Nobody Will Tell You This But Me
On sale
2nd April 2020
Price: £10.99
Genre
**I HAVE NOT BEEN AS PROFOUNDLY MOVED BY A BOOK IN YEARS’ JODI PICOULT**
**I LOVED THIS BOOK MORE THAN I CAN SAY’ NIGELLA LAWSON**
**THE PERFECT GIFT FOR MOTHER’S DAY**
Bess Kalb has saved every voicemail message her grandmother Bobby – her best friend, her confidante – ever left her until the day she died.
In this vivid memoir, Bobby’s voice is still in Bess’s head. Stubborn, glamorous, larger than life, she gives Bess advice on everything from lipsticks to life partners and tells the history that made them both. These are the truths – full of devotion, killer instincts and hard-won wisdom – that grandmothers gift us even when they hurt, and even once they’re gone.
‘I CRIED TWICE . . . I DELIGHTED IN BOBBY’S JOY’ MIRANDA POPKEY, NEW YORK TIMES
‘BITTERSWEET’ OBSERVER
‘UNIQUE’ EMMA GANNON, RED
‘SPARKLING’ DAILY MAIL
**I LOVED THIS BOOK MORE THAN I CAN SAY’ NIGELLA LAWSON**
**THE PERFECT GIFT FOR MOTHER’S DAY**
Bess Kalb has saved every voicemail message her grandmother Bobby – her best friend, her confidante – ever left her until the day she died.
In this vivid memoir, Bobby’s voice is still in Bess’s head. Stubborn, glamorous, larger than life, she gives Bess advice on everything from lipsticks to life partners and tells the history that made them both. These are the truths – full of devotion, killer instincts and hard-won wisdom – that grandmothers gift us even when they hurt, and even once they’re gone.
‘I CRIED TWICE . . . I DELIGHTED IN BOBBY’S JOY’ MIRANDA POPKEY, NEW YORK TIMES
‘BITTERSWEET’ OBSERVER
‘UNIQUE’ EMMA GANNON, RED
‘SPARKLING’ DAILY MAIL
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Reviews
Kalb, a writer for 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', channels the voice of her beloved grandmother, Bobby, in this affecting project, which she calls an oral history of four generations of women in her family. The book brims with anecdotes, advice from Bobby, texts and even transcribed voice mail messages
One of the most charming personal narratives I've ever read. Kalb has all the exacting craftsmanship of Joan Didion, the wit of David Sedaris, and a heart that is so brimming with affection that you feel as though Bobby is your own grandmother. This book is up there with Steel Magnolias in terms of 'things my mum and I ugly cry at together'. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to convert to Judaism
I have not been as profoundly moved by a book in years. Bess Kalb's fictional factual tribute to the relationship she had with her grandmother - the way her history was passed to her by blood, along with bright memories and Jewish guilt and fierce, fierce love - could have been my own story. When I stop crying, I'm calling my mother immediately and making her read it. If you have a mother or grandmother, or ARE a mother or a grandmother, this is required reading
I am so charmed by this book and wish my grandmother were still alive so I could call her
**Best Books of 2020** In this moving book, part imagined memoir of her grandmother, part family history, Kalb explores the bond between grandmother and granddaughter, unbreakable even in death.
A charming memoir to enjoy for a quick beach read, or lately, when quarantined at home
I cried twice . . . Reading, I delighted in Bobby's joy.
A sparkling memoir . . . This tribute shows the fierce love they shared along with happy memories, as the author paints a picture of this larger-than-life glamorous figure. It's full of truths, devotion and hard-won experience.
I loved this book by Bess Kalb more than I can say. Well, maybe I can say: I first bought it as an e-book and adored it so much, I got it as an audiobook. Then I listened to it (twice) and loved it, if possible, even more. So then I ordered it in hardback (and got a few as presents while I was about it) and am excitedly impatient to read it again.
Full of bittersweet cheek and wisecracking wisdom, it's an ideal tonic for anyone missing elderly relatives.
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb. It's a unique book, told through the lens of Bess's grandmother, Bobby, who passed away, as a way of keeping her alive. Inside the book are old photos, texts and voicemail transcripts. Their close relationship made me pine after my own grandparents, who are no longer here