This book is very sweet. I enjoyed both the 1960s eras tale and the current day tale. The twist wasn't my favorite-- kinda ruined the book for me.

Requested as background reading for a discussion of the book https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/4496/all-the-lonely-people#discuss

We also reviewed the book with five-stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a digital copy of this wonderful book by Mike Gayle - 5 stars!

Hubert Bird is lonely. But when is daughter, Rose, calls him from Australia once a week, he knows she worries that he's alone. So he tells her about all the friends he has and all the activities he does. But it's all a lie. So when Rose tells him that she's coming for a visit, he panics and needs to find friends he can show to her. But how is he going to do that when it's hard for him to even leave the house?

What a wonderful, heartwarming, heart wrenching story! The story is told in two timelines - starting from the 1950s in the past and "now" chapters. It's a great way to be introduced to Hubert's story and how it relates to his present life. There's a lot to digest in here as well - racism, grief - but mostly the personal bits. How we are all so "busy" that no one knows their neighbors, how small acts of kindness can mean so much, and how everyone has a story. Covid showed the world how much we need each other and spotlighted how hard loneliness can be. Highly recommended read!

This seems to be at the top of everyone's lists, so I finally caved and picked it up. I wasn't a huge fan of A Man Called Ove so I avoided this one because that comparison was made a lot While it was good, I'm just not a huge fan of the feel-good stories and this fits that category for me.

Widower Hubert Bird talks to his daughter in Australia every week on the phone. He paints a picture of perfect retirement. But almost every word on those weekly phone calls to his daughter are lies. There is no trio of close friends and fun outings. Their extensive backstories are made up. The truth is he's lonely. He doesn't see a single soul and barely leaves the house. Cue the tears!

Then when his daughter announces a visit, oh goodness grab your tissues because this will get emotional (and funny at appropriate times). Now Hubert faces a huge task: step outside, make friends and live the life he's pretended to have for so long.

Is this a story about all the lonely people like the titles states? Yes indeed! The cast of characters and raw feelings hit me in the gut. I took a liking to this bunch and especially to young Hubert and his bride over the years raising their family. Many themes are explored but the focus stays on the commonality of loneliness, loss and finding friendship.

Through the language and "me" instead of "I" said by Hubert, I could pick up on the diction of a Jamaican man without slowing down my reading flow. The author does an excellent job of showing England as Hubert's home while representing his roots.

ALL IN MY FEELINGS, FEELINGS! Mike Gayle strung words together in such a way that it touched my heart of stone. Each chapter blended present day with the past. It showed excellent character development and a family saga that brings tears, joy, empathy and fullness.

All the Lonely People is a gem that was hidden in my Kindle until I was granted an advance copy of the re-pub. Truly one of my favorite books read this year. If you have not yet read this treasure, add to your reading list then go hug somebody. As Mike Gayle perfectly states, it is the story of how someone's life fills and then empties again.

Happy (Re)Pub Day, Mike Gayle! All the Lonely People is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

~LiteraryMarie

Do you ever find yourself gravitating towards similar stories? And even though the story sounds familiar in some ways it is still a joy to read. All the Lonely People is the type of book that fans of A Man Called Ove, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle and Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting would enjoy.

What is in common between them? An older, curmudgeonly person forms an unlikely friendship with someone much younger than them and it changes their life for the better. In this case, an 84 yo Jamaican immigrant Hubert Bird rediscovers the world he'd turned his back on. Hubert is lonely but he doesn't want to admit it. The only thing he looks forward to in life is his weekly phone calls with his daughter Rose. He makes up stories about his social life, his unexisting friends but when Rose says she'll come visit soon Hubert scrambles around to make friends. He had lost contact with his old friends. Then Ashleigh comes knocking on his door. Literally. A young single mom, new to town, who is also craving human connection helps Hubert see that he is not the only lonely person around. They decide to make something about it. To help fight loneliness in their London suburb of Bromley.

The story follows two timelines. While Now chapters focus on "Hubert stumbling across a second chance at love, renewing an old friendship and finding himself roped into a community scheme that seeks to end loneliness" The Then chapters lay out Hubert's past. Him coming to London in the 50s, seeking jobs, meeting his wife, having kids and growing old. There is joy in his life but he also faces racism and prejudice. Even though his story is full of challenges, sorrow, loss, grief, dementia, mental health issues, addictions and tragedies, Hubert is resilient. Until he just gives up.

I liked Hubert Bird. He really is a special person. I wish I could have heard his lovely accent. This is his story but also about loneliness and how it affects people of all ages, not just the elderly.

This was an uplifting read. Even though the story was somehow familiar it was worth reading to meet Hubert and the lovely cast of characters.

This character driven story is sweet, a bit melancholy but heartwarming, and a short read. It is compared to A Man called Ove except the main character was less grumpy or mean.

Hubert Bird, an 84 year old widow, a Jamaican native living in UK. He was content being alone with his cat, Puss, and his weekly calls with his daughter, Rose, where he habitually lies about his social life. All was fine until Rose told him she was coming home in a few months and insists on meeting his non-existing friends.

