The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, by Anna Johnston, is a fabulous book.  It is a heartwarming story of an elderly man who finds himself in a peculiar situation and makes the best of it.  I can't find enough good to say about this one.  I've already recommended it to so many friends and a few book clubs. It has the makings of a bestseller!
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I cannot begin to express how much I loved this book! It’s a heartfelt (and humorous) tale of loneliness, friendship, family, loss and love. I will miss all of these wonderful characters immensely. From the very start of this unbelievably beautiful book you will be rooting for Frederick and all of the people he has come to love.
(I may now be a wee bit in love with the extraordinarily sweet octogenarian Frederick Fife 😍)
This is a magnificent debut novel from Australian author Anna Johnston. Publication date is September 10th.
This book will live in my heart forever. Read it. You won’t regret it.

This year's "A Man Called Ove". Like Ove, Fredrick is an older gentleman who is recently widowed and at a loss as to how to go on, but for different reasons. Through a highly unbelievable, but completely plausible, case of mistaken identity, much like "While you Were Sleeping, Fredrick assumes the life of Bernard, who lives in facility, where he finds friends and acceptance, and creates a new life for himself. Like Ove, this book is in equal turns laugh out loud funny, and painfully heartbreaking. This is a lovely and poignant book about finding a family when all is lost. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC opportunity for this sweet and charming book.

Yes, this is a sweet, heartwarming book like everyone else is saying. I recommend reading it. Bring tissues.

What was great:

A story full of hope and optimism with likeable characters. Fun, madcap capers and some twists along the way to keep the reader interested. Lots of tender moments.

What could have been better:

Everyone here is very one-dimensional, and for the premise, you really have to suspend belief and think of it as fantasy. Beyond the wild coincidences (several times at the end characters say "You wouldn't believe it but it's true! It's like a movie!"), the story is staged a few times to throw you off track. The ending was wonderful but completely predictable.

Also, there was a lot of bathroom humor.

3,5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Anna Johnston for an advanced copy for review.

5 stars. Ever since reading Remarkably Bright Creatures, I've seen a lot of books touted as "the next" version of that book. It seems like every book that features an elderly main character is given that moniker, but few have come close to reaching the emotional depths that Remarkably Bright Creatures did (at least for me). The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is indeed one of those books. But it feels wrong to call it "the next" Remarkably Bright Creatures, because this book is so damn good that it deserves to stand on its own. When homeless Frederick Fife gets mistaken for the recently deceased Bernard Greer, he decides to borrow Bernard's life. Just for a bit. But Frederick does more than just borrow Bernard's life. He gives it meaning for the first time in 50 years. This is an emotional story, and truly, I ended the book in tears. But these were good tears, because they meant that this book moved me in a way that even the best books rarely do (it is VERY infrequent for me to cry while reading a book, even emotional books that I love). But it was just impossible not to fall in love with Frederick. And although he was lying to basically everyone, he didn't set out to hurt anyone. And in doing so, he actually ended up enriching literally everyone's life in the process. I don't really want to say or give away too much, because the book is perfectly paced, with more and more information revealed as the story progresses. With that said, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is one of (if not) the most heartwarming books I've read this year. I absolutely loved it. And highly recommend it to basically anyone. But yes, especially to those who loved Remarkably Bright Creatures (or A Man Called Ove).

Thank you so much to Johnston, Netgalley, and William Morrow for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book brought me back to the days when I started my nursing career in a nursing home. It’s such a unique story that more people should be talking about. Some say Fred is the next Ove, but I think Fred is in a league of his own. This book is funny, thought-provoking, and really pulls at your heartstrings. I’ve read a lot of books, but I’ve never loved a character as much as Fred. He’s going to stick with me for a long time. Trust me, do yourself a favor and pick up this book – you won’t be disappointed! Thank you, @annajohnstonauthor , for giving us Fred! And a big thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for allowing me to read this fantastic book! The glasses on top? If you know, then you know 🤣

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

Frederick is a lonely widower this is facing homelessness when in a twist of fate, he is mistaken for Bernard and taken to a local nursing home. Despite trying to warn everyone that he is not Bernard, they don't believe him so he decides to borrow Bernard's life for awhile. While at the nursing home, his big heart and kindness begin to transform everyone he encounters.

