Lillian on Life

by Alison Jean Lester, Käthe Mazur (Narrator)

Life and love lessons as told by sassy narrator Lillian as she looks back in this brilliantly written, bold debut.
Lillian, a single, well-travelled woman of a certain age, wakes up next to her married lover and looks back at her life. It's not at all the life she expected.

Walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern options for women, Lillian has grappled with parental disappointment, society's expectations and the vagaries of love and sex. As a narrator she's bold and witty, and her reflections - from 'On Getting to Sex' to 'On the Importance of Big Pockets' or 'On Leaving in Order to Stay' - reverberate originally and unpredictably.

In Lillian on Life, Alison Jean Lester has created a brutally honest portrait of a woman living through the post-war decades of change in Munich, Paris, London and New York. Her story resonates with the glamour and energy of those cities. Charming, sometimes heartbreaking, never a stereotype, Lillian is completely herself; her view of the world is unique. You won't soon forget her.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Adult Fiction, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Contemporary

Audiobook

First published August 20, 2014

About the author

Alison Jean Lester was born to a British mother and an American father, who met on an airplane when she was a Pan Am stewardess and he was coming back from participating in the first American expedition to Mount Everest. She has variously studied, worked, and raised children in the US, the UK, China, Italy, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore, and now lives in England with her husband and their miniature schnauzer. Her first novel, Lillian on Life, was published in 2015, and her second, Yuki Means Happiness, came out in July 2017. Her memoir of her mother's amazing approach to the end of her life, Absolutely Delicious: A Chronicle of Extraordinary Dying, was published on 22 October, 2020.

Reviews

[Aditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Actions are whispered compared to dreams."

----Alison Jean Lester


Alison Jean Lester, an American author, pens her heart-touching debut, Lillian on Life that reflects the life of a bold and sassy woman named Lillian through her random memories about her childhood, teenage years, college days, touring days, her parents, lovers and death.


Synopsis:

Life and love lessons as told by sassy narrator Lillian as she looks back in this brilliantly written, bold debut.
Lillian, a single, well-traveled woman of a certain age, wakes up next to her married lover and looks back at her life. It's not at all the life she expected.

Walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern options for women, Lillian has grappled with parental disappointment, society's expectations and the vagaries of love and sex. As a narrator she's bold and witty, and her reflections - from 'On Getting to Sex' to 'On the Importance of Big Pockets' or 'On Leaving in Order to Stay' - reverberate originally and unpredictably.


This is a really unique and one of a kind book with no concrete storyline, although this book is an honest account of a fictional character and her life through certain periods of history, inventions and trends featuring various cities of the world.

Lillian, a 57 year old woman, wakes up one morning next to her old and married lover, Micheal. When suddenly insecure thoughts cloud her mind about life and this relationship with Micheal, Lillian takes us back to her early years in Missouri with her odd set of parents- Poppa and her mother, Vivian. Next her memories take us to her college days in Vassar to her internship program in Munich and through this time period, we meet her first lovers, her take on sex and men for the first time in her life. Gradually, through certain memories we come back to a time when Lillian is lonely and very wise and missing the only love of her life.

Yeah this book definitely sounds like an autobiography. Right from the first page, Lillian's character drew me in to her story and her sassy voice and narration kept me engaged till the very end. Lillian is not an ideal woman of her times, but she is not also a stereotype, instead she is an honest, bold and modern woman of the 60s, who not only dressed in trends, but her lifestyle was also quite modish from her strings of sometimes sexy yet married lovers to her cooking style to her politeness to the world spinning around her. But she doesn't cut a promiscuous or a spinster demeanor out of herself, instead she has a chic yet bold voice when she narrates those memories for us.

Lillian is an independent woman who never gets married like her parents or have babies, but she wants us to believe that she is happy in her cocoon of life. Each and every thing she says is more like a pearl of wisdom, maybe because she is wise enough to tell us what she learned from her mistakes and success.

