I have not had the privilege of having read the author's previous book, but having heard rave reviews about it, I was eager to read this book when it became available on NetGalley. 

This is a story of mostly one woman and her flamboyant surroundings and equally colourful people. One of whom (the lady of the title) is represented by the red shoes she wears. Masha is still weighed down by the tragic occurrence of years before and is only now coming out of its hold. She is assisted in this by vivid people and by sheer effort. It is not only Sally of the red shoes though, there are others who contribute to the eccentricity of the surroundings. There is also a parallel life of troubled Alice. The story has heart, but my problem with it was it felt a little disjointed. As independent occurrences, the events could tug the heartstrings but put together it was a little confusing.  There was also a very obvious conclusion which is not openly revealed till the very end. Considering my high hopes for this book, I was a little disappointed but it might be a good read for someone who goes in without the aforementioned hopes. As I mentioned, it is about the resilient human spirit and Masha has enough imagination to  keep us entertained for the duration of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is full of quirky characters who look out for each other. The story is sad and emotional but with hope for moving on after bereavement. It wasn't obvious at all what the connection between Masha and Alice was but one's suspicions were aroused and confirmed as the book progressed. I liked the 'word of the day', it would have been nice to continue and despite my best intentions to remember them - I haven't!

This novel is really sad! I understand the author has had some experience of serious illness and cancer but that’s what made it really hard to read for me. It does have much of the trademark humour and observation that The Keeper of Lost Things had, but is so much darker overall.

The two story structure was nice - with Masha as the main focus and then the story of Alice and her son Mattie.All characters have their obsessions and problems and they feel hurt in different ways. Masha for example lost her son when he was very small and so now she spends time in the graveyard to be close to him. She looks upon the inhabitants of this cemetery as a kind of family and seems to know them all. She even has dreams of becoming a sort of tour guide and bringing them back to life by telling their stories.

That got me right there. It took me ages to read the rest as I couldn’t see through the tears. Anyone who has experienced death of a close family member will get this book and it may even help some. It was just too sad and dark for me to appreciate at the moment.

A heartwarming easy-to-read story. We follow the story of Masha, who is very much formed from the events of her past life; she's trying to move on and facing the possibility of opening up her heart again to others. Aside Masha, there are a number of other interesting (and often eccentric) characters, all with their own stories. Alice is ill with cancer and has a secret; Kitty Muriel is a spirited and dashing woman; and 'Sally Red Shoes' of the title walks the rows of the cemetery feeding the birds. The narrative moves from woman to woman as their stories continue. I enjoyed this read, but I did feel it could have carried on a bit longer - I wanted to know more after the final step of the plot!

Masha (not her real name but borrowed from the Chekov character in The Seagull who is first introduced with the words “I’m in mourning for my life”) is still very much in mourning for the loss of her toddler son, Gabriel, a decade before. Blaming herself for his death she lives her life on the periphery, supported by her good friend Edward. She swims, in all weathers, at the local lido. Gabriel drowned and Masha pacifies herself with holding her breath under the water and the fact that she can, if things get too bad, opt out of her life that way. She walks the local cemetery with her beloved dog Haizum and carries on a dialogue with its occupants and it is whilst there that she meets Sally, an old lady who wears red shoes, feeds the crows and sings opera to the skies.

Running alongside the story of Masha is that of Alice, a single Mum of teenage Mattie. Alice also lives on the periphery and Matthew is her absolute world, particularly after the loss of several babies Alice suffered before he was born. As Alice’s world begins to unravel the separate strands of the novel begin to converge.

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a story of loss, death and impending death. It sounds ultimately depressing but it is anything but. The themes are handled with understanding, but also with humour, eccentricity, hope and joy. This book has a huge heart and I loved it. I cared about the characters and although I guessed the connection early on it didn’t matter, I still wanted to know exactly how the author and her characters would handle things and the book finished in a satisfyingly uplifting way - not too cloying or too contrived - just right.

I haven’t read Ruth Hogan’s “The Keeper of Lost Things” but I certainly will do based on the poignancy and subtlety of this one.

I did not see that ending coming at all! Love the way the stories combined

Another wonderfully woven, highly moving book from Ms Hogan. A story of love, loss and hope, briming with quirky characters and wonderful wit. This an utterly unique, emotional yet uplifting read - very much enjoyed.