This was an absolute charmer of a book. I love a found family story and this one delivered that in a unique way. I don't want to write too much about how that found family comes together because it genuinely took me by surprise, but I loved it.

** I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Fred. Story a bit predictable but great premise. Pacing could be quicker.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

5+ life-affirming stars

There are times when you read a book, and it feels perfect, a great premise that delivers with characters that will stay with you. I will remember Frederick Fife!

Frederick, 82, is about to be thrown out of his apartment, his savings gone for medical costs for his wife. He’s wondering what to do next. He’s out for a walk, and by a bizarre turn of events, he’s mistaken for a senior out with his nursing home group.

Frederick tells people he’s not Bernard, but nobody will believe him. It turns out they look very similar, so he goes along with it, thinking he can just walk away the next day.

It turns out that this nursing home is quite lovely. It offers delicious home-cooked meals, and there are interesting residents and staff who care about their jobs. It doesn’t take long before Frederick feels right at home.

We also get the story of Denise, one of the staff at the nursing home. She has heartbreak at home, and she’s turning to the bottle too often.

This one grabbed ahold of my heart as Frederick navigates someone else’s life and is just the most amazing man! From trying to reconcile with Bernard’s daughter to being a friend to a fellow resident, he faces life with a great attitude and perseverance. I wondered if anyone would figure out, and what would happen to Frederick.

With humor and great characters, this debut wowed me! Anna Johnston, can’t wait to read what you write next!

SYNOPSIS
- Frederick Fife, an eighty-two year old man, unintentionally swaps places with another old man, Bernard Greer.
- Fred was on the brink of becoming unhoused, but due to a case of mistaken identity, he gets to move into a nursing home.

MY THOUGHTS
- Intriguing premise.
- I liked Fred a lot - he’s a lovable character. There’s other charming characters, too!
- The pacing was slow & story dragged a bit.
- I liked how the book touched on senior care & lack of resources.
- A few too many incontinence jokes for me.
- Alternating perspectives.
- A satisfying & feel-good read.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️Satisfying & feel-good read. Pacing slow & drags a bit.

Thanks to William Morroe and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on September 11, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a very heartwarming read. I enjoyed the story and I thought Fred was a likeable main character. I also enjoyed the supporting characters. With that being said, I thought this book overused bathroom/juvenile humor. I am wondering if that is popular in Australia, where this book takes place. I think the bathroom humor could've been edited out of the book. However, I did read this book to the end and I am glad that I did because the ending was very heartwarming and sweet. I also thought that the supporting characters helped with the humor in this book.

I will be on the lookout for more books by Anna Johnston in the future.

This book was released in July in Australia and will be released in the USA on September 10th 2024.


Read if you like
A Man Called Ove/Otto

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I loved everything about this book! It's about a man in his eighties who ends up stepping into another man's life at a nursing home by accident. There are numerous missteps that lead to that happening. Some are sad (poor Barnaby) and some are hilarious.

The author has managed to blend the best in old age and the worst in old age in such a way that there is honesty, but enough humor to keep it from getting too dark. Yes, old age sucks. But this book shows that the possibility of friendship and love still exist. There was no huge action mystery to keep me attached to this book, it was feelings.

The story is told mainly through three different characters. Part is about Fred's action and feelings, part is about the life of one of his caretakers whose marriage is falling apart, and the third is about the life of the daughter, Hannah, of the man who's life Fred has stepped into. Hannah and Barnaby have been estranged for years. Each is told with the PERFECT mix of empathy and humor. It really was lovely to see what impact Fred had on the lives of the other two and what he received in turn.

A beautiful rendering of age as a senior, what they have to give and what we receive by sharing life with them. The author says that Fred is based on her grandfather. I can't think of a more spectacular tribute!

Thanks to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for this touching book. All thoughts are my own.

