabel talks to seems to need help first, with missing husbands, daughters, parents. Mabel finds her list is just getting longer, and she’s still no closer to finding Dot. What she doesn’t know is that her list isn’t just about finding her old friend. And that if she can admit the secrets of the past, maybe she could even find happiness again… A completely heartbreaking, beautiful, uplifting story, guaranteed to make you smile but also make you cry. Perfect for fans of My Name is Ove, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and The Keeper of Stories.

Purchase Link https://mybook.to/mabelbeaumontsocial

Author Bio – Laura Pearson has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. She lives in Leicestershire with her husband, their two children and a much-cuddled cat. Social Media Links Twitter https://twitter.com/laurapauthor Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laurapauthor/?hl=en Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/laura-pearson