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From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lido comes a story about following your dreams, set over one single day. The battle to save the Lido is ultimately what leads to them “saving” each other from their own sadness and problems The descriptions of the café itself are excellent – and you really feel like you’ve been and sat in one of its booths. If I ever walk out of Liverpool St Station I’ll be looking around for Stella’s! We get glimpses into the people including what they go through, what matters to them, and how their lives are impacted by how they interact with each other. At the center of it, are Mona and Hannah, who work and live together.
As Kate dives deeper into the lido’s history she pieces together portraits of the pool and of a singular woman, Rosemary. What begins as a simple local interest story for Kate soon blossoms into a beautiful friendship that provides sustenance to both women as they galvanize the community to fight the lido’s closure. Meanwhile, Rosemary slowly begins to open up to Kate, transforming them both in ways they never knew possible. I hope that reading The Lido might make readers consider the value of places in their own community, whether it’s a local library, bookshop, or swimming pool. It’s easy to take these for granted, but I think our towns and cities would be so much sadder if such places no longer existed. They represent values of community and friendship that I believe are important to all of us as humans and are worth fighting for.The cafe in question is near to a busy London mainline and Tube station and is an oasis for those who need a coffee and a rest at anytime of the day and night. Those who work there are the main characters , but the customers provide us with cameos and short stories within the novel. I thought this worked really well and I could envisage every one of them. Day and night, Stella's Café opens its doors to the lonely and the lost, the morning people and the night owls. It's a place where everyone is always welcome, where life can wait at the door. Why is Rosemary initially reluctant to reach out for help in saving the lido? What changes her mind? Describe the people who join or aid the protests to save the lido. Do any of them surprise you? Which ones and why? What reasons do the others have for helping? stars rounded up. My thanks go to Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for inviting me to read and review this charming debut. This book is for sale now. Your descriptions of life in Brixton from the lido to the market stalls are incredibly vivid and written with great affection. Did you base those descriptions on time spent at there? Do you still visit Brixton? Are there any other places in London that you love?
When The Lido is earmarked for closure, Rosemary sees it as the final nail in the coffin for her memories, whilst Kate sees it has her big story and a chance to shine. Aside from her writing, Libby has led campaigns to demand fairer internships and has spoken in parliament and on TV in support of fair pay for people working as interns. she is also an avid swimmer and can always be found trying to find new swimming spots in London where she makes her home. Meet Hannah and Mona: best friends, waitresses, dreamers. They work at Stella’s but they dream of more, of leaving the café behind and making their own way in life. Another major issue I have with The Lido is the fact that nothing was a surprise, nothing was “new” either in the story or the way it was told. Every change seemed to follow an old script and was telegraphed well ahead. Yes it is a nice story and there are people to feel for, but there is no edge, no true surprising detail to grab me, the reader, and make me take note. Perhaps I am asking more than this book is purporting to provide, but when I read, I want something that might surprise me, perhaps treat an old subject in a slightly new way. This book simply did not do that for me.Rosemary tells Kate, “When you’re my age you’ll understand. . . . You begin to miss yourself” (62). What does Rosemary mean? What parts of herself does she miss most? The story, history, look and essence of the Lido reflects the lives and loves of the two women. They have highs and lows, problems and worries and realise what is important to them and their lives. Its also a story about community and community spirit. But it’s also a nice tale of how swimming can soothe the mind, be a way to escape the city At eighty-six years old, Rosemary has lived in the Brixton neighborhood of London her whole life, a bustling neighborhood that brings to mind a scene of Notting Hill with a small, quaint bookstore, amid a colourful array of street vendors selling everything from flowers to coffee. The shop owners and vendors know Rosemary by her name, but she is best known at the Lido, where she not only learned to swim, as a very young child during the war, but where she has gone her whole life since.
Rosemary, 86, has loved in Brixton all her life, but the local community is changing fast and the local Lido, where she swims every day, is practically the only remaining link with her past and her beloved, late husband, George. Now that I have finished The Lido, I have found that nothing happened that I hadn’t anticipated early in my reading. During the second half of the book, the impact of interpersonal emotions did feel more real and earned, as the characters slowly revealed themselves to each other. An early problem for me was that Kate, a very prominent character, dominated much of the early chapters but was too closed off, even from herself, to make those chapters feel as real as they needed to be.
Summary
Now, Rosemary's beloved Lido, which has been in existence since 1937 is under threat of closure. It seems a large property company want to buy the real estate it sits upon to build a gym and tennis courts for their tenants. A compelling and uplifting read from the get go, The Lido is a charming tale of hope, of finding your feet in a big city and of learning to dive in at the deep end. A beautifully written testament to unlikely friendship, the galvanising pursuit of common goals and lifelong passions which link individuals with their community * DAILY MAIL *
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