Her Inner Lioness: The Keeper Of Stories By Sally Page

I am lucky to have a source who often gives me books for birthdays or Christmas and this one came from there – and yet again, it was a brilliant choice.

How do love stories start? A spy meeting a spy, ‘emerging through the steam of a Moscow tearoom’ or a cleaner ‘stepping onto a corporation bus on a dull, cold Thursday afternoon’. What is the ‘perfect moment’ wonders Janice.

Janice is a cleaner, ‘an exceptional cleaner’ who, as she goes about her daily life, collects stories, other people’s stories, which she collates in her mind. She believes that it is only through people’s stories, you can really get to know someone.

Her own life is humdrum; she knows she only plays a bit-part in the lives of the people she meets but she guards and looks after their stories as if they are precious jewels and she shares them only with us, the reader.

Her personal worries are those of the modern world, and her husband, who is at the top of the list - Mike, a man who has had many jobs. Janice realised early on that it was not the job nor the boss nor the system which was at fault but most likely him – a man with no shame. Page is subtle in letting us know how badly he treats his wife. They have a grown-up son, Simon, who avoids visiting his parents for reasons Janice can only guess, although she thinks she must have somehow let him down. Modest Janice has few friends and does not recognise her own worth, or how highly she is thought of by many who know her.

She starts cleaning for the cantankerous and utterly marvellous Mrs B. who definitely holds to the creed When I grow old, I shall wear purple, and who, it turns out, is a former spy with a story worth hearing. In fact, she tells Janice the story of a girl she calls Becky (note to self, re-read Vanity Fair), but who was in fact a mistress of the Prince of Wales - later of Edward and Mrs Simpson fame - and in telling the story little by little, she encourages Janice to return, again and again. Janice identifies her as Scheherazade but strangely, the shrewd Mrs B. goes on to prove that Janice is not only a keeper of stories but a teller of stories, that she is the real Scheherazade. Odd as it may sound, it works!

cq[This is Sally Page’s debut novel and her characterisation is wonderful as the people Janice meets come alive on the page. ]

These two women develop a strange friendship as each tries to help the other. Mrs B.’s son is trying to force her out of her home and Janice, having been pushed to the limits of tolerance, ‘has a bit of a turn’ and leaves Mike. She is surprised by the people who tell her ‘it’s about time’.

Despite telling herself she has no story, Janice teases the reader every now and then, revealing snippets of what is in fact a very real story, one which she has kept hidden for so long, one with which she has punished herself for years. Ultimately, she faces her demons and finds her inner lioness.

This is Sally Page’s debut novel and her characterisation is wonderful as the people Janice meets come alive on the page. Mrs YeahYeahYeah, Mr NoNoNotNow, Geordie, the opera singer, Fiona and Adam coming to terms with loss, Carrie-Louise and Mavis whose point scoring is a joy to the eavesdropping reader, the Geography teacher who has never been in a classroom, Mycroft, who you don’t see coming and, possibly most delightful of all, Decius (named after a Roman Emperor), a talking (and swearing) pedigree fox terrier (well, it only takes one look at his face and a little imagination). As for Mike, it’s good to see the back of him!

It's a crockpot of all sorts, held together by a strong central character and a couple of plot lines which merge neatly. Page explores the blessing of friendship, misplaced guilt and parent-child relationships. There is warmth and compassion, humour and pathos, and love of all sorts. The reader supports Janice and Mrs B. in their struggles and develops an appreciation of the understanding between them – oh, and relishes the subtle victory at the end, which is sweet!