84. Dear Lily by Drew Davies

read on my iPhone
2019 Bookouture
276 pgs.
Adult CRF-Epistolary
Finished September 1, 2019
Goodreads rating:  3.77 - 493 ratings
My rating: 2
Setting:  contemporary Copenhagen, Denmark

My comments:   I had to force myself to finish this one, not even sure why I didn't.  Darn, I even paid full price for it, it sounded that good.  It's pretty depressing and meandering and always made me feel gloomy.  It's about a young woman whose life in her mid 30s is not at all what she had thought it would be.  So after losing her much-loved sister she moves to Copenhagen, Denmark to "start new."  She smokes too much and drinks too much, becomes a hermit and lies around all day, and is just plain unhappy and depressed.  The she "sees the light" and begins to change.  Yes, there were dabs of humor, but just little dabs.  This one didn't do it for me at all.  Bummer.

Goodreads synopsis:  Dear Lily, 
          It’s me, Joy, your much wiser and (very slightly) older sister. I thought I’d start a new tradition of letter writing – now that we’re long distance. 
          On the plane over here, I began to cry in seat 21C. I think the magnitude of it finally hit me, after everything that happened… 
          I haven’t even unpacked yet – the only thing I’ve taken out of my suitcase is Harville, your beloved childhood teddy. Sorry for stealing him, but I need him more than you do. Every time I look at that little brown bear I think about our childhood. Remember that dance we made up to Annie’s ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’? (Remember the broom choreography?) 
          I’m also sorry for abandoning you – I’ve always been your agony aunt, and a buffer in your infamous shouting matches with Mum. But I had to leave, Lily, I had to. 
          Anyway, I’m here now. I’m here to start over, and to face up to the past. I want to learn to laugh again, and to find someone to love who will maybe even love me back. You always told me I was just getting by, not actually living, so I’m finally doing it. Wish me luck, little sister. 
          Love, 
          Joy x 

A beautiful book-club read for anyone who has ever hit rock bottom, longed for a fresh start, or needed to heal a broken, aching heart.

Movie - Love is All You Need

R (1:40)
Limited Release 5/3/13

Viewed on Tuesday, 7/9/13 At Reel Pizza (in Bar Harbor) with Fran

RT Critic: 75 Audience: 61

Cag:  3/Liked it
Some subtitles for Danish and Italian

Directed by Susan Bier

Sony Pictures Classics

Actors: Pierce Brosnan

Summary from Google: "Philip, an Englishman living in Denmark, is a lonely, middle-aged widower and estranged single father. Ida is a Danish hairdresser, recuperating from a long bout of illness, who's just been left by her husband for a younger woman, Tilde. The fates of these two bruised souls are about to intertwine, as they embark for a trip to Italy to attend the wedding of Patrick and Astrid, Philip's son and Ida's daughter."

My comments:  This was a sweet, predictable movie, very enjoyable to watch.  Pierce Brosnan was a cutie and the Danish (perhaps?) actress that played the lead was wonderful to watch.  There were some good laughs and some very sad moments, too.  I certainly would not have reacted to everything that happened in the way the Ida did, so it has given me many moments since watching to reflect.   And any movie at Reel Pizza is fun!