The book is very well-written and the author have poured all the feminine yet strong emotions into her storyline. The narration is layered with wit, humor and philosophy. So at times it'll make you crack up and at times it will empower you. The pace of the book is really fast that will captivate you right from the beginning. The characterization of Lillian is brilliantly done and as her memories go deeper into her mind and heart, we feel more connected with Lillian.

I loved how the author portrayed her despite of the time period when women were not much allowed to have that kind of lifestyle. So well Lillian may never make you envy her with her lifestyle, fashion and strings of lovers, but will definitely going to make you adore her character at the end of the book.

PS: Keep some sketch pens handy to underline each and every sentence of Lillian whose words of wisdom and philosophy will simply enlighten you.

Verdict: If you fancy a light-hearted yet thoughtful book, then do read this book. I would recommend every other single and married women to read it.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Alison Jean Lester, for providing me with a copy of her book, in return for an honest review.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one of those books, the ones that are hard to review because you can't quite put your finger on what it was about them that moved you or spoke to you, you just know it did.

This book touches on the various phases of a woman's life; being young and inexperienced, then older and wiser. It touches on relationships, love, heartbreak, devotion and compromise. It's a fond look back at a woman's adventurous youth from the vantage point of maturity and also a reflection on how her life has come to be what it is now.

I folded over many corners in this book, marking the pages with particularly interesting or moving passages. Here's one: 'When you're in a relationship you mold yourself to it. You curve your body around it and you curve your mind around it in order to maintain it. Sometimes you don't realize you're crippled until it's too late.' And another: 'I've always wondered why people look so much to action for meaning. When people tell you a story - something that happened to them, something important - don't ask them what they did. Ask them what they wanted to do. What they want to do is who they are. Actions are whispers compared to dreams.'

I really enjoyed this book, it was easy to read, the words flowed like water, I never wished the story had been pared down, I never wondered what the author meant. I read this in two sittings and enjoyed every page. I think this would generate some good discussion for a book club. I'd be curious about what my friends would think of Lillian because of her relationships with married men. I think some people would find Lillian less sympathetic than I did.

Thank you to the Amazon Vine Program which made this book available to me, this is another book that I don't think I would have noticed if it hadn't been offered through the program.

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe I would have had sex with Dave after college in Columbia, but the first time he hugged me, he squeezed me so hard I passed wind.

She got me on the first fart. Protagonist Lillian (born in 1933), who first starts talking to us, at age fifty-seven (1990), from her bed with a man who won't wake up, is charming. Lillian is real, a girl from Missouri who went to Vassar. She is sexy and idiosyncratic, and despite its time period, this story is modern. I think that's because it is deeply honest. So many other books I've read about women in the 1930s and 40s (written by women who lived in that era) focus on female manipulations to get what they want and/or hoodwink some guy. Lillian has no part in any of that. "Nobody came from where I came from or felt what I felt, so I adapted," she says, during a description of her life in Europe. And "Whenever I leave after telling Judy about my sex life, I know she tells George Junior my stories. I worry a little about that. But if I've learned anything, it's this: The world has never loved a spinster, and never will. The more people she tells, the merrier." Lilian on Life is such a refreshingly authentic portrait of a woman during a time before female autonomy.

However, I do wonder how culturally accurate the book is, as the author, Alison Jean Lester, was born in 1966 and came of age in a time when admitting that women fart is permissible. I like to think that people are just people, so maybe it has taken a modern woman to write this way about a woman who came of age in the late 40s.

This is a lusciously written slim book—145 pages in the library ebook I read, and many of those pages are chapter titles. On one level, it's a lovely divertissement; on a skill level—nothing is ever over-explained, leaving the reader the room to feel the unspoken connections and emotions—it's rather masterful; and on a wisdom level, it's subtle and grand.

[Lorilin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book start to finish--mostly because I loved Lillian. This book didn't read like fiction to me. It felt so real, almost like a memoir, and I found myself absolutely beguiled by Lillian. Her thoughts are melancholy, make no mistake, while she looks back at her life, taking stock, remembering, celebrating, and grieving. But she is so very honest. We see her loneliness, her confusion, her humor and acceptance, her happiness and joy. We also see her compromise herself in more than one relationship. And even though it was always plain to me, as the reader, that Lillian's inability to truly "connect" with her romantic partners was so clearly related to her stilted relationships with her affection-withholding mother and sweet but nearly invisible father, the fact that Lillian couldn't see that made her even more real and endearing to me.

