4 what’s your story stars

Janice is an extraordinary cleaner and she is in high demand. While she does her work, Janice also collects stories and feels that each person has one story. We meet the various people that she cleans for, and I love some of the nicknames she uses – Mrs. YeahYeahYeah and Mr. NoNoNotNow.

She also develops a lovely relationship with Decius and dog walking him becomes one of the favorite parts of her day. There’s an opera singer in the mix, a new widow and her son, and a cranky older woman who has led a fascinating life. Mrs. B. is quick to see that Janice has a story of her own to tell and we finally get her story by the end of the book.

There’s a sweet romance in the book once Janice has kicked her no-good husband to the curb. The author has developed quite the cast of characters in this one and I definitely rooted for Janice to find her happy ending.

This one was a bit of a slow burn, but I did enjoy it and might just add “Vanity Fair’ to my reading pile now.

Janice is a house cleaner, and a collector of stories.

She likes all the people she cleans for except for one married couple who work from home-“Mrs. Yeah Yeah Yeah” and “Mr. No, Not Now!” She does however, love the dog that she walks for them-Decius-a Fox terrier who walks on his toes like a ballerina, and has such an expressive face that she just KNOWS when he is saying to her-“Don’t say a word. Not a f***ing word.” or “WTF?”

So, she isn’t thrilled, when her favorite Mr. and Mrs. ask if she would be willing to clean for Mrs. B-a prickly woman in her nineties who will have to be moved to assisted care living, if she doesn’t get help. Not wanting to feel responsible for that-Janice reluctantly agrees to meet with her.

Mrs. B wants Janice answer a question before she agrees to the help-“If you could only take one novel with you to a Desert Island, what would it be?” and when Janice responds “Vanity Fair” -Mrs. B agrees to hire her.

“I have a wonderful story for you, about a woman just like Becky Sharp (a character from that novel)” Mrs. B, proclaims recognizing Janice as a collector of stories, AND one with a story to tell.

Of course, Janice cannot resist.

So begins a charming tale that shows us how literature (and dogs) can bring people together and enrich their lives-and that sometimes the people you are overlooking can have QUITE an interesting story to tell!

We all have a basic need to BE SEEN and BE HEARD.

So, why just 3 ⭐️?

I was not familiar with the novel Vanity Fair-William Makepeace Thackeray-a novel published in 1848, so perhaps I missed something that would have made the telling of “Becky’s story” more interesting? It didn’t really resonate with me-but you just might find it fascinating! I did find the relationships that were formed in the present day, to be heartwarming.

A buddy read with DeAnn. Please be sure to check out her wonderful review, and to read a sample of others as many other reviewers have loved this! AVAILABLE a on February 28th, 2022.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK-One more Chapter for my gifted copy. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

A lovely heart warming story of grief and loss.
Janice and her fellow characters evoke sympathy and empathy, whilst spinning their own story.
A thoughtful insightful look at how guilt can blight a blameless life and a remarkable read to savour and remembered long after the final page has been read

Everyone tells their stories to Janice but no one asks her about her own until she meets Mrs. B. Janice is a cleaner who has a lot on her plate but no one knows about her husband or anything else because she's part of the scenery to them. Mrs B, however, is a 92 year old who wants to stay in her home and she sees something in Janice others don't- and can sense there's a secret. This seems a little scattered in the beginning as multiple people sort of babble but then Janice goes to work for Mrs B and things begin to gel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read about being conscious of others among other thing.

Janice is a cleaner and she spends all her time collecting stories be it on a bus or from her customers. The story of Fiona and Adam is a sad one and she helps them heal. The story of Mrs Yeahyeahyeah and her husband Mr Nononotnow and their dog Decius is untold until she meets his mother Mrs B who is quite a character. Over the course of her cleaning visits they develop a friendship and Mrs B tells her the story of Becky in instalments. Mrs B is also the only person who asks Janice for her story which over Brandy she finally shares.
This book is very different from what I expected but in a good way. I really enjoyed reading the various stories and I was sad to reach the end of the book. I highly recommend it as it’s a very good read.
Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest views and opinions.

