Stockholm, Paris, NYC- The Red Address Book of Sofia Lundberg

Submitted: 11th January 2019

There’s a red address book with a life lived tucked inside

Stockholm, Paris, NYC- The Red Address Book of Sofia Lundberg takes you on quite an emotional journey…

Many of us probably keep the names and addresses of friends in an online file somewhere. Or are they just names in a facebook address book now? Do you even know the addresses of where you could send a physical letter to a friend. A real person who has helped shaped your life in some way.

Doris has kept a red address book for years. Now, sadly she’s crossed out quite a few names or written ‘dead’ beside them. But the memories remain and it’s a case of flicking through this book to remember the people inside it….

BookTrail Travel to The Red Address Book locations

Setting: A remote Country lodge in Scotland. The middle of nowhere. Surrounded by woods…

BookTrail Travel to The Red Address Book locations

Bookreview

The Red Address Book Swedish cover

I read this book in Swedish a while ago and it stayed with me, so when I saw it was being released in English, I thought it was about time I featured it on the blog and remembered why I enjoyed it.

It’s a quiet story about a woman with an address book filled with memories. As she flicks through the pages, helped by her carers, she revisits her life and a wonderful series of stories emerge. Doris is not who you first think and the life she has lived is both a touching and emotional narrative.

“I wish you enough. Enough sun to light up your days, enough rain that you appreciate the sun. Enough joy to strengthen your soul, enough pain that you can appreciate life’s small moments of happiness. And enough friends that you can manage a farewell now and then. ”

It’s set in the cities of Stockholm, Paris and New York although these are mere backdrops to a story dominated by character and emotions. I wanted to feature this book however as the story takes setting and the concept of home to another level. Home is where the heart is has never been more true.

An address book full of wishes and dreams

The Red Address Book US cover

This is a story of a life lived to the full. Descriptions of nature, true love, regret, honesty and the need to feel safe. The feeling of what it is to look back and think about regrets, hopes and dreams, now ink stains in one address book, but also carvings on our hearts. I think this book will resonate with many people. As we move from one apartment in Stockholm to the ornate fashion halls of Paris, the glamourous station, and then to the great shopping metropolis of New York, war is on the horizon….. Doris has seen and done a great deal in her life, and she narrates her story with tears in her eye and hope in her heart. You can see and hear the people she talks about in her address book.

It’s a very emotional read and a book to make you think. As you turn the pages, written in diary form, you see the names crossed out at the top. This was very effective and made me think of the names in my own address book in years to come.

There’s lots of positive messages in this book despite the tears. Seems even more melancholy in Swedish for some reason. But in any language, no matter where you live, the messages of the book shine through.

I love the bookcovers but I do think the Swedish one most accurately matches the tone and content of the magical memories inside.