Lillian may have lacked insight into certain areas of her life, but I still found her to be an empowered--and empowering--character. I loved how she embraced her sexuality, and I so appreciated that Lester, the author, was willing to write a story about a woman who loved sex and didn't apologize for it. Lillian may not have, ultimately, made all the decisions that I would have made, but at least she put her cards on the table as best she could. She lived, and wasn't afraid of living, and I adored her for it.

So, overall, this was a lovely book. I read it in a few short hours and thought about it for days after that. It made me think and appreciate and ponder. I enjoyed every minute I was swept up in these pages, and I eagerly anticipate Alison Jean Lester's next book.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this quiet, honest, funny little book! It's about not very much and the whole modern world at the same time.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often, when I read a novel that is constructed as individual, standalone chapters that read as short stories, I end up feeling the writer was afraid of the extended toil of writing a novel, and come away disappointed. So it was deeply gratifying to read Lillian on Life, by Alison Jean Lester, and discover an author who not only knows how to do this kind of novel justice, making it all hang together as a novel, but also knows how to write like a boss.

With pointed observations, and dry, often self-depreciating wit, Lester’s lusty heroine, Missouri-born Lillian, Vassar dropout, who “dated men from Yale” leads us deep into her life in the mid-twentieth century, a time when women were just beginning to rediscover the government of their own sexuality and lives.

Clocking in at a spare 218 pages, Lillian’s journey takes readers from the teen-aged kitchen of her parents, where she enjoyed an after-school coke with the family maid, Mary, to the final premenopausal chapters where she loses Ted, the love of her life. In between we are treated to an abundance of sex and hilarity, as she searches for satisfaction and happiness in Germany, Paris, London and New York.

In Germany she meets her first scoundrel, the Hungarian Laszlo, who haunts her, in a stalkerish way, until she finally rids herself of him in a dramatic scene later in the novel.


“His heavy hair hung in shining waves, and his eyelashes sprang away from his blue eyes as if the color surprised them.”

And:


“Such things were not called rape back then. (Paragraph) I ate the bread and cheese in my room the next day and mended the blue dress.”

Lester’s first-person prose manages the feat of being at once stark and tight, and also rich and vibrant. Reading Lillian on Life gives the feeling of substance being delivered under pressure through a tightly focused aperture.


“They thought of themselves as realists, but they were merely brutal.”

“Alec was very tall, and broad, and had been bred to pass judgment.”

“In the restaurant he ordered for both of us, which was irritating, but if I’ve learned anything with other men, it is to keep my distance from male pride. It’s an electric fence.”

“Going home that evening, I wondered if I would look for a platonic escort of my age if I were in Pyam’s position. I decided not. I’ll always want someone whose fingers are strong enough to pull my hair. Always.”

Lillian on Life is a grownup novel, written by a writer at the peak of her powers. It certainly deserves to garner interest and win awards. I highly recommend it.

[Jood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator of this lovely little book is Lillian, who wakes up next to her lover – a married man – and looks back over her life. It's a life she hadn't planned or expected, but she talks in a matter of fact, down to earth way about her various lovers, jobs, sex and everything in between. She is obviously a huge disappointment to her mother who enjoys making disparaging and unkind remarks to and about Lillian; fortunately her beloved Poppa is her strongest ally. Lillian lives through the post-war years moving from the USA to Munich, Paris, London and back to New York. This was a time of great change, especially for women as they gradually challenged their traditional role. She discusses the clothes she wears, and how she came by them, the men she has loved and how and why she has left them; if this sounds mundane and boring, it isn't in the slightest, as the author has such a light touch, making these things relevant, and authenticity.

At times funny, sad, hopeful – it is all these without being mawkish and sentimental. I enjoyed listening to Lillian; she;s clever and witty as she talks about various topics, all arranged in fairly short chapters, each one beginning with “On...”. such as “On The Importance of Big Pockets”, “On White”, “On What Happens Next”. This is a really well written, but short, book that kept my interest from the first page to the last. I actually like the cover and the pink-edged pages. This book is definitely a keeper which I will go back to in a few years time, hopefully enjoying it all over again.

