Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

All The Lonely People by Mike Gayle

8 reviews

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. 

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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. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

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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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Hubert Bird is a dapper, elderly widower who was born and raised in Jamaica before immigrating to the U.K. as a young adult in 1958. When we meet him, he has shut himself off from the world, spinning stories of a vibrant life of retirement to satisfy his daughter Rose's expectations during their weekly phone calls. Cracks start to form in his isolation when he gets a friendly, chatty, persistent new neighbor and when he discovers that Rose will soon be visiting from Australia. As Hubert attempts to create the life he has been pretending to live, we see moments from his past that have led to the life he's living now — and that may empower the life he wants and needs.

An unexpectedly touching, well-crafted story of isolation, connection, love, and friendship. Perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, The Reading List, and other stories of curmudgeonly elders opening their hearts and finding their communities. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

This book is pure magic. I need to come back and write more of a review but I want to capture my in the moment feelings which is happiness at the wonderfulness of thos book and the characters and the sadness that it’s over. I cried multiple times while reading this as well as had a myriad of other emotions. This is the type of book you want to hug and make everyone read it 

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