How to Age Disgracefully by Claire Pooley.

Synopsis

A senior citizens’ center and a daycare collide with hilarious results in the new ensemble comedy from New York Times- bestselling author Clare Pooley

When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.

The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.

When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door—as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog—to save the building. Together, this group’s unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.

Audiobook review

6 stars and favorite book of October!

It’s too bad that I am in a review slump because that book deserves a long and very enthusiastic review! But I will do my best.

You know a book is really good when, while listening to it, you stop on the pavement to text your friend that she HAS to listen to that book right now!

That’s exactly what I did.

In “How to Age Disgracefully”, we will follow a bunch of old but not so geriatric citizens on their way to make friends, get new hope and perspective all while giving a masterful demonstration that being old doesn’t mean being dead!

Every character was superbly fleshed out in his or her quirkiness!

Our cast in a few words:

– the mysteriously sprite, flexible and authoritative Daphne, master organizer and tugs nightmare;

-the chivalrous Hart, actor whose career is sinking without ever having taken off and unfortunately afflicted with the need to shoplift;

-the menopausal Lydia whose self confidence is below zero, suffers from the empty nest syndrome and a cheating husband, all while trying to find her new purpose in society leading an old people social club (even if leading is a big word);

-the very young Ziggi, age 18 and father of an adorable daughter. This single dad has had no luck in life so far, living in a poor neighborhood and pressured by a tug to work for him while dreaming to attend university and give his daughter a better life;

-the mixed breed dog Maggie Thatcher, mutt of unknown origins and bestie to the toddlers housed in the social care room.

And many other side characters!

All these characters will meet thanks to the old people social club. They will bicker and banter, ruffle some feathers but slowly yet surely become friends, united by several projects, the main one being to save the community center.

You will find a multigenerational cast of colorful characters and a found family trope to warm your heart.

There is twists aplenty, bittersweet moments and stories, laugh out loud scenes and lots of emotions. This book reads like a hot chocolate and a warm cup of tea, narrated by the excellent Clare Corbet. Her narration and delicious British accent really adds another dimension and if you love audiobooks, go for it!

Thanks for reading.