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fictional memoir of a woman's love life from her teens through her 50s. Lillian never marries, but has many lovers. Because she is beautiful, she can be selective and the men in her life are all desirable, high-quality mates. She's not just some slut who will sleep with anyone. The extraordinary thing is that she comes of age in the 1950s, when her sexual freedom would still have been shocking to most people. She is quite self-confident, not in any way a pitiful spinster. She just likes sex, well into middle age, and enjoys the company of men. This book was not great literature, but it was light, enjoyable and easy to read. As a feminist, I do have to object a little to Lillian, though. For one thing, she is very cavalier about sleeping with other women's husbands; many of her lovers are married men. Second, she pretty much defines herself by her love life. We barely know what her career is, and she seems to have few female friends. In that way, I think her beauty limits her. She is more or less a courtesan, and really doesn't grow or change much from her experiences.

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh yuk. This was awful. What the heck was this meant to be? It's not a novel it's not a memoir it's not anything. Was she meant to be a prostitute? Was it meant to be set in the 50s? What kind of awful woman was this character? No gumption no life of her own just hanging around with awful men. Steer clear is my advice.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her incredibly smart and poignant first novel, Alison Jean Lester touches upon a variety of subjects including love, beauty, loneliness, abortion, independence, sexuality and difficult yet often times necessary choices that ripple throughout our lives like waves on a dark blue lake. This remarkably clever and richly tasting story will resonate with mature female audiences all around the world. I do believe it requires a seasoned and experienced reader of certain age to be fully enjoyed and appreciated, though I think even younger women (around the age of 20) will find Lilian's voice fascinating and positively endearing.

This book is constructed as a compilation of meditations - or reflections, if you will - as Lilian is looking back on her life, re-living certain pivoting moments of it and sharing her wisdom with us, the readers. We hear about her love life, her relationships and struggles, her hopes, goals and dreams, and we learn more and more about this intelligent, passionate yet emotionally unfulfilled woman with every chapter. It's quite an illuminating and emotionally powerful read, filled with moments of true beauty and real heartbreak.

I really enjoyed Lilian's strong and clear voice. She's a firecracker - full of passion, desire and purpose. I admired her, though I often felt sad for her too. Her life was as far from boring as it gets, filled with travel, sex, love and glamour, and yet, in many ways, it was also kind of empty and depressing. The things she does, the choices she makes... They are necessary decisions, but also ones that come at a certain price. It was very interesting to read about Lilian and see how her life turned out. A fascinating and thought-provoking journey through one woman's life.

Lilian on Life is genuinely intriguing and exhilarating read, full of meaning and hope. Lilian's witty narration makes for a very entertaining and relatable read, and her spot-on observations are ones I enjoyed analyzing. Lilian is brutally honest at times, gentle and sentimental at others, but all throughout the book she remains real and straightforward. I loved getting to know her and I'm sure you will, too

[Anna Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book of snippets of thoughts, stories, and experiences about a middle-aged woman's life told in short chapters. Some of these were slightly relatable (the audience is just a bit older than I), some were a bit awkward, and some were just there. All of them were told well, and although the book kept me wanting to continue to read, it was more to figure out what the point of the stories were about rather than because I was invested or engaged in the book. I felt like there was no real reason for the book other than to share pieces of a life without some kind major purpose. I think that I am not the target audience for this book and it might resonate more with someone closer to middle-aged.

[Melissa Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book from the Penguin First To Read program and put a review up so I'm a bit upset because my review seems to be gone. I recently saw a hard copy of this in my local grocery store and loved it so I bought a print copy. Not reviewing it again, but it was an awesome read for me and I'd definitely recommend it. Wondering where my review went.........

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely beautiful and touching debut novel. I loved everything about Lillian, her memories, thoughts, suggestions, advice, the unusual life that she lived. The language is lovely, poetic, and lets you sink deep into her wonderful world and mind. It's one of those rare novels you gift to everyone, because you want them to love Lillian as much as you do.

