Fiction for Older Adults?

[amldaley]

My mom has asked for some new fiction to read. She enjoys romances and historic fiction, but also dramatic novels with rich character developement about life, family, etc. However, at age 72, she is tired of reading books about women in their 20's & 30's or even 40's!

Anyone have any recommendations? Books with older characters?

I seem to remember Rosamunde Pilcher had a couple of books with older characters but it has been years since I read her and I can not figure out who is what!

NO MYSTERIES! Seriously, I have found upmteen series of books with senior citizens acting as super sleuths...very Murder, She Wrote! But my mom is not into mysteries.

[babybell]

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Great read!

[Nicsmom]

I second Middlesex. But also, I wonder if your mother would be into classics, or 19th century novels. I suggested some 19th century novels to my mom, and to my surprise, she loved them and understood them in ways I had not thought about. She loved the language and the plots - which probably reminded her of her grandmother and what her mother used to read.

Now, usually they are looong so she has to be an avid reader. One I really liked: Daniel Deronda.

[amldaley]

I second Middlesex. But also, I wonder if your mother would be into classics, or 19th century novels. I suggested some 19th century novels to my mom, and to my surprise, she loved them and understood them in ways I had not thought about. She loved the language and the plots - which probably reminded her of her grandmother and what her mother used to read.

Now, usually they are looong so she has to be an avid reader. One I really liked: Daniel Deronda.

Yeah...she was educated in London in the 1950's when those books were all required reading, so she is more in to 1940's through current day.

I will check out Middlesex and Daniel Deronda right now, though! Is Middlesex the same as the BBC mini-series?

[Nicsmom]

If she's into more current fiction, try The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It is not a mystery novel but there is a surprising ending. The main character is an older woman. Here is the plot description from Wikipedia:

"The Blind Assassin is an award-winning, bestselling novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 2000. Set in Canada, it is narrated from the present day, referring back to events that span the twentieth century."


"The novel centres on the protagonist, Iris Chase, and her sister Laura, who committed suicide shortly after the Second World War ended. Iris, now an old woman, recalls the events and relationships of her childhood, youth and middle age, as well as her unhappy marriage to Richard Griffen, a rival of her industrialist father. Interwoven into the novel is a story within a story, a roman Ã* clef attributed to Laura and published by Iris about Alex Thomas, a politically radical author of pulp science fiction who has an ambiguous relationship with the sisters. That novel itself contains a story within a story, the eponymous Blind Assassin, a science fiction story told by Alex's fictional counterpart to that novel's protagonist, believed to be Laura's fictional counterpart.

The novel takes the form of a gradual revelation, illuminating both Iris' youth and her old age before coming to the pivotal events of her and Laura's lives around the time of the Second World War. "

[crayonblue]

Any chance she would like Jan Karon's Mitford series? Father Tim is older, maybe 60s? My MIL loved that series and I borrowed it from her and enjoyed it. Light-hearted for sure.

[pakin]

"Julie and Romeo" by Jeanne Ray http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Romeo-Jeanne-Ray/dp/0451208684/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5

It's a light reading for sure. The main character is 60 years old.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

[vonfirmath]

http://www.amazon.com/Seniors-Illustrated-1-Hank-Bruce/dp/0979705770
http://seniors-site.com/library/books.html

[MelissaTC]

"Julie and Romeo" by Jeanne Ray http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Romeo-Jeanne-Ray/dp/0451208684/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5

It's a light reading for sure. The main character is 60 years old.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

I was going to suggest this too. I thought it was a super cute story and really liked it for a light read.