The book related both Hubert’s present and past life alternately. How he came to UK, meeting his wife, having to deal with racism and prejudice. It also relates his love for his wife, letting go of the past, and the courage to start new. Most of the characters were very endearing and funny. The twist in the later chapters was totally unexpected. Overall, I did enjoy the book.

Trigger warnings also includes death, dementia, and drug addiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader copy.

This week’s headline? Ah, look at all the lonely people!

Why this book? The synopsis called to me.

Which book format? ARC

Primary reading environment? Parent’s couch on a rainy day.

Any preconceived notions? I’ll probably like this book.

Identify most with? Rose

Three little words? “a proper community”

Goes well with? Friendly neighbors

Recommend this to? Lonely people who don’t want to feel alone.

Other cultural accompaniments: https://newrepublic.com/article/149293/caribbean-immigrants-transformed-britain-windrush-generation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuS5NuXRb5Y

Grade: 3.5/5

I leave you with this: “People grew old and got sick, they sold up and moved on; they weren’t frozen in time waiting for the day that you knocked on their door looking for them.”

📚📚📚

All The Lonely People is a family drama about Hubert Bird, a Jamaican immigrant who moved to London in the late 1950s. Retired, isolated, and ornery, Hubert has weekly phone conversations with his daughter Rose, who lives in Australia, in which he creates detailed stories of his non-existent social life. This goes on for some time, but then out of nowhere Rose decides to visit Hubert and wants to meet all of his “friends” and so Hubert has to scramble to make his stories a reality.

What an incredible story of people coming together! All of the characters are delightful and diverse. I couldn’t find one that I didn’t enjoy as they all bring something to the table. What I liked best was how authentic everything seemed with the characters being life-like and the situations believable.

All The Lonely People is available now.

tw: racism

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Grand Central Publishing and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Delightful, lovely, kind, sweet read.

This wasn’t for me. I don’t like the back and forth format with a chapter in the present and a chapter from 60 years ago. I would have rather just read about Hubert’s present day matters with an occasional flashback to his past.

If you loved A Man Called Ove, you will love All The Lonely People by Michael Gayle. It is fully of charming characters, racial injustice, mental illness, the realities of aging and best of all hope.

Hubert Bird is an elderly, lonely man, originally from Jamaica, who has lived a full and interesting life in the UK. The book goes back and forth in time and shows how life changes and loneliness sets in. I enjoyed learning about the challenges of those from the Caribbean to post war England to help with the labor shortage-something I knew nothing about. I also enjoyed the message that life is full of ups and downs but it is never too late to reach out and make positive changes.

This book made me want to reach out to family, friends and neighbors. So many people are lonely and most of the time we are pretty unaware of it in our busy lives. I thoroughly enjoyed Hubert’s struggles and how one act of kindness led to much more than he ever expected!

All the Lonely People
by Mike Gayle

Big thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and most of all Mike Gayle for the advance copy of All The Lonely People.
I have no idea where to begin to say how beautiful, heart-breaking, and alive this book was for me. I am in tears as I write a review. Yes, This book will enlighten you, make you smile, and also break your heart. I could and should go on and on, but... YOU will be in for the whole book. Gather your huge box of tissue, snacks, and drinks and just feel the magic of this so meaningful and important to everyone it touches.
I love reading, sometimes 2 books a day, sometimes not. I guess, I too have shut myself out of the country (The U.S.) and how ugly and hateful an insane man "Made America HATE again".I go out once a month for doctor visits. Pay my bills online, ordered a month of groceries online delivered. I just listened in tribute to Hubert Bird...The song by the Beatles "All the lonely people",
Thank you for this book on life Mike Gayle.

“And that’s the funny thing about life. Extraordinary things can happen to ordinary people like you and me, but only if we open ourselves up enough to let them.”

ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE is a heartwarming novel about the ups and downs of a long life lived, having the courage to rise to each new challenge, and the healing power of community. Hubert Bird, an 84-year-old Jamaican-British widower, lives alone with his cat, Puss. Every week he talks to his daughter Rose and reports everything he’s been up to with friends over the past week. The problem is, none of it is true. When Rose decides to come home for an extended visit, Hubert scrambles to create the life for himself that he’s been pretending to live for the past few years and in the process finds the healing, friendship, and purpose he’s been missing.

This is a very sweet, tender story. It’s told in two timelines, in the present and the backstory of Hubert’s life. It’s a striking way to tell the story, initially contrasting Hubert as a withdrawn, often curmudgeonly older man with his youthful, optimistic self, and then slowly filling in the blanks of his life experiences to show how he arrived where he’s at, over 60 years later. Gayle doesn’t shy away from the racism and xenophobia directed at Hubert or how substance use, poverty, mental health issues, and aging impacts his family and community. There’s a wonderful cast of characters in Hubert’s past and present; I especially love the rag-tag group of loners he teams up with in the present day. While the novel is focused on Hubert’s life, the specific struggles and loss that he deals with, it’s a book with a message for all of us “lonely creatures” (as Morgan Rogers would say) about the importance of community and looking out for one another.

Thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC (the narration is excellent) and thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the review copy!

Content warnings: racism and xenophobia and related slurs/bullying/beating, racism/rejection from a partner’s family members, loss of a child, loss of a spouse, domestic violence, substance addiction, minor diet culture talk, suicidal ideation and other mental health issues