[Jackie Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lillian on Life, by Alison Jean Lester, offers an insight into the life of a woman of a certain age. Reading it I felt as though I were sitting down with a newly introduced acquaintance who, as the conversation progressed, proved to be intelligent, articulate, perceptive and to have lived a fascinating if somewhat exotic life. It is not, however, the life that the protagonist has lived but rather the observations on her experiences and the people she encountered which make this book so satisfying to read.

Lillian was born in Columbia, Missouri in 1933. Her detailed recollections begin from when she was around fifteen years old. She idolised her father but had a more troubled relationship with her mother who always seemed to be trying to alter her daughter to better suit an image that she herself would prefer. An older brother had moved away from the family home when Lillian was twelve. As she recalled her mother’s often dismissive reactions to Lillian’s early achievements it was noted that:

‘There’s nothing as perfect as a talented firstborn son who has gone away.’

Lillian had always imagined that she would grow up, get married and have children. Throughout her life she was never short of boyfriends and then lovers, some of whom were married and some of whom she loved. Events conspired to enable travel and she lived in several European cities before settling in New York. In considering the way her life turned out she opined:

‘So many people say that everything happens for a reason. I’ve always felt that things happen because the things before them happen, that’s all.’

As Lillian recounts her experiences and shares her thoughts it becomes clear that she is not attempting to impress. If anything there is a sadness behind many of the tales, a recognition that had she known how things would turn out she may have acted differently, although she does not dwell upon regrets. Her stories allow the reader to see her life through her eyes with a clarity and understanding that can rarely be articulated so perceptively and succinctly.

The narrative evokes a depth of feeling, a sense of poignancy, alongside the descriptions of events. As she remembers the men she has been involved with and their treatment of her she recognises that sometimes it was easier to accept their patronising ways and then to move on:

‘I was too polite to put up a fight. When you protest too much they give you a look that’s even more condescending than their platitudes.’

Lillian cared about how she looked, about her hair and her dress. She could not understand how some women did not. Lillian enjoyed sex, but also wished to please her sexual partners so would submit to their desires, placing herself outside of her physical body as a way of coping with their invasions. She was scathing of wives who became disinterested in providing such selfless pleasures for their men.

In so many ways the bare facts of Lillian’s way of living would be the antithesis of a women I could admire, and yet in reading this book I grew to like her a great deal. I would love to be able to sit down with her, share a bottle of wine and enjoy more of the intelligent conversation which this book provides. It is a work of fiction yet the quality and easy flow of the writing made her seem real.

Quite unlike other books in its style and scope, I will be recommending Lillian to many other women of my acquaintance. Her passion, achievements and self effacing observations have the potential to entertain and inspire us all.

My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, John Murray.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a lucky girl to win this! Bookclubs with women "over a certain age" will have plenty to chew on with this. A woman, at 57, looks back on her life. I had to recheck her age because if it were true to 2014 she would be 81 and when she commented about not wearing a bikini, I was thinking, that's a question?

Just like Cover Girl, this is easy, breezy, beautiful. She never marries and is, in fact, the other woman. She's an assistant to--wait for it--her lover, in publishing.

Here's the thing. She's always at the edge of life. She attends college away from home, but moves back, and I'm not sure if she graduates. She gets her first job (as a typist) because someone knows her and assumes she can type, and stays in the field always being an assistant, never the editor or writer. Never marries. No kids.

Sure, in many parts she is very elegant. I loved the part about being able to wear the same thing every day in a job "as long as it was presentable", how she learned to cook eggs at the Cordon Bleu, how it took her forever to furnish her apartments. But then she went to a therapist and it seemed crazy when she had a party and "peeled" hundreds of eggs to make deviled eggs.

At the end she comments, it matters not what a person does, but what they wanted to do. "Actions are whispers compared to dreams" she writes.

Uh, no. Actions are actions. I would like to play piano and speak French well and guess what, after 55 years it isn't going to happen. Without actions, dreams mean nothing.

