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    The Lido
    The Lido
    The Lido
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Lido

    Written by Libby Page

    Narrated by Clare Corbett

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    **INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER**

    “In many ways, this meditation on community and swimming follows in the footsteps of the enormously popular A Man Called Ove… Both are charming and heartwarming.”—Kirkus Reviews

    WE'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS—OR TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

    Rosemary Peterson has lived in Brixton, London, all her life but everything is changing.

    The library where she used to work has closed. The family grocery store has become a trendy bar. And now the lido, an outdoor pool where she's swum daily since its opening, is threatened with closure by a local housing developer. It was at the lido that Rosemary escaped the devastation of World War II; here she fell in love with her husband, George; here she found community during her marriage and since George’s death.

    Twentysomething Kate Matthews has moved to Brixton and feels desperately alone. A once promising writer, she now covers forgettable stories for her local paper. That is, until she’s assigned to write about the lido’s closing. Soon Kate’s portrait of the pool focuses on a singular woman: Rosemary. And as Rosemary slowly opens up to Kate, both women are nourished and transformed in ways they never thought possible.

    In the tradition of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, The Lido is a charming, feel-good novel that captures the heart and spirit of a community across generations—an irresistible tale of love, loss, aging, and friendship.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 10, 2018
    ISBN9781508255796
    The Lido
    Author

    Libby Page

    Libby Page graduated from The London College of Fashion with a BA in fashion journalism before going on to work as a journalist at The Guardian. After writing, her second passion is outdoor swimming. Libby lives in London, where she enjoys finding new swimming spots and pockets of community within the city. Mornings with Rosemary (originally published as The Lido) is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @LibbyPageWrites and Instagram @TheSwimmingSisters.

