Uplifting fiction recommendations

[CatVsTree]

My SIL had a terrible bereavement this year and I can't find the right book to give her. Does anyone have any last minute recommendations.

She normally loves big reads (The Hearts Invisible Furies, Goldfinch are two books she loves) but they are often quite dark. Also she tells me she has a very short attention span now so I'm looking for something short, well written, funny or uplifting.

Sorry forgot to say not chic lit stuff. She's not a fan.

*chick

Cant edit in the app!

When I was going through a sad time I found the James Herriot vet books cosy and comforting. Similarly, the Miss Read Village School series or the Gervase Finn rural school inspector ones. (Although there is one sad event in Miss Read where a character loses a child so maybe better to avoid). James Herriot is pretty safe.
There's also Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap series. Not chick lit, more like an undemanding family saga sort of thing.
Like your SIL I normally prefer more literary stuff but sometimes you just need to take yourself into a less challenging place

The Marriage Portrait? Hamnet?

Actually scratch the second one (Hamnet). What about a Ken Follett? They’re huge and good yarns

Weirdly I have the Marriage Portrait sitting in front of me right now but I haven't read it and I"m worried after having read Hamnet that it might not be OK. . Hamnet would definitely not be OK. No death at all pls.

@highlandcoo OMG I loved Miss Read when I was younger. But worried about the death element you mentioned. James Herriot a possible shout. She's very cool and contemporary though and I wonder if she might not feel the pull of those glorious halcyon days...

There's a constant threat of death in The Marriage Portrait. One for another time.

OK. That stays in my reading pile. Thanks for the heads up on that. x

Georgette Heyer.
the Grand Sophy
Arabella
the Reluctant Widow
Sylvester
Frederica

@HedonistHuntress Oh wow - literally never heard of any of those. Off to Google now.

You could look at Leonard and Hungry Paul which is quite quirky; I really enjoyed it. There's a brief mention of Leonard losing his mum near the start but nothing explicit.
Also Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a Cinderella story and totally escapist and heartwarming.
Or High Wages by Dorthy Whipple perhaps? we discussed it a couple of months ago. A young woman working in an old-fashioned draper's shop - so quite nostalgic - but there's a feminist thread running thorough it too imo.

OK have had a look at Georgette Heyer. Need something a little more modern for her taste. Might order a couple for me tho!

Is Leonard and Hungry Paul in the same vein as the film Napoleon Dynamite?

Not quite what you asked for but when I had no attention span due to a bereavement I turned to poetry. You can read a poem in one sitting but it can really resonate for days. There is a penguin anthology of spiritual poems that I liked because a lot of the poems are quite abstract and connect you to a different time in history.

Maybe not quite be what you are looking for but I found Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier a lovely read about friendship, strugles and a portrait of 2 strong unmarried women in early 19th century England. (Mary Anning & Elizabeth Philpot)
It's well reaserched and beautifully written.

I haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite OP so not sure. Googling it, maybe a bit but in a much more low-key and realistic way.

It's about two guys in their thirties who might be seen by some people as geeky or nerdy (don't like these terms myself but you get the idea) and not terribly successful in life, and their friendship and quiet lives. You just really like them as characters and enjoy their conversations. They are kind and decent and in small ways have a positive effect on those around them. It's not saccharine though.

Some readers complain that nothing much happens. But nothing much does happen in most people's lives most of the time .. if we're fortunate.

It hinges on whether you like the author's voice and tune in to the characters I suppose, and I did.

A. M. Homes - May we be Forgiven and her other book This Book will Save Your Life.

Well written, uplifting, no death.

Nancy Mitford, everything. Funny and sharp and loving.

Sorry scratch the May we be Forgiven - just checked it out.

I second Nancy Mitford - just finished pursuit of love and it's a really nice read.

Have just listened to the first chapter of Leonard & Hungry Paul. Loving it but may be not what I'm after.

Agree Nancy Mitford! Georgette Heyer is a witty Jane Austen type thing but beautifully written in the 20th century. She is wonderful. Men also enjoy her. Brilliant dialogue, funny, good stories (smugglers, murders, farce, kidnappings occasionally) and no soppiness.

Monica Dickens Maybe a bit vintage but great stories.

I second poetry, this really helped me when I had a short attention span. Maybe an anthology?

There's such a need for decent literature that isn't dark I think.

I suffered a lot of tragedy and often cant cope with books with tough themes. But I do like well written books

I often go back to PG Wodehouse at times like that. Short stories and always funny.

Or Nancy Mitford, very relaxing and witty

I struggle a bit more with well written modern literature that is uplifting. Anything good tends to have tricky themes.

Katherine Heiny 's books could be a good choice.

Or I read Rachel Parris' "advice from strangers" book and found that funny.

Totally agree re poetry, it was most of what I could read after dh died and it made sense in a way it never had before. I mainlined anthologies for the bereaved, but also books like The Poetry Pharmacy, recommended.

As for novels, oddly I found I could read The Essex Serpent, that was very good. I can't remember if anyone dies in it sorry but I don't think so, I was very sensitive to that at the time.

And also Less - short modern and uplifting, definitely.