That makes this book one of the saddest that I've read. She thinks she's still the girl who can read serious fiction in the stacks until she falls asleep when in reality she only reads periodicals. She didn't follow through on anything and this "memoir" (fictional character) is full of regrets although that word is never mentioned thanks to very skillful writing.

Good fodder for New Year's resolution reading.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy of "Lillian on Life" through a Goodreads first reads giveaway.

I was looking forward to this book when I found out I'd won a copy, which is probably why I was so disappointed in the end result. I wouldn't necessarily say there's anything "wrong" with the book, despite the fact that I've only given it two stars. I think the back cover blurb misrepresents what the book is, so its perhaps unfair of me to hold that against the author.

The book is, as promised, about a women of "a certain age" reflecting on her life from Missouri to Munich to Paris to London to New York, but the fact that she moves around so much is largely inconsequential. Lester does nothing to flesh out the richness of these locales or what impact they may have on her protagonist. The main focus is primarily men Lillian has loved before, along with snippets of her family life, which is fine. However, the book reads more like a checklist of men that Lillian has slept with than any thing else. I don't feel like I got to know Lillian all that well, which is a shame because I'm sure all the real "Lillian's" out there are more than just a composite of their romantic relationships. But for the final chapters, I felt everything in Lillian's life was addressed too superficially.

It was a quick read, and a moderately enjoyable one. However, I think that, having created a character such as Lillian, with such an exciting and diverse background, Lester does herself a disservice by not delving more into who that character is, rather than simply recounting what she does. Another reviewer hits the nail on the head, pointing out that Lillian came of age in the 60s but defines herself by her relationships with men.

[Frances Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lillian, a woman of a certain age, born in the 1930s, reflects on her life. I was hoping, given the times in which she lived – times of enormous social change, especially for women – that there would have been more social / historical commentary. There is not really any description of the places or times in which she lived. To be fair, that doesn’t make it a bad book, it’s just not what I was expecting.

Lillian doesn’t seem to have much depth to her and I can’t say I liked her. Her reflections are frequently about sex and her affairs with men – some married. She gives no thought at all about how these affairs might affect the wives and families. For an independent woman, I find it odd that she seems to feel the wives are failing in a duty to pay enough (or the right) attention to their men. A case of “My wife doesn’t understand me” which Lillian seems to take at face value and not even consider that she might be being used by men too weak and selfish to fix their marriages or end them. She seems to see women as being there to make their men happy (sexually) – even describing her own mother’s failure in this respect.

When she moves away from the subject of sex, her reflections are far more interesting – such as the chapter dealing with her father’s illness and death. Though when Ted gets sick and dies, I couldn’t tell whether her grief was for the loss of Ted or for the loss of sex (back to sex again).

I found her an intensely sad character, with little to say about herself. What should have been an exciting life (American born, living and working in several European cities) seems to have become one of loneliness and lack of fulfilment.

[Ape · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this as an advanced reading copy on goodreads. And, Ooo, now, these pink egded pages are rather cool. I know this is rather superficial, but I do like the design of the book.

This was an interesting, rather reflective and melancholic tale of Lillian, an American woman who is coming towards the end of the summer of her life... I think she is in her fifties now... and has led an very interesting life, but finds herself alone and grieving. So she ponders over her life, the people she knew, the men she loved and the places she lived. And through this we get her reflections on life, ranging on the practical: why you want to keep matches in the bathroom; through to the far more profound: when someone's telling you a story, don't ask them what they did, but what they wanted to do, as that will tell you a lot more about them as a person.

She ended up working in press offices in Germany, France, the UK and eventually back to the USA. She had a number of lovers, but nothing that ever lasted long term other than her affair with her boss, Ted, which just ended so tragically. Because she was just the mistress, she only found out second hand when he'd become ill, and when he'd died. It felt almost as though she didn't have a right to her grief. It was very sad.

