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emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mike Gayle has delighted me again with a sweet but sometimes painful story that had me gasping (more than once). Another pandemic novel, Gayle examines loneliness through 82-year-old Jamaican immigrant Hubert. He’s on a quest to prove to his daughter that he’s got plenty of friends and she shouldn’t worry about him from Australia. Alternating flashback chapters give Hubert’s present circumstances a deeper poignancy. As all my favorites do, this novel turns a group of trauma-inflicted misfits into a real community. A great examination of relationships and aging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Abortion
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good background read on audiobook. There were a few surprises but the book mainly told the story of an ‘ordinary’ life and the life story of a young man who moves from Jamaica to London after the war, his challenges and how connection and community ebb and flow throughout his life.
What I enjoyed:
I enjoyed the narrator’s gravely voice and Jamaican lilt. A welsh accent was also passable. I also liked the descriptions of his Jamaican home which were such a contrast to the often grey, cold experiences of England.
The narrator added dimensions that would have been lost to me in print. I doubt I would have finished the book in print.
What I enjoyed:
I enjoyed the narrator’s gravely voice and Jamaican lilt. A welsh accent was also passable. I also liked the descriptions of his Jamaican home which were such a contrast to the often grey, cold experiences of England.
The narrator added dimensions that would have been lost to me in print. I doubt I would have finished the book in print.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Grief
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Wow. This book is so beautiful. Start to finish I was locked in. I gasped, I cried, I questioned everything. This story is thought provoking and a great reminder to hold your people close and to love your neighbor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Dementia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Alcohol
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very emotional book, but very sweet. Did a good job dealing with issues like death, loneliness, and mental health issues. Overall very hopeful and wonderful cast of characters
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Drug abuse
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident
Minor: Infertility
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quick, fun read with book club. Probably not something I would've picked up in terms of writing style, but I'm glad to have read it for the hopeful and positive message overall, and very diverse characters.
I do think generally everything things either a bit too easy or obvious for plot progression (eg the first woman Hubert really meets ends up being the love of his life with a pretty blandly perfect relationship) - or twists that come too out of nowhere and don't really feel convincing (Rose's death)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Dementia, Grief
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was very very similar to a man called ove, but with a twist. unsurprisingly, i loved it. it was a total cheese fest but if you’re okay with that, it’s really enjoyable and wholesome. there are also some darker themes which gives the book more substance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What I was expecting: a cute heartwarming little book about an old man getting strangers to pose as his friends so he doesn’t disappoint his daughter
What I got: an absolutely gutpunchingly sad (but still heartwarming) book that deals with themes of grief, life as an immigrant in the 20th century and today, racism, isolation, and both blood and found family.
The diverse range of colourful characters clearly demonstrates the book’s message that anyone of any age, race, or background can experience loneliness, and all it takes is a little effort to discover that we aren’t so different from each other after all. Although the “present day” in this book is set in 2018, this message is particularly poignant after the pandemic, which left so many people literally isolated from a community. Hubert is an extremely likeable protagonist, and his journey throughout the book, both in the present day and in the flashbacks to his younger years, is told in a genuine and heartfelt way that makes the reader sympathise with him even though he has his flaws. I’d be interested in what people who live or have lived in Bromley might say about the setting, and whether it is as much of a love letter to the area (both the good and bad parts of it) as it appears to be to someone who has only ever been there once.
I felt that the pacing of the second half of the book could have been drawn out more as so many major events happen in such a short space of time that it is quite overwhelming. The speed at which the campaign grows, in particular, could have definitely been slower for it to have been more realistic. The twist fully came out of left field for me, and I’m still slightly conflicted as to whether or not I liked it, but I think it would have been great to have had a little more space to process it before moving on.
Overall, this was not the book I was expecting but I am nonetheless very glad I read it.
What I got: an absolutely gutpunchingly sad (but still heartwarming) book that deals with themes of grief, life as an immigrant in the 20th century and today, racism, isolation, and both blood and found family.
The diverse range of colourful characters clearly demonstrates the book’s message that anyone of any age, race, or background can experience loneliness, and all it takes is a little effort to discover that we aren’t so different from each other after all. Although the “present day” in this book is set in 2018, this message is particularly poignant after the pandemic, which left so many people literally isolated from a community. Hubert is an extremely likeable protagonist, and his journey throughout the book, both in the present day and in the flashbacks to his younger years, is told in a genuine and heartfelt way that makes the reader sympathise with him even though he has his flaws. I’d be interested in what people who live or have lived in Bromley might say about the setting, and whether it is as much of a love letter to the area (both the good and bad parts of it) as it appears to be to someone who has only ever been there once.
I felt that the pacing of the second half of the book could have been drawn out more as so many major events happen in such a short space of time that it is quite overwhelming. The speed at which the campaign grows, in particular, could have definitely been slower for it to have been more realistic. The twist fully came out of left field for me, and I’m still slightly conflicted as to whether or not I liked it, but I think it would have been great to have had a little more space to process it before moving on.
Overall, this was not the book I was expecting but I am nonetheless very glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Dementia, Car accident
Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit