The Book of Beginnings: The charming and uplifting novel for 2025 from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Keeper of Stories

This is such a lovely book. The characters are incredibly believable and just jump off the page. When I start casting the parts I know I’m going to love the book. In this instance Sir Ian McKellern plays Malcolm. Haven’t decided on the others yet. The story rolls along at a gentle pace but it’s never boring and the language is just literary enough to give it depth without being wordy or pretentious. It’s a gentle heartwarming read. A tale of friendship, loss and regret but also redemption and as the title suggests new beginnings. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nice characters, feel good book, story line is enjoyable.

I really loved this book. A beautiful story with plenty of fantastic characters and a love story. Sally is a wonderful writer.

Another fantastic book from Sally Page - I’ve binged three in two weeks. Wonderful, real, people - I wanted the story to go on and on. Im hoping she has written and will write, lots more fabulous books!

I enjoyed parts of this book but found it a bit lacking in interesting content. Having said that I did finish it so it must have held my attention to a degree, I did skip some pages, reading them very quickly to keep the thread. The ending is pleasant enough.

A rather thought provoking novel and with humorous moments. Lovely descriptions of both the characters' emotions and of their surroundings. I thought the 'ghost' scene near the end could have been omitted but it would probably work well in a film as visual humour. The epilogue - short and sweet, was delightful.

This warm, slow-moving story set in a quiet stationery shop in North London features three people whose lives need purpose. Jo’s relationship of 6 years has broken down, so time spent in a different location taking care of her uncle’s stationery shop while he is ill, is a welcome change. Despite her reticent nature she begins to make friends with some of her customers and the people in the neighbouring shops. As she orders new fountain pens and interesting notebooks she gets to know Malcolm, an older man who is still in mourning for his mother with whom he has always lived, and then they both become acquainted with Ruth, the “runaway vicar,” who has featured in the news after leaving her parish suddenly. Gradually the three very different characters spend more time together and following Malcolm’s interest in the nearby Highgate cemetery they research some of those who were buried there, imagining their conversations if they met as ghosts.These new friendships cause Jo to attempt mending her broken friendship with her childhood friend, Lucy. As her friend is still in their home in Yorkshire it is difficult to overcome their disagreements but gradually peace is achieved. Meanwhile Jo’s personal relationship with one of her new neighbours goes wrong but Ruth and Malcolm keep her spirits up and we learn a great deal about the lives of people such as George Eliot whose comment, “It is never too late to be what you might have been,” is taken to heart by the three of them.This lovely book has introduced me to Sally Page and I have already ordered her first book, “The Secrets of Flowers.” An amusing, delightful story, “The Book of Beginnings” was a wonderful holiday read.

A wonderful uplifting story of how chance meetings can form such bonds which can change a persons life forever! The beautiful and inspiring characters filled me with such joy and laughter I didn’t want the book to end! Poetry and the ghosts of Highgate Cemetery brought such humour and very poignant thoughts about life! This story makes me think of a pebble being thrown into a pond and the ripple effect that goes on and on and how people and friends can have such an effect on someone’s life and decisions! I will definitely read more of Sally Page’s books and will recommend this inspiring story to all my friends and family xxx

Sally Page is a an excellent writer; her first novel, The Keeper of Stories, has become a favorite of mine, and her second novel, The Book of Beginnings, did not disappoint. Her characters are clever, charming, easy to identify with, and her narrative is honest and compelling.

Good

The book has this warm fuzzy feeling. Characters are deep and well developed. I immediately read her other book also - The keeper of stories and I loved it.

I did like this book though I found it a bit slow in places, I wanted it to get to the nitty gritty bits faster than it did.There are several related stories within the story so it had to follow each to certain conclusions in order to keep track of the reasons for many of the choices made by our protagonist Jo Sorsby…that said, it was a nice undemanding read.When Jo finds herself at a crossroads in her life after a sudden and unexpected breakup with her partner of six years, and a possible fall out with her best friend (since childhood). Then the news that her favourite uncle has been hospitalised…she makes some decisions which set her life on a whole different course to what she has come to believe was her fate.Jo decides to move to London to mind her uncle’s stationery and hardware shop while he is recovering from his recent confinement.At first she thinks it will be a short term stay giving her time to think and recover, but as the days go by she comes to the realization that he may never recover enough to return to his shop.Jo loves the shop and has fond memories of spending time with her uncle there as a child, so as well as her grief over her recent breakup and her falling out with her best friend Lucy, Jo’s stay brings with it a lot of sentimental feelings and sadness.As days turn to weeks Jo begins to recognize several regular customers who seem to loiter rather than peruse the stock, usually just buying a token item before leaving.These customers were not necessarily friends of her uncle but have started to become trusting of Jo…and her of them…so that they begin to share snippets of their stories with her, forming a sort of bond with Jo that surprises her also. Jo being a fairly reticent sort of person doesn’t usually attract or encourage such encounters, so she is both surprised and a bit encouraged, feeling like this might be helping her heal from her grief and low self esteem.She starts to settle into a routine and even though she knows she won’t stay here indefinitely, she even makes a few changes to the store to encourage more customers.She also develops a good rapport with her neighbouring storekeepers, an Optometrist and a Tattoo artist.All of these newfound friends are very different from each other and from the people Jo would normally click with…yet, they have much in common and as their friendships grow they all find a common thread that may just be the antidote they all need.A cosy read.4.5⭐️s

A gentle meandering story that is still an easy page turner about one of life's doors closing and a new chapter that is still to start. A book that shines a light on how there is extraordinary in an ordinary life.