This book isn't going to revolutionise your life, but it's a nice little read and worth the attention.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating, mesmerizing, addictive and somehow incomplete; in short, it accurately describes Lillian, the main character. While the book is organized into short chapters ostensibly about life lessons, it would be more accurate to describe them as diary entries directed more to herself than to another reader. Lillian's anecdotes do not pause to identify characters clearly, and the lovers all seem interchangeable. They are memorable only in the aggregate not as individuals, as Lillian sees them upon reflection so many years later. All except the one love who died and whose loss she most suffers. This book IS fascinating and the main character is unique. It is difficult, near impossible to put this book down. In the end we realize Lillian has not fully shared herself with us, or perhaps she gave up exploring herself years ago. We don't know, and perhaps we are too well-mannered to object, as she herself would be, if our roles were reversed. We can be grateful for her author and look forward to next works with anticipation. I received this ARC from Penguin's First to Read program.

[Caren ~ the misfit geek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining read. It is a well written and honest reflection of how one’s choices and experiences can shape who we become. It has an addictive quality and is difficult to put down. I read the entire thing in one day.

It is basically a trip down memory lane told by Lillian herself. She led quite an interesting life and she is a dynamic and candid narrator. The seeming randomness of her musings adds a unique and charming quality to the story. It was fascinating to watch her personality develop over time.

I would recommend this book as a very unique and engaging read. This is the first book I have read by this author. I would consider reading more of her books.

I received an ARC of this book from Penguin’s First to Read program in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Cinta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an ARC of this book via the First to Read program by Penguin Books. This is my most honest review.

I loved this book. It is fresh, funny, emotional, and sincere. The protagonist, Lillian, makes an account of her life in sketch way, making reflections on different aspects of life. At first I thought the way this book was written was kind of weird, since it was going back and forth in time all the time. However, that formula absolutely works. I found myself enjoying this book enormously.

It is a phenomenal story of love, travels, family, and other aspects of life the reader can easily relate to. The language flows effortlessly and the story will stick with you way after you finish reading the last page. A total page-turner, it is the perfect read for a weekend at home, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea next to the fireplace. I would totally read more books from this author.

[Lillia Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very relatable personable, funny, interesting and real account of a women's life. I loved every second of this and often refused to out it down. It's not normally the genre of book I go for but I'm glad it has opened up my interests. Sexual in parts, sad and occasionally disheartening which made me love it even more.

I look forward to more books by Alison Jean Lester.

[Sally Koslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deceptively philosophical. I loved the persona of Lillian created by Alison Jean Lester.

[Lady Bren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Doesn't work well as an audio book
Listened for over 3 hours just couldn't do anymore

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up off the back of a discussion between guests on Radio 4's A Good Read in which the two guests couldn't quite agree whether the titular Lillian's story was melancholic or uplifting. And having read the book, I'm afraid I'm going to have to sit on the fence on that one. It's sort of both and neither.

Essentially it's the story of the titular Lillian's life – focusing on her love life and her relationship with her family, told as a series of short self-contained episodes. I quite liked the episodic approach and thought it captured something of how we actually remember life – not as a clear, coherent narrative but as a series of contained short stories. And some of the individual stories, particularly those involving her 'difficult' relationship with her mother (and the possibility always hinted at, that she had fundamentally misunderstood her all her life) were very well done. I also liked some of her dry observations on life – in particular a line which went something like “Some people say that everything happens for a reason. Mostly I think that things happen because other things happened before them and that's all there is to it” (I don't have the book in front of me, and am relying on memory).

I can't really recommend the book as such, because in the end it was a character study in which I didn't think that the main character around whom the book revolves really had enough depth. Whether it's the fault of the writer or the reader, or just a mismatch between the two, I didn't think that she felt like a fully drawn person so much as someone to whom things happened (one after another, I suppose). Rightly or wrongly, I also thought she didn't really come across as a woman born in the deep south of the US in the first third of the twentieth century (I don't know anything about the author to corroborate or disprove my suspicions that she has written a character whose attitudes seem much closer to someone born thirty or forty years later and perhaps north of the Mason/Dixon line because that is who she is, but...) That said, it's a quick read, and there are some individual interesting moments in it...

[Writer's Edit]

At the end of the book, Lillian instructs her readers that: ‘you must tell your own story. Never let anyone… think she knows you better than yourself,’ and this appeal for authenticity seems ironic: Lillian’s story feels too self-edited. She is a narrator telling a deeply personal story from arms-length.

