The Keeper of Stories

Finished April 15

The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page

This novel follows a woman who works as a cleaner, dog walker, and organizer. Janice is a quiet woman. She doesn't try to draw attention to herself. When one of her regular customers, a woman she thinks of as Mrs. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, because she is often on the phone saying this, asks her to take on the job of organizing and cleaning her mother-in-law's home Janice is wary. She doesn't want to go where she isn't wanted. So when she meets the older woman, she makes an agreement with her, and her relationship with Mrs. B. begins. Mrs. B. tells her the story of someone she knew of, that they refer to as Becky, and the story is told in installments as Mrs. B. feels like continuing it. In return Janice will tell stories, but she is very reluctant to tell her own story, as she doesn't feel she has one. Mrs. B. knows that she does and is the first person that really sees that. 

Janice has always loved stories, not only the kinds found in books. She also loves the stories of people, and picks up odd bits of conversation and stories she hears and keeps them in her mind. She also looks at people and tries to figure out their story. There is a bus driver she sees regularly who she thinks looks like a well-travelled geography teacher. She would love to know if she's right. Janice lives with her husband Mike, but he is a man with little patience, who flits from job to job, never staying for long. She isn't sure what she ever saw in him. But she doesn't know what other options she has. 

Janice has a so Simon and sees him occasionally, on her own. He doesn't visit, but sometimes they meet for a meal. Mrs. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah is a nervous woman with a husband who is overbearing, preoccupied, and demanding, a man that Janice thinks of as Mr. No, Not Now. They have a dog Decius that Mrs. B. walks, one that she has conversations with. She can understand by the dog's expression what he is thinking and they talk often. The dog has very witty comments that I appreciated. 

Janice also works for a young widow Fiona, who has a child Adam that she worries about. Adam sees Janice with the dog she walks and begins to join her for walks and he really bonds with the dog. 

As Janice spends more time with Mrs. B. and with Adam, she finds herself caring about them and about others. 

I liked how most of this story is centered on Janice, becoming her story, but we also see what others think from time to time. These sections have relevance to Janice, as she gets to know people and as people begin to see her as a person. Janice also has a back story, with a sister who now lives in Canada, and a recent comment by her sister has her thinking more and more about this past. We gradually come to know it, and see Janice in a different light because of it. 

I liked to see Janice coming in to her own, valuing herself as others tell her she is, and to take risks for what she knows is right.