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    Reviews for The Lido

    4/5

    131 ratings13 reviews

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    • 5/5
      “We shouldn’t stop fighting, and we shouldn’t stop enjoying it here.” (Quotation pos. 2292)ContentKate is twenty-six years old and has recently moved to Brixton. She is a journalist for the Brixton Chronicle, longing for a real good story to advance her career. When she is asked to investigate and write a story about the local lido, open since 1937, and “Paradise Living”, a property company who wants to buy it and turn it into a private members gym area, she sees her chance. But she had no idea, how much meeting eighty-six years old Rosemary Peterson and her friends, and the campaign they would start together to save the lido, would also change her own life. Theme and GenreA feel-good novel about friendship, love, community spirit and solidarity, swimming and, of course, the lido, the outdoor swimming pool in Brixton, South London.CharactersRosemary has lived all her live in Brixton, it was here where she has met George, her husband and the lido with the happy memories of a lifetime now is all left for her, after George has died. Kate has always felt more comfortable with books than in real life. Apart from her job, she lives a lonely live in London, until she meets Rosemary. The characters we meet in the story are believable, witty and charming. Plot and writingThe story starts during springtime and time is short, because the lido is to be closed and turned in a private members property. Reading, we find us in the middle of the community and the campaign, hoping, that somehow there will be a solution to save the lido. We also learn about Rosemary’s youth and a long gone past, her life with George, many years of early morning swims in this lido and walks through the adjacent park. A fox on his way through the streets of Brixton in search for food leftovers shows the other side of the area, the poor and homeless. The story and the characters are fictitious, but Brockwell Lido and its history is real. ConclusionAn enjoyable, uplifting read about the values of a community, about friendship, family and love. Full of vibrant and colorful descriptions, of charming, loveable characters, this novel is perfect to get lost in the story and summer dreams.
    • 4/5
      A heartwarming story of how a young girl finds herself by battling to save Brockwell Lido a real lido which has had its challenges, but the story is a fictionalised account.
    • 4/5
      Irgendwie hatte sie sich das aufregende Leben in London anders vorgestellt als sie zum Studium in die Metropole kam. Nun arbeitet Kate als Journalistin beim Brixton Chronicle und schreibt über unbedeutende Nachbarschaftsthemen, bevor sie sich abends allein in ihrer Wohnung einschließt. Doch alles ändert sich mit einem Bericht über das örtliche Freibad, das Eigentumswohnungen weichen soll. Bei ihrer Recherche trifft sie auf die 86-jährige Rosemary, die zusammen mit ihren inzwischen verstorbenen Ehemann George ihr ganzes Leben im Freibad verbracht hat. Für Rosemary ist es nicht nur ein Ort zum Schwimmen, es ist ihr Leben und es bricht ihr das Herz, dass dies nun bald nicht mehr sein soll. Gemeinsam machen sich die beiden Frauen daran, den Kampf aufzunehmen und ahnen nicht, dass sie dabei nicht nur ein Freibad, sondern auch sich selbst retten wollen.Libby Pages Debütroman ist die perfekte Sommerlektüre, nicht nur die Covergestaltung und der Titel, sondern die ganze Handlung, die sich erwartungsgemäß über weite Teile im Freibad abspielt, sind dafür prädestiniert. In lockerem Stil schafft die Autorin eine schnell vertraute Atmosphäre und fast ist es, als sei man selbst ein Teil dieser kleinen eingeschworenen Brixtoner Gemeinschaft, die sich da zusammenfindet. Auch wenn der Roman als leichte Strandlektüre daherkommt, liefert die Autorin doch auch Denkanstöße, die über den oberflächlichen Genuss hinausgehen. Kates Panikattacken und Einsamkeit in London sind glaubwürdig gezeichnet und legen eine feine Melancholie über den Text. Dies wird durch Rosemarys wehmütige, aber doch auch freudigen Erinnerungen an ihre Zeit mit George gespiegelt – die eine Frau steht am Anfang, die andere am Ende des Lebens und plötzlich entdecken sie die Gemeinsamkeiten. Der Roman thematisiert aber auch die wirtschaftlichen Nöte der Städte, die sich den Investoren geschlagen geben – ebenso wie Kates Zeitung letztlich – um zu überleben und bisweilen Entscheidungen fällen müssen, die aus finanzieller Sicht richtig, aber menschlich kaum vertretbar sind. Beglückt liest man jedoch, wie es in der anonymen Großstadt aber dennoch möglich sein kann, eine Gemeinschaft zu finden von Gleichgesinnten und Freunden, die sich umeinander sorgen und Freud und Leid teilen wollen. Ein Buch, das man gerne liest und am Ende bezaubert beiseitelegt.
    • 4/5
      This is what I call a comfort book, kind of like the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. The characters are real. Their problems are real and the solutions satisfying. Like Mma Ramotswe, it is also a reminder of how important community is. When lonely newspaper reporter, Kate, meets 86-year-old Rosemary, she discovers a community surrounding a Brixton pool which is about to close. Kate and Rosemary begin a campaign to keep the pool open. I love the descriptions the author puts in about aging and how Rosemary’s marriage to George soon after the end of WWII is a vital part of the story.
    • 5/5