Yet this is the power of the novel: Lillian is a character that follows you well after the text is finished. I find myself still trying to figure her out. As confusing and divisive as she may be, Lillian certainly sticks. And that is good writing.

Read more of our review here: https://www.writersedit.com/book-revi...

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lillian, a woman of a certain age, is reflecting on her life, her loves, her family. Often she smiles, sometimes there is a bit of regret. Lillian, born in Missouri in the 1930's is smart and feisty. She mostly hides her fire because it would be most unbecoming for a woman to do otherwise. She is finally set free from her mother's watchful eyes and makes her way to Europe. Terrified of traveling alone, Lillian knows she must leave her small town and small life if she is ever going to really "live" and she accepts a transcriptionist position in Munich. And slowly, she spreads her wings. Lil finds her way into an exciting career and life in the bustling cities of London and Paris. Dining with Dukes and writers, Lillian takes on a whole new persona. She falls in love, more than once. On reflection she wonders if this was her true self or was she constantly faking it. But aren't we all? We all are an accumulation of our experiences, for better and for worse. Years later Lillian finds herself living in NYC and in love with her boss, who is married. This most unique narrative is unlike anything I have ever read. Its short simple chapters are incredibly elegant. I was able to imagine Lillian, I could hear her. I didn't want the story to end. It is amazing to me when a character in a novel feels so real, I will actually miss her. Highly recommend this read and look forward to more from this incredible author. www.readingandeating.com

[Leah Moyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the story of Lillian, as she looks back on her life. It is told through a series of memories and recollections of the things in her life that have touched her and events that occurred.

Lillian is a wonderful character. She is a strong independent woman, who at the post war times lived in Munich, Paris and New York. Her story paints the portrait of a woman who could never be stereotyped, and who was forever true to herself and who ultimately was an individual. It can't have been easy at a time when a lady was expected to behave a certain way.

This story was at times uplifting and other times desperately sad. I was left with an overwhelming feeling that Lillian was never in her life, truly and permanently happy.

All manner of themes have been covered. Lillian had to deal with the disappointment of her parents and the expectations of society. She also discusses, love, sex and abortion.

It took me a while to get into the style of writing. Short, sharp memories, that at times seemed to flit backwards and forwards. However I soon settled into it and allowed myself to become engrossed with the story and the voice of Lillian that seemed to leap off the pages.

Really a very good read and quite unique in style.

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lilian remembers various aspects of her long life and many lovers in what is almost stream of consciousness prose divided into chapters. It isn't chronological order and she does dart around in time so you do have to try and remember the names of her various lovers and the order in which they arrived in her life and departed from it in order to orientate yourself as you're reading.

I did enjoy reading this short book which can be read at a sitting but there were some things which grated on my. The narrator's constant emphasis on her nationality and the many references to 'bathroom smells' and the ways to eradicate them - your own and other people's. I could have done without that to be honest. One mention would have been sufficient.

The narrator travelled widely in Europe and had many different jobs and while there is no real plot she is a sufficiently lively narrator to hold the reader's interest. It is certainly an entertaining read and very well written with some memorable descriptions and one liners. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lillian On Life
By
Alison Jean Lester



Key characters...

This book is simply about Lillian and her thoughts about her life, the men she has been with, her parents, her work, her travels and her lovely cat.

Settings...

Much of this book takes place in Europe and in Lillian's hometown and where she attended college and also where she worked...so much of the book took place in New York, London, Paris, Missouri, Connecticut...and with various men.

Simply put...what's going down...

Lillian appears to be writing a series of essays about key events in her life. College and carriers and relationships seem to be mostly what she writes about. And sex. And getting older...and sex.

What I thought about this book...

Hmmm...I don't think I am a fan of this style of writing. I felt a disconnect and I never really connected. It takes place in the 30's but that is not the reason for my disconnect. I don't believe I actually liked Lillian. But...that should not prevent others who might enjoy this sort of wandering essay writing style.

And that is that...probably not a good book choice for me.