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  • Three Things About Elsie

  • By: Joanna Cannon
  • Narrated by: Paula Wilcox
  • Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,013 ratings)
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Three Things About Elsie cover art

Three Things About Elsie

By: Joanna Cannon
Narrated by: Paula Wilcox
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Summary

There are three things you should know about Elsie.
The first thing is that she's my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing...might take a little bit more explaining.

Eighty-four-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died 60 years ago?

From the author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, this audiobook will teach you many things, but here are three of them:

  • The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever.
  • There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done.
  • Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.

©2018 Joanna Cannon (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Charming, wise and profoundly human. I lived every page of this book." (Erin Kelly)
"A warm, wise novel - brilliantly entertaining - that also manages to be a timely and profound take on ageing. I loved it." (Kate Hamer)
"A real treasure from Joanna Cannon's wry and amusing world, where the long view from the day-room is at once poignant and perceptive." (James Hannah)

What listeners say about Three Things About Elsie

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Utterly Brilliant

I started listening to this book because I needed something light to listen to. It is utterly brilliant as my heading says. I never would, nor did I, have guessed the ending in a zillion years. I really loved this book from the very first page until the last page.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

My long second

I truly love this book, it is written with such sensitivity and insight. The characters are treated with care and respect.
I spent many years nursing older people with acute mental health illness, and this reminds me so much of those times when I've tried to unpick the seeds of reality from distressing delusional ideas.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An Extraordinary Life

Gentle and humorous tale of an old lady revisiting events in her mind! This is an engaging story about ordinary people and how events can mould their lives! Really enjoyed this well read story! Paula Wilcox adds empathy to her reading! A good listen!

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Witty and touching but at a very slow pace

I loved Joanna's goats and sheep book and hoped that this one would also have her fantastic eye for detail and the poetry of everyday language. To a certain extent it does, and some of the passages are a joy to listen to, but unfortunately the pacing was very slow and meandering. To be honest I found myself drifting away from the story on more than one occasion and thus some elements of the plot confused me. I also found some of the surprise twists were very obvious. Paula Wilcox is a wonderful narrator, and she can't be faulted here, but overall The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, with its unashamed and joyous nostalgia, was a far more enjoyable experience.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring!

The plot of this book was very weak and was stretched out so much that it became very tedious to read. I didn't want to finish it because the secrets of the main character were so unimportant that I didn't care what they were. It was a shame that the book made references to age and memory loss and boredom of the elderly and yet it certainly didn't improve that image with the use of stereotyping.


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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely read/listen

Knowing a little about old ladies with Dementia it so rang true.

Joanna Cannon capture all the little things, the minutia.
Florence's character was so believable as was Elsie's and Jack's.

The plot twisted and turned and kept me engaged. The description of Whitby, brilliant.

I listened to this book - Paula Wilcox read it beautifully.

Finally I would like to think there is a Simon in every care home

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The most beautifully observed book!

I am so glad my daughter told me to read this! This isn't just a book with some witticisms about old people. Almost every phrase, sentence or word is picked very very deliberately. It makes you want to read out bits to anyone standing around. A lovely tale beautifully narrated. I recommend it to everyone but would also love schools to have it on their reading lists. Well done to the author and also to Paula Wilcox the narrator.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow

Great read with a twist. Gripping to the end . Insight how dementia effects peoples lives

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Unable to finish book as extremely tedious. I listen to many books and wanted something a little different. This was not what I had in mind.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another excellent story

Joanna Cannon has done it again !I loved this book every bit as much as her first book .Florence is such a plucky character and you will her to be believed .
It was a poignant glimpse into the lives of the elderly but not without warmth or humour, at times it was hilarious and then it made me cry .All the while hoping the right result would emerge Just fabulous .

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7 people found this helpful