I adored ‘The Keeper of OST Things’ so was very excited to read this second novel by Ruth Hogan. I enjoyed this one almost as much. Much like ‘Lost Things’, it was well written with characters you really cared about. However, ‘Sally Red Shoes’ deals with a much more serious subject matter - death and mourning - and this made it a slightly harder read. Sally’s piece of wisdom that runs through the book is very profound though and touched me deeply. All in all, I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it - I just preferred ‘Lost Things’ more. I will definitely read more from Ruth Hogan in the future.

To begin with I spent too much time wondering what the connection was between Masha and Alice. Eventually we know.
I loved the book, its sadness, its fears over ill health, the friendships between such unlikely people.
All was beautifully written. The gradual re=emergence of Masha, her ponderings at the Cemetery, her interaction with the delightful 'Sally red shoes' all made the story fascinating.
Without adding a Spoiler, I found the ending so very poignant.

This is a perfect read for a quiet night in, I loved it, it’s quite sad in places but overall a beautiful book :) 9/10

Ruth Hogan's experience of cancer informs this meditation on grief, death and sorrow, infused with her trademark eccentric characters, along with joyous wit and humour. This is a darker story than The Keeper of Lost Things, of women experiencing loss, the death of children, hitting rock bottom but finding a way through to initially survive but eventually to live again. Hogan replicates the structure of her debut novel here, with the main strand in the narrative focusing on Masha, and a secondary thread focusing on the lonely Alice, and her beloved son, Mattie. Alice's life begins to unravel with her desperate concern and worries over Mattie, although Mattie struggles to handle his mother's obsessive love, yearning to be part of a different family, and feeling overburdened with no one to support him when life becomes increasingly hard to bear.

Masha, not her real name, but a nod to Chekov's character in The Seagull, whose first words are 'I'm in mourning for my life', lost her toddler son, Gabriel. He drowned in the river and shattered Masha's and her parents lives. Masha bought a wolfhound, Hazium, who has helped her survive in the land of the living, along with her close friends, Edward, and Epiphany. To help her anchor her life further, Masha has constructed and inhabits the sphere of death with her drowned son, haunting the graves in a Victorian cemetery, breathing life into the dead with her imagination, colouring in their lives, features and personalities. She has become so intimately acquainted with them that they are her other family, providing her with much needed succour, and driving her burning ambition to become the cemetery tour guide. Masha swims at the Lido, wishing to experience the feel of drowning, to connect with her dead son further, although thankfully this need eventually begins to diminish as swimming builds up her physique. Masha has developed a sense of comfort in living with the dead, which comes to fray at the edges, becoming undone when she meets the glorious singing woman with bags of gusto, the feeder of crows, that is Sally Red Shoes. Sally embraces and carves a path that is uniquely her own, drawing in and becoming close to Masha. Masha's fate is sealed as her inner urge begins to demand that she learns to live again, not forgetting Gabriel but letting him go, and cemented by her desire to forge a romantic relationship with the Olympian at the Lido. This fire within her begins to blaze ever more fiercely as her relationship with the glamorous and one off powerhouse that is Kitty Muriel becomes ever closer with their attendance of a roller skating disco. Kitty ignites Masha's passion to once again find and perform in the dance of life with all its hopes and troubles.

Hogan has Alice and Masha's storylines connect after giving us some inkling earlier as to how this might happen. The authenticity of this paean to death can feel a little hard to bear, but Hogan lifts the narrative with exquisite moments of joy and humour, such as Epiphany's dinner party attended by the monstrous real estate agent, Hugo, and the unintentionally hilarious production of The Mikado. Death is a subject that is oft papered over, never to be confronted or discussed, but as the poet Thomas Gray puts it 'The paths of glory lead but to the grave'. Amidst death and sorrow, Masha finds hope and the will to choose to live again, rising from the shadows, like Sally and Kitty, to be unafraid of being who she is. An outstanding story of grace and death, and living a life of joy that is true to who you are. Highly recommended and a novel that I can see many readers gifting to those who may be in circumstances that require The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes. Many thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.

Another beautiful book from Ruth Hogan. I loved the "words of the day" and the characters who were, at once, believable and eccentric. I empathised with Masha; rejoiced in Kitty Muriel finding Elvis and cried for Alice. I'm looking forward to the next book from Ms Hogan.