The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain and Narrated by Simon Vance is a wonderful, heartwarming, and inspirational fiction that kept me turning pages and left me with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step after finishing.

This is such a heartfelt and truly memorable novel. It really brings home the message of acceptance, regret, hope, second chances, and that no time in life is too late to take your life by the reins and make a go of it.

Reading and hearing the story of Albert, his life, his regrets, his secret hopes, wishes, and desires….it took me through a full gambit of emotions. I felt my heart go out to him so many times seeing that for so long he had to repress who he was, what he really wanted…sacrificing his happiness for society and what was expected at that time. It was truly heartbreaking.

I found myself cheering him on many times as he finally decides to branch out, go for it, place himself out there on a limb, and risk vulnerability to finally find happiness, make connections, and find true love and happiness.

Finishing this book gave me hope for the future for me, and for us all.

The audiobook was narrated excellently and really added to my overall enjoyment. I highly recommend.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG RB Media, Recorded Books and Kensington for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/31/22.

Albert Entwistle is a closeted gay man who works as a postman and is about to turn 65.
Since Albert was raised in a very homophobic environment, it is hard for him to open up to people and let them in. He is a bit of a loner and is only close to his cat.

After a few events turn his life upside down, Albert decides to be more open to other people and let them into his own life.
He also wants to find is long lost love he hasn't spoken to in 50 years.

I just finished this wonderful book and I am so happy I got to read it! I just loved the characters and thought the story touching.
Albert's character grow was a real pleasure to see and it made me root for him so much! It is such a heartwarming story and I believe this book became my favorite so far this year

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Secret Life Of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain. This is a gem of a book and is my favorite of the year so far. This book emotionally hit me in the heart. I listened as tears streamed down my face. To feel as though you have to hide yourself is a shame in itself because everyone had a gift in them to share with others. No matter the reason you hide.

I listened to the audiobook of this and enjoyed it. In some ways, it feels like a coming-of-age story, despite the main character being in his 60s. This tale of coming to terms with your identity after decades of being told that your identity is wrong or invalid is one that’s important to tell, and I appreciated the interview at the end. It starts off a little bit sad but is a feel-good story overall.

CW: homophobia

I think I liked this book. Though there were a few things that felt kind of weird to me. I also quite liked the narrator, Simon Vance. I’ve listened to a number of other audios narrated by him and he is quite good.

So, this is not my usual type of book, though I didn’t really know that going in. I saw ‘gay postman’ and I was in. Honestly, if it had just been ‘postman’ I still would have been in, because I can’t pass up a book about a postal worker (having spent 13 years as a postal worker in another life).

So, the book is about Albert Entwistle, who is a 64yo letter carrier. I had fun reading about his actual work, though I have to say that with current mail volumes, for a walk with 667 points of call, there is no way it should take 3.5 hours to sort. The only time I’ve been given even close to that long to sort was when I was delivering to a walk with 1200 points of call. Despite that, I really enjoyed all the work bits because it was a lot of the things I miss about the job. Also, the accuracy of a lot of the little annoyances; the mail slot with the brush bristles (seriously, who the fuck thought that up???), having to hide a big stick in a shrub so that you can distract the aggressive dog; too accurate.

Anyway, while there is a lot of postal content, that’s not really the main storyline. The main storyline is that Albert finds out 3 months before his 65th birthday that he will be forced to retire (Royal Mail does have compulsory retirement at 65). And then over Christmas he has a bit of a realization that all he has is his job (which he’s been doing since he was 16) and he sets out to make some changes. Sort of. He sets out to find the boy he fell in love with when he was 16, and we get to see his real self slowly revealed.

I’m not going to lie, the first quarter of this book is pretty bleak. Like, I felt so bad for Albert. Throughout the book we get flashbacks to the spring/summer he was 16 and in love with George and it is heartbreaking. I honestly think that’s what I got most from this book, the history and what it was like to be a gay man in the 1970s. Especially in rural, northern England. Having to constantly hide and worry about arrest (homosexual acts were legalized in 1967, but only if you were over 21, and only under certain conditions). I think one of things I liked most in the book is that at the end there are several interviews with gay men who are over 65yrs, talking about what it was like for them, being gay in the 60s and 70s. I feel like we all know we’ve come a long way with LGBTQIA+ rights, but for me, it almost seems abstract, because I don’t know a lot of specific history or what it was actually like.

Some of the things that didn’t quite work for me, and I’m going to be very general to avoid spoilers: Albert’s mam (I don’t understand any of her motives or Albert’s final decision on her), what seemed to be a throwaway line a side character said about their business partner “he’s gay so never had a family” (it just seems so stereotypical and wrong), and there were a few other small things that I’m not remembering at the moment.

Anyway, I did like this book. I want to say that I got queer Fredrik Backman vibes from this, but I’ve never actually read a Fredrik Backman, so I really don’t know if that’s accurate or not! If you are looking for a slow story about a postman’s life, this is the book for you!

This is a 5 star book/audiobook
I loved every second of this audiobook from the narrator to every single character and little detail. It is so charming and will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. I cannot wait to own my own personal physical copy, as Albert and his companions will stay with me for a long while, and I’ll want to revisit often.

This was a true little gem of a book. A closeted postman in England, Albert Entwistle is forced to retire. He lives alone and self-isolates. He goes on a quest to find a long lost love after retiring. The book was written beautifully and I was really wrapped up in Albert's life. It was funny and heart-warming. Highly recommend!
I really enjoyed the narrator's British accent, it was slight and still understandable. Good pacing, calm.