I pretty much devoured this book in one day. Ten Things tells a story of love in all its various forms. The author painted such a picture of Alice's struggles to fit in and the parallels between her life and Daniel's were amazing. It's hard to review this book without spoilers but I'm trying! I love the way Butler ended the book and gave her characters the peace I think they (and the reader) needed. So many feels with this one. SO MANY FEELS! ( )

Two displaced wandering souls of London narrate their stories; the flippancy of an old fling reaps hapless consequences. ( )

A surprising story, touching, memorable, simply told yet complex. Alternate chapters are told by two people, Alice, a young woman whose father has just died and Daniel, a homeless man, each lost in a way, searching for something, without knowing exactly what, or what they might find. This is a well-written beautiful story that has each chapter headed by a list that indicates the direction the story is taking. It is a book I couldn't put down. And I was sorry when it ended. ( )

A brief but well-written novel about the themes of grief and family ties. Interweaving the stories of Alice and Daniel, Butler builds a lovely portrait of two lonely souls adrift in London. Alice is a young nomad who has come home to mourn the death of her father; Daniel is a homeless man seeking someone from his past. Slotted between each narrator's sections are lists: lists of feelings, objects, memories, facts. This seemed a bit gimmicky at first, but reading the lists carefully really helps build the characters of Alice and Daniel into real, feeling people. While the book was lovely and very moving, I did not think it was quite as effective as it could have been.

My main problem was that the "voices" of the two characters were too similar. Not that I wanted Daniel to talk/think like some kind of cartoonish Dickensian Cockney tramp--it's established that he's upper middle class and well educated. It was more that the way they expressed themselves seemed indistinguishable sometimes. This may have been intentional but really took me out of the illusion. Because their characters are built up to be so distinct, it didn't make sense to me that they basically thought, observed, and spoke in the same way. There were some other little nitpicks, but this one aspect of the book kept bothering me throughout my reading of it.

Great writing, nice open-ended conclusion, beautiful portrait of London, and carefully-crafted observation on family, memory, and mourning. Though some things didn't quite come together for me, I am still glad I read this one. ( )

I'm a list maker, so I was drawn to this one. Sarah Butler has woven together two stories that are seeminly unrelated. Alice is a vagabond young woman called home because her father is dying. Daniel is a homeless gentleman who makes beautiful art objects from various trash and discarded objects he discovers on the street.

The chapters alternate between their two stories, and each begins with a list that gives the reader a glimpse into the psyche of each of them. The stories tell of loss and hope, of love and emptiness, and the parallels of the two draw closer as the book proceeds. It is a beautiful, thought-provoking, and poignant story and I don't want to say too much to spoil its special ending. As the reader sees the corresponding story lines, see the characters as their lives continue side by side but not connected, and wants an ending so badly that the book cannot be put down.

The ending is beautiful, tearful and very special. I'm so glad I read it, and wish I could say more, but it would be absolutely sinful to spoil it for you. ( )