This is a feel good story with a happy ending, who could ask for more when looking for an easy read but well written novel? The characters are nicely drawn and believable, I really love the character of Mrs B but probably relate more to Janice but without her back story. However the star in this has to be Decius, so a must read for any dog lover, who all believe their dogs talk to them. The relationships between the main characters and their families is interesting and very believable....not everyone of whom is a nice human. Thank you Netgalley etc. for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely book! Our heroine - Janice is a cleaner and a very good one too. Not only can she clean but she can turn her hand to just about any problem. But she is not happily married. Her life is centred around her clients - some she likes very much but others she decidedly does not. They are the subject of her stories, oh and the people on the bus too especially the driver who looks like a geography teacher. She takes on one more - almost against her wishes but this client turns out to be a person to aids and abets a crucial and pivotal turning point in her life. I urge everyone to read this delightful tale and enter Janice's world.

Cleaner Janice is a recent addition to the cast of marginalised women toiling on the margins of society that have been populating recent literary fiction output. Janice is so sympathetically drawn that readers will want to root for her from the beginning. Trapped in a stale marriage that has run its course and seemingly devoid of a story of her own, Janice instead collects the anecdotes of the colourful, idiosyncratic people she cleans for - until one of her clients becomes interested in her story after all, But what will happen when Janice starts reflecting on who she actually is?
I thought this was a wonderful novel about uncovering the extraordinary in mundane situations, and in the strength of human character. It is worth persevering past the initial pages, and getting to know the fairly large cast of ancillary characters, to uncover this important message in Sally Page's novel. I warmly recommend this novel that is full of warmth, little but important insights, and goodness, and I cannot wait to see what Ms. Page will write next!

Oh Janice. You have left an indelible imprint on my heart!

"The Keeper of Stories" is about human nature with all its flaws and inconsistencies. A fabulous story about storytelling and about guilt. It showcases people who are selfish and narcissistic as well as people who are kindness personified. It also portrays the blessings of friendship, and the influence parents have over their children, both good and bad, and the love of a good dog (with a foul mouth).

The writing, the way the story was told and how it flowed, reminded me greatly of the work of Fredrik Backman. Anyone following my reviews will know that that is high praise from me indeed. Written with empathy and humour, it conveys the author's love of books and story-telling with aplomb. It also serves to remind us that the elderly, the people with the richest and most abundant stories, should never be underestimated.

Life-affirming, hopeful fiction that can definitely fit into the 'Uplit' genre, this wonderful novel will definitely be on my list of 'Best Books of 2022'. Highly recommended!
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Everyone tells Janice their story when she cleans for them. She knows their secrets but they know very little about her. What is she hiding? Janice is so likeable. This book is so well written and I was so invested in the characters and the storyline.

A wonderfully quirky book, well-written and well-characterised.

Janice is a cleaner, married to a man who can't hold a job down and wastes her money. One of these days, she's going to turn around and walk back up the path instead of going through her own front door.

She collects other people's stories but keeps very quiet about her own. Will the bus driver, who looks like a geography teacher, manage to get it out of her? For that to happen, she'd have to meet him properly, maybe over coffee.

Janice has many voices in her head - Decius, the dog she walks for Mrs Yeahyeahyeah, Sister Bernadette, and the protagonists of all the stories she collects. She comes to realise, over time, that she is not just a cleaner, she is a friend to many of her clients, though it takes her some time to accept this.

This book is funny and sad and lovely. It has to have a happy ending, doesn't it?

This book was a different read to my normal, but i loved it, ir reminded me of my childhood when my dada would make up stories of Hobgoblins and leprechauns in the woods.....
It was a great read but full of suspence, and very powerful

A well written, enjoyable book. Janice is a cleaning lady with an interest in collecting life stories. She finds it intriguing to hear what people have to say and tell, as all conversations are different. An original take on a story about what life experiences she comes across. When Janice is given the task to clean Rosie’s home she is unsure if it will work out especially when on opening Rosie’s door she is told in no uncertain terms to go away. Janice has a troubled marriage and feels guilty for things she has done, but all is not as it seems - friendship and kindness help her with these.

I loved this book. Janice is such a great character and the supporting cast is great too. Well written and a great read. Thanks go to the publisher for an e-ARC to read and review

‘Every man should leave a story better than he found it’ (Mary Augusta Ward)which is most certainly true of our storyteller Janice. Janice is an exceptional cleaner, and also a collector of stories which she gathers wherever she goes such as the bus, the Laundrette and inevitably the people she works for. There’s Geordie Bowman, landlord and opera singer, grieving Fiona and her son Adam, Mrs YeahYeahYeah and her husband Mr NoNoNotNow whose few qualities are redeemed by their fantastic fox terrier Dacius who is a character in his own right and how! He has me hooting with laughter! Through Mr NoNoNotNow (otherwise known as Tiberius, I kid you not) Janice meets, cleans and becomes way more to his mother Mrs B, who is quite simply utterly marvellous and who tells her own equally marvellous story of ‘Becky’.

