All the Words We Know

By Bruce Nash
** Publication Date 1 July 2025 **
3 stars
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It must take a lot of effort to inhabit the mind of an elderly woman suffering from some level of dementia. I can’t imagine how Bruce Nash did this. It’s done well.


Rose is a grandmother and mother who lives in a residential facility for the elderly. When her friend ends up laying in the parking lot, Rose, in her addled mind, suspects that something is amiss in the home. Rose likes to wander the halls to find out what’s happening in the home. She has a piece of silk tied to her door handle to find her way back. Which she always seems to do.


It is comical what Rose labels things. The Angry Nurse. The Scare Manager. The nice boy who mops the floors. And the assistant comes from every country in the world and maybe some that don’t exist. There is humor in this novel. Also, sadness. Rose is quite a force for someone struggling with dementia. She’s still got enough of her wits around her to know that what’s happening in the home doesn’t add up.


I’m a huge fan of Fredrik Backman novels. This novel was compared to one of Backman’s novels, but it doesn’t quite measure up. It is funny at times, and similar in its darker humor, especially the words that Rose uses. Eventually, though, I just didn’t find it to be cute or funny, but sad. Overall, it felt like the book would have been better served as a short story or novella. It’s good, it’s just a little too slow.


Probably not one I’d highly recommend, depending on the audience.