      It’s easy to be isolated in the big city. Kate has recently come to London as a reporter for a neighborhood newspaper. Unfortunately, she’s suffering from panic attacks and eating too many ready meals.Then she is sent out on a story about the planned closure of the neighborhood pool – the Lido – to make way for a members-only gym. She interviews Rosemary, who has used the Lido through eight decades. To Kate’s surprise, she becomes deeply involved in the Lido and the people of the neighborhood. It’s a beautiful story that reminds us of the importance of community and the value of shared “good places.” I listened to the excellent audiobook version and highly recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Light, easy quick read.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable book. Touching and real. It would make a great movie
    • 4/5
      The Lido, A Novel, by Libby Page, narrator, Clare CorbettRosemary and Kate became dear friends in this very human tale about very ordinary people. Separated in age by 6 decades, they still had common interests. Both were lonely and both had become loners. Both were swimmers, one for most of her life, and one had become newly attracted to it. Both of the women wanted to save the lido, the town pool, from its potential demise in a real estate deal. Kate, a journalist, is interviewing Rosemary about just what the lido means to her. It is the human story behind the pool, not the monetary one. To Rosemary, the pool was her life. Swimming made her feel young again, young, that is, until she climbed out of the pool and the pains in her knees returned. For Kate, it became the place where she relaxed and her panic attacks, which began when she moved away from her family, diminished. They enriched each other’s lives, blossomed and grew from their interaction with each other.With its fount of memories, the pool was a symbol that represented the entirety of life in the Brixton community. For each person who used the lido, it became a focal point in their lives, so when the possible sale and privatization of the lido became known, it touched a nerve in the community. Many were disappointed and saddened. It would be missed, but it needed someone to organize the effort to save it. When Rosemary stepped in to fill that gap, Kate joined her to prevent the ending of a way of life. Her journalism credentials lent credence and publicity to the effort. A way of life had already ended with the closing of the once loved library where Rosemary had worked for years, tending to the needs of children and adults. Rosemary was determined not to let the Lido go into the dust heap of history in the same way. Together, the two women mounted a counter effort to stop the sale of the pool.The pool was a gathering place. All and sundry found comfort in the community that they formed there as they once had in the library. Its possible loss renewed the community’s, sense of what was really most important, and that was not to increase the wealth of the real estate developers, but rather it was to maintain their community and its sense of camaraderie. They could work together to try and stop the inevitable march of what the greedy considered progress, even though they did not believe they would succeed in their heart of hearts.The novel feels more like a lovely fairytale than anything else. It is filled with romance, friendship, love, and kindness, as well as the ordinary day to day inconveniences of life as one grows up, but everything works out in the end, tied up neatly in a bow. For the reader, it is very satisfying, although a tear or two may be shed along the way. However, the end of the tale is inevitable and unavoidable; so while the story is about relationships and the true meaning of our own needs in life, it is also about the value of our memories and a purposeful life well lived, not necessarily one of wealth, but one that is filled with humanity, not greed. The community rallied around the cause of saving the pool because it meant so much to so many who had not realized it before. Although the asset value of the land became greater than its value as a pool, they had to find a way to thwart the profit motive that seemed to be motivating the sale. Yet they also had to save the pool from financial insolvency. The problem seemed insurmountable, but just as out of the ordinary relationships were formed, perhaps their David could defeat Goliath. A great variety of characters were presented in the course of the novel. Each distinctive personality was touched by Rosemary. She had been a force in the lives of many in the town in which she had lived and loved for her entire life. Often, she intuited their hopes and dreams and inspired them to accomplish them. The friendship between Kate and Rosemary enriched each of them and inspired both of them to grow and live their lives more fully. The pool symbolized friendship, romance, simplicity, compassion, and courage. It was a place for the community to come together. It was a place they took for granted, until there was the possibility of losing it and of losing what it meant to each of them touched by it.Little insights into innocent behavior was subtly revealed, as with the promise of not letting go when you are teaching someone to swim when of course you do let go; you must let go if the person is to learn. It is the same with teaching someone to ride a bike. You must let go if they are to truly learn how, although you do promise that you absolutely will not. The little white lie serves a unique and positive purpose.In the end, Rosemary, 86, teaches Kate, 26, how to be more comfortable in her own skin, and Kate teaches Rosemary how to live in hers, once again. The story is about how the change that inevitably comes to communities is not always good. Sometimes, maintaining the status quo is better. The novel is read superbly by Clare Corbett who does not insert herself into the narrative, but rather develops each of the characters with her portrayal of them.
    • 3/5
      Had me scratching my head wondering why The Lido has been so popular given this gentle tale celebrating friendship & community was so simplistic & predictable, and the young reporter had the charisma of a damp lettuce.