I love this character driven book and I’d go so far as to suggest it will be in my top 10 reads of 2022. It’s a gem! I love the way it’s so beautifully written with warmth, compassion and humour. Janice is fantastic and you thoroughly enjoy being in her company through thick and thin. It’s a great blend of funny, sad and poignant with big dollops of kindness, some equally large servings of selfishness with examples of things that make you cross on Janice and Mrs B’s behalf. There are little hints of mystery, again Mrs B and Janice and the latter can startle you at times and she is worthy of the ‘never judge a book by its cover’ description. Their relationship which starts unpromisingly becomes strong and true and they help each other. Through several characters but especially Mrs B, Janice changes and she finds her in a lioness and how. Some of this makes you cheer from the sidelines. Go Janice! This is a novel that starts in one place and takes you somewhere else with several layers to the storytelling, going deeper than you expect at the beginning. I love every minute of it, it’s heartbreaking and heartwarming and very hard to put down. In a word, wonderful!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins/One More Chapter for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Janice is a cleaner, not just any cleaner, but the best in Cambridge. Her soul-less marriage provides no happiness, she keeps stories of other people, but tells no-one her own story. Then one day she realises she must take charge of her life, leaves her husband and makes firm friends in her clients. Will this provide her with the happiness she deserves? A wonderful story, loved it.

Janice is a collector of stories, and as a cleaner, she has gotten to know her clients through the stories they have shared with her. When she starts cleaning for Mrs. B (who was my favorite character in this book!), she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story…but it’s not necessarily one Janice wants to tell. She’s known for being the keeper of stories and this is one she has kept bottled up for years. But Mrs. B is a headstrong and tricky woman, and she knows just how to peel back Janice’s layers.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I loved all of the dynamic relationships Janice had with those around her. She definitely had the gift of lending her ear to others and because of this, people seemed to easily open up to her so. But when it came down to her opening up to others, she really struggled. Mrs. B was a wonderful addition to this story, and I adored her and her stubborn ways. I truly think she and Janice entered each other’s lives when they needed it the most.

Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4529159975

A heartwarming story that drew me right in. Filled with an array of memorable characters. I'll definitely recommend this book.

The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page is a charming feel good book , perfect cosy reading for a Winter weekend.
Janice is a cleaner, and a collector of stories, stories from the people she works for, from people she overhears on the bus as she travels between jobs, from anyone interesting she encounters in her day to day life. She takes great pride in her work, and very selective about her clients, who clearly see her as more than "just a cleaner", unlike her feckless and aggravating husband Martin, who constantly takes advantage of her, and demeans her job at every opportunity.
As we follow Janice we are introduced to some of her favourite clients, such as the recently widowed Fiona and her son Adam, famous singer Geordie and the unpleasant Mrs Yeahyeahyeah who Janice only keeps as a client because of her dog, an adorable but apparently foul mouthed fox terrier named Decius. When Mrs Yeahyeahyeah asks Janice to clean for her mother in law, she reluctantly agrees to at least visit , and it is a decision that will change her life. Mrs B is a feisty woman in her nineties who is determined not to leave the home she shared with her beloved husband, the now deceased Augustus. The meeting is not promising at first, but it is soon apparent that Mrs B can see there is more to Janice than meets the eye. Could she be the one who finally convinces Janice, the keeper of stories, that she has a story of her one, and one that is worth sharing with the right people.
This is a really sweet and charming book, uplifting and entertaining and designed to play on peoples natural curiosity about others. Janice is such a wonderful character that is impossible not to root for her from the beginning and seeing her blossom and free herself from her husband and the past that held her back for so long was truly a joy.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher ,all opinions are my own.

A feel good uplifting book! I immediately fell in love with the main character the keeper of stories who’s collection of peoples essence of life stories are gained from amongst the clients she cleans for and the conversations she overhears on the bus driving around
Cambridge to her work places Well worth reading!