Sometimes, you just need a feel good story and this one is that. The wildly imagined story of 82 year old Fred Fife, a widower for 10 years now, is going to change the lives of the people he meets in this next chapter of his life as well as filling in such deep holes of loneliness for him after a chance (or maybe fated) meeting of his doppelganger slumped in a wheelchair on a beach. The slumped over person is Bernard Greer, of late, a resident at the Wattle River Nursing Home whose lived estranged from his family for 3 decades or so, is suffering from dementia, and is considered a Mr. Grumpy Pants by the nursing home staff. When Fred comes across this figure in the wheelchair and realizes he is no longer alive, Fred attempts to haul him back up to the group leader but trips and the wheelchair tips, causing the body of Bernard to splash into the water and the current takes him away along with Fred's jacket he hung over the body's shoulders that included his ID. The caregiver makes eye contact with "Bernard's" body on the sand and despite attempts of Fred to explain who he is and what happened, he isn't believed and is taken back to the care home and assumes Bernard's life. Fred thinks that this is okay for a short stint because due to his current financial situation, his rental has been terminated for past due rent and he has no other place to go. At least Fred thinks, he can get a meal and a warm place to sleep and then think about what to do next once they understand he isn't who they think he is. While Fred easily passes for Bernard in looks, his medical situation doesn't match, nor does his personality, and Fred has to try to mimic Bernard's health to keep the pretense going. Some of these moments are hysterical and I couldn't stop laughing.
Fred befriends some lovely residents of the care home helping them deal with their own losses as well as giving Fred the needed companionship and love that he has missed after losing the love of his life Dawn to cancer years before. The author slowly introduces bits and pieces of Bernard's life to add to the evolving bloom of the story. Fred thinks that Bernard is childless as he is until he finds out otherwise and suddenly, Fred's world will feel more complete than it ever has.
As relationships build, there is also loss and the author handles it so well with such respect and understanding of how people deal with these personal crises. It is Fred's demeanor, kindness, support, and loving heart, that makes his character so endearing as the people he interacts with feel seen, heard and understood. The incredible twist at the end, the reader will NOT see coming so have the tissue box ready!
Fred is a charming character whose warmth and loving heart is a needed character today. He treats everyone with respect and goes out of his way to let them know they are valued. Even his moments of mischief is coming from a good place!
A debut with a message as compelling as Lessons in Chemistry's.

The very first page had me laugh out loud: ‘The single drop of pee made a pitiful splash … Was there a job in the armed forces for people who could urinate in Morse code?
Fred has lost his beloved wife decades ago and now, at 82 years old, he is unable to pay his rent and is facing to be evicted from his humble apartment. Things don’t look good for him. But then, by a strange incident, he is mistaken for Bernard, a deceased resident of the Wattle River Nursing Home and ‘borrows’ his identity. At first, he tries to tell the truth but nobody listens to him, and it sure is uncanny how much he resembles Bernard. In the Home, he enjoys regular meals, he finds friends and receives care. And in return, he spreads kindness, friendship and compassion. Only Denise, one of the caregiving staff, suspects something is not quite right because Bernard has changed from a grumpy old man with health issues to a kind and active soul. But she has problems of her own with a cheating husband and a sick daughter at home. And then Fred meets Bernard’s estranged daughter, the child he was always hoping but never had. How long will he be able to keep living a lie?
What a darling book. I adored the main character and wish everyone could have a Fred in their life. Or, maybe everybody could be a little like Fred. The writing style is delightful, the story heartwarming but also heartbreaking at times. I laughed a lot and also had some tearful moments. Anna Johnston’s debut could not be more enjoyable. She packed an array of emotions in her book: happiness and grief, loneliness as well as hope and also true love, and it gripped me from the beginning to the end. She deals with dementia, cancer, a miscarriage and addiction. Despite some sad parts and dark memories, this is a feel-good novel and a celebration of life. Clearly a 5-star read for me, and I can’t wait for her next book.
I thank Netgalley, William Morrow and the author for the opportunity to read this advance copy. It was an honor and pleasure, and the above is my honest review and own opinion.

A sweet and charming book, that will make you fall in love with Fred.. a lonely 82 yr old man who gets a second chance at life after a very unlikely occurrence!

Loved it so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC!

*** 8/29/24 *** Thank you, NetGalley, and William Morrow Publishing, for the pre-release copy of Anna Johnston's 9/10/24 inaugural novel.