    • 4/5
      I can definitely see where the blurbs would get the idea that this book is like a Frederik Backman book. While I did see that comparison, I also saw that while it was similar, it wasn't quite as good.However, this was definitely a "feel good" book. I can't believe the whole thing was about people not wanting to close down The Lido (a local pool wherein the widow character has been swimming for 80 years).All during the book, my mind was telling me "all this ruckus over a pool?". However, I kept reading. There were some excellent characters and the writing was done well. I just went with the flow and I'm glad that I did.Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      When your eyes are glassy and your nose is dripping and your heart is full - you know you just finished a good book. I honestly don't know what drew me into this book? The drawn cover with cheery blue waters and skies? The description? Or the fact that this book is marketed in the likes of A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman? Probably all of them combined - and boy am I happy that I picked it up.Despite picking it up because it was similar to A man Called Ove I was astonished at just how similar the two books actually were. There was an elderly grieving person, there was an unlikely friendship, infertility, heartwarming romance, a wedding, a gay couple and a strong community. Check, check, check. This is honestly my only grief with this book - it was just way too similar. I especially liked the anxiety representation in this novel - it was real and relatable and it brought a great dimension to the story. I also think that I am a sucker for unlikely friendships and this book has got one of the best ones.But I am even a bigger sucker for a tangible, soft and oh so romantic love story. Rosemary and George's love was so real I could feel it pouring over the pages. Their relationship was the most beautiful thing I've ever read about in a book. I adored them and I aspired to be like them - they were so unapologetically in love and it showed in everything they did. I cannot wait for July so this book gets published and I could post some quotes from it - I highlighted a lot of them! There were some true gems there. I definitely recommend this book, especially because the story is about a lido (an outdoor pool) and it's almost summer time - you won't find a more perfect book! Also, get our your swimsuits out because this book WILL make you want to swim. Big thanks to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for a complementary arc copy provided for a review. All opinions are my own, honest and come from the heart.
    • 3/5
      It's nice. A good 3.5 stars. Periods of blah tho, mixed in with periods of me wanting to grow up to be a Rosemary Peterson. She is a senior citizen intent on keeping the local pool open as opposed to developers taking over....a pool that she can see out of her apt. window....a pool that she has been using since WW2! Rosemary meets up with exceedingly reticent Kate, looking for THE story for her job at the newspaper. Has she found it with teaming up with Rosemary to keep the Lido alive???Like i said. It was nice.
    • 5/5
      The Lido is a book that is getting a fair bit of attention at the moment and it's well-deserved. This book is going to be huge.Libby Page has written a book that sang to me with its sheer beauty. We follow Rosemary and Kate on their journey to save the Brockwell Lido, but this is not just their story as there are so many characters who will be affected by Brixton Council's plans to close the open air swimming pool: Frank and Jermaine from the book shop, Ahmed who's working at the lido whilst studying, Geoff, the manager. The Lido is a real part of the community.Both the main protagonists though are just wonderful creations. Rosemary is 86 and has swum in the lido since she was a child. A morning dip is part of her daily routine.'Asking me why I swim is like asking me why I get up in the morning. The answer is the same.'But she's lonely without her husband, George and if the lido closes as well then what is left for her? She's already witnessed the library where she used to work being turned into a trendy bar and losing the lido would mean losing the place where so many of her memories were made.Journalist Kate is also lonely. 60 years younger than Rosemary, they are unlikely friends but that is what they become when she is tasked with writing about the closure. Kate suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, but somehow swimming at the lido helps her to deal with them."Kate pictures her Panic sitting at one of the picnic tables on the lido decking. As she swims she is aware of it there watching, but she feels safe. You can't get me here, she thinks as she ducks under water, the cold embracing her like an old friend."In amongst the fight to keep the lido open, we read about Rosemary and George's relationship and this is a story of lifelong love, companionship, ease in each other's company - the right fit. Their story moved me to tears on more than one occasion and it's easily one of the most wonderful love stories I have read. "She would have slept on a stone floor every night if it meant sleeping next to him."I could quote and quote and quote. The Lido is a stunning book. It's beautifully written, with a warmth that enveloped me as surely as a cosy blanket would.I read the end in floods of tears. I can't remember a book that has moved me to such an extent. Some books bring a tear to my eye but by the end of The Lido I was sobbing. I must admit that at the start it took a little getting into and I had in my mind that it would be a solid 4 star read. By the end, if I could have given it 20 stars I would have done. It's a story of friendship, love, community and fighting for what you believe in. It's just superb in every way.