A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Gina is 33 and starting over. No man. New flat. New life? Downsizing to a small flat means Gina has the chance to sort through her clutter and her old life. Deciding to keep only 100 items that she cannot live without, she purveys each item from the thousands she has hoarded over the years, Gina questions what she needs in her life and what things really mean to her.
As Gina pulls vases, t-shirts, books and letters from her boxes her memories are awakened and we flit back with her to her past life, a life full of wonder, music, love, tragedy and guilt which goes some way to explaining who Gina is but as she slowly sorts her life out she learns new things about herself, makes new friends and learns to let go of the past and embrace the future.
This is a fabulously well-written book which keeps you in suspense as to Gina’s dark secret, giving little away but just enough to know that whatever happened is a big part of who Gina is. The characters are well-rounded and the reader can empathise with most, if not all, of them; they all have faults and good points which show that humans are both vulnerable and fallible.
Of course the story wouldn’t be complete without a dog and the dog in this tale is a true babe – flying the flag for the plight of misused greyhounds everywhere, Buzz is the companion that Gina really has not been looking for!
Although the story has seriousness to it, there is light relief also. Excellent writing, great characters, fabulous, touching story, humour and reality combine to make this a novel truly worth reading.




View all my reviews