Set in Australia, we get a plot based on dear Frederick Fife coming across his doppelganger who happened to have passed away while sitting in his wheelchair gazing upon a river during a senior home outing. Though Frederick tries to help him, the chair topples over, taking Bernard into the river, and the senior home staff refuse to believe that Frederick is not Bernard. Frederick was down to his last nickel, and thankful for the warm bed and meal at the senior home, and as no one will believe his tale of who he really is, Frederick decides to become Bernard.

The main themes of the book are that of forgiveness, overcoming family trauma, and being kind to others. This is a feel-good book, so read it knowing you can be satisfied in the end. I felt it was a little heavy-handed in how terrible two dads and one senior home staff member were, and also a little repetitive in how perfect Frederick's marriage and wife were, but that can be forgiven. It also stretches believability that Frederick and Bernard looked that much alike, but it isn't that kind of book. It is a book you read to know that things can work out.

Read this when you need a little pick me up and belief in your common man and finding people who will look out for you. A great first novel. 4-stars.

Fred is one of the kindest people you will ever meet but has recently lost his wife to cancer and the medical bills he was left with have caused him to be evicted from his flat. When he notices a man is slumped over in his wheelchair at the park he rushes to help him but stumbles & falls which causes the man (Bernard) to fall out of his wheelchair and into the river. The nursing home caregiver rushes over to help Fred and mistakes him for Bernard who has dementia even though Fred keeps insisting he is not Bernard. They wheel him back to the nursing home where he has the most food he has had in years. He feels guilty and tries to go back to his flat to retrieve his most precious possessions before the eviction but the police are called and they again take him back as a confused dementia patient. Bernard has given him a gift of a home and wonderful friends and feels it is temporary until Bernard's body is found with his wallet and they pronounce Bernard as the deceased Frederick Fife. Everyone can't believe the change in Bernard and they come to adore him. He finds letters of regret Bernard wrote to his daughter that had not been mailed or had been returned in his room. He decides he owes it to Bernard to try to right the wrongs from long ago and in doing so finds the daughter he never had but what will she say if she finds out he is not her Dad?

This is the most heartwarming book I have read in ages and it made me smile, laugh, and cry but in the end you feel like you've gotten the most amazing hug or blessing just from reading it! I absolutely LOVED this book of loss, love, kindness, friendship and forgiveness and it makes us all want to try hard to be a little like Fred. This is a must read for 2024!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. #TheBorrowedLifeofFrederickFife #NetGalley

“How could you already love someone you barely knew?”

Debut author Anna Johnston’s charming novel features a character based on her grandfather and her own experiences working in a senior’s home. Icing on the cake for a story that had my heart from the first chapter.

As the book opens, Frederick Fife is a devastated old man who has lost his wife and lost his life savings trying to cure her. He stumbles upon a scene that will change his life for the rest of his days. Assuming the identity of another senior was never his intention, but he feels even less seen as he tries to set the record straight. Frederick never expected to find family as he grapples with a profound sense of guilt, but his generous spirit overwhelms these feelings, and touches the many lives he comes into contact with. This fabulous cast of characters who now reside in Fred’s orbit are the stars of the show!

Themes of forgiveness, acceptance and kindness will attract a wide range of readers this fall and I am looking forward to discussing it.

Especially for readers who enjoy Beth O’Leary books, and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow books for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes you just need a book that sooths your soul and this is it. This is a heartwarming story about a charming older gentleman with a moral dilemma and I loved every minute of it. You meet Fred at a point in his life that is so unfortunate for our seniors. He doesn't have enough money to live in his apartment any longer when an unfortunate event happens, and it is like the universe is going to take care of him. He tries to do the right thing, but it is not meant to be at this moment.

This book is about regrets, losses, mistakes and bad decisions but also about unconditional love and what really matters the most in life. It is probably the second book in my life that had me tear up. Be prepared to fall in love when you read this book.

Thank you NetGalley for making my wish come try and giving me this book when requested for my honest review.

If you're a fan of feel-good stories like "A Man Called Ove" or "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry," then "The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife" by Anna Johnston is a must-read! From the very first page, this book had me hooked—making me laugh, cry, and reflect on the joys of a long life. The characters are incredibly relatable and endearing, reminding me of the wisdom and warmth of my own grandparents. Everyone needs a little Frederick in their life, and I'll be recommending this gem to all my friends!