The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin #BookReview

The most important things in life . . . are not things at all.

Nora is fleeing London for her childhood home in Dublin after her heart is suddenly torn apart. Back home, she learns she has inherited all of her grandmother’s worldly belongings – a feather shrug, a Tiffany mirror, a gold locket, and many more precious things besides.

With no means of keeping them, and not able to bear auctioning everything off, Nora decides to open The Memory Shop so each object is matched to a perfect new owner.

Soon Nora begins transforming the lives of those around her through the items she pairs them with, helping them find new happiness in unexpected ways. Now if she can only let go of her own past, she might just surprise herself . . .

An uplifting novel set in a charming Irish community, about love, family and finding your way.

My Review

There is something about Irish authors; concerns of the heart are paramount and despite sadness and mistreatment, goodness will out.  I was drawn to this book by the concept of inherited treasures being sold to the most appropriate new owner.

At first the novel reads like a set of short stories about different characters, such as widower Will and his unhappy daughter, or Caroline whose marriage is disintegrating, but gradually they link back to Nora, the heroine, who is determined to put her boyfriend’s betrayal behind her while she earns money for her unhappy mother, Alann.  Finding notes from her grandmother hidden among the precious items, she hopes to discover more about the estrangement between her mother and grandmother.

There are several tales of faithless, promiscuous men and yet there are also feel-good solutions for some of the couples.  The local community in this part of Dublin are, in the spirit of a popular film, almost too good to be true, but that did not diminish my pleasure in reading the book. Finally, the tragic revelation about Nora’s grandmother rooted this charming tale in reality.

The Memory Shop on Amazon UK

Ella Griffin

Ella Griffin was born in Dublin. She was an award-winning advertising copywriter before she took the leap into fiction. She has written four novels since 2011. She loves making readers laugh and cry (sometimes on the same page.) Ella lives with her husband in County Wicklow in Ireland.

You can find Ella at www.ellagriffin.com, Facebook/EllaGriffinAuthor and @EllaGriffin1