Like a cozy blanket on a rainy day, that is precisely how this book makes you feel. It's a beautiful story about compassion, love, struggles, family dynamics, loneliness, family, forgiveness, trauma, grief, life, and its complexities. I cried I laughed, but most importantly, I couldn't put the book down because the story captures you, and you want to understand how everything gets resolved. I would confidently recommend this book but don't forget to have your box of tissues nearby.

3.5 stars

“𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕡𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥’𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪, 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕒 ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕚𝕕 𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖.”

This is a book I desperately wanted to love. The comparison to A Man Called Ove drew me in immediately, that is one of my favorite books of all time, and the comparison may have given me some unrealistic expectations.

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book. Firstly I loved Frederick— my heart ached for him and I so badly just wanted him to find happiness, and peace, and family. I loved his connection with the other characters, and I enjoyed his sense of humor.

However, I kept being taken out of the story by the absurdity of the situation and the book’s setup. Maybe if the real Bernard didn’t die? I don’t know.

The ending also felt too neat, too wrapped up, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have been happy wth any other ending but, it just didn’t feel right.

I did enjoy this book, I just couldn’t take some of it seriously, when the book has some very serious and heartfelt topics sprinkled throughout.

I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on September 10, 2024.

Sweet Frederick Fife! This is the heartfelt book you've been looking for! The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a contemporary novel with a precious geriatric character that you will fall in love with. This novel has loveable characters, a great story line, and an overall cozy feel. Be sure to pick this one up- you won't want to miss it!

👉🏻 For my friends who want a huggable book that makes them feel better about humanity (and have a few tissues handy).

Thanks, William Morrow, for the advanced review copy via NetGalley. (Available now)

Fred is eighty-two, still grieving his wife, and is out of options, money, family, and soon, his apartment. But a mixup near a nursing home outing makes everyone think he’s their grumpy, friendless, and dementia-leaning resident, Bernard. Fred tries to clear up the confusion, but no one will pay attention. Instead, everyone keeps bringing him warm, delicious food, prescribing arthritis medicine, and making him sleep in a comfortable bed.

I loved the charming, engaging, and resourceful Fred! So often, these types of found family stories feature a curmudgeon who grudgingly re-engages with those around him, but not here. Fred is adorable and wants to help everyone he meets. I wanted to hug him. The story is sweet, with some fun surprises and a cast of intriguing characters.

If you don’t have a copy already, you should fix that. Keep it on hand as a rescue book after something dark and dismal when you need a pick-me-up read with heart and humor.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of The Borrowed Life Of Frederick Fife. This book had me hooked from the very beginning. The story draws the reader in with humor, beginning with first meeting of Fred and Bernard. From that point, it just keeps getting better as Fred “becomes” Bernard because no one at the nursing home will listen to him when he tells them he is not Bernard. The characters are well developed and I fell in love with all of them. The pacing in the book is spot on. The book had me laughing out loud and crying as it came to an end. I would highly recommend this charming tale of mistaken identity.

This is a heartwarming and touching story about love and loneliness, laughter and loss and most of all the importance of found and chosen family. I am a big fan of Frederick Fife!

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is about an 82 year old gentleman who gets a second chance in life to have a family. Fred is 82 years old, widowed with no family or friends and about to be turned out of his apartment because he can’t pay the rent. Then through a strange turn of events and a case of mistaken identity Fred “borrows” the life of Bernard, a man the same age, and an uncanny physical resemblance who has passed away.

As Fred navigates the Wattle River Nursing Home we are introduced to residents and staff, some funny, some quirky and a few that are struggling. Fred revels in making the lives of those around him better. In doing so he enriches his own life and gains the opportunity to find community and a new family! He has a zest for life even though he has experienced great loss and is full of kindness and compassion and humor that he spreads to those around him.

My sincere thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In perhaps the most insane case of mistaken identity ever, eighty-two year old Fred gets a second chance at life. Fred is on the verge of homelessness, having spent most of his savings trying to save his wife, who had cancer. Unfortunately, the treatments didn't work and she died, leaving Fred alone, as they were never blessed with children. When he crosses paths with Bernard Greer, who has an unfortunate accident while on a senior home outing, he is mistaken for the man due to their uncanny resemblance to each other.

Fred tries to correct the mistake, but he is a people person, and soon finds himself enjoying this new life with a bed, warm meals, and most of all, other people to talk to. Everything is going swimmingly at the senior home until a long-lost daughter of Bernard's turns up. Fred is fundamentally good, but he's built this new life on a lie. Can any happiness be salvaged?

This is a book to enjoy when you need to believe once again in the humanity of man and that people are fundamentally good, something I needed a dose of as I read this during US election season. It was a quick and cheery read, and put a smile on my face. And I am enjoying this recent trends to feature older characters in books. For awhile, it was as if the elderly didn't exist!

I very much enjoyed this new author's story, and it was a 4.5 for me but I'm rounding up for such a good effort!

Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Johnston, and William Morrow to allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

sooo heartwarming and beautifully written. very much reminded me of a man called Ove. you can't help but to fall in love with the main character. such a great book!

I absolutely loved this book and wish I could give it 10 stars. The story is about Frederick Fife who is 82 years old, lost his wife so he is alone and is flat broke and on the brink of homelessness. Through a freak set of circumstances, he is mistaken for an elderly resident of a nursing home and sets about to take on that life. Maintaining that identity, his own feelings about that, and the funny stuff he gets involved in will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. I definitely recommend this book.

Sometimes, a book comes out that truly rocks me. This is that book.

Through the course of an accident, soon-to-be homeless Fred borrows the life of another man. This heart-felt story deals with dementia, childhood illness, infertility, and a found family.

I was not expecting to LOVE a story that takes place in a nursing home but wow.

I highly recommend this gem. I have now recommended this book so much that my book club is reading it for next month. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would!!! I am pumped to read it again but now I know to be prepared with a box of tissues.

Thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for the eARC!

I really wanted to like this story. The premise was cute but i found the pacing to be just too slow for me to connect fully with the story. I did enjoy the inner thoughts of Frederick, but i did not enjoy the perspective from the nurse.

This is an absolute gem of a book. It is slow but steady just like the main character and builds and builds in momentum and all the feels. It totally needs to be made into a movie. Just beautiful and sometimes wonderfully amusing from start to finish. Thanks #netgalley for such an amazing ARC book!

"The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife" by Anna Johnston is a debut novel featuring Fred - an octogenarian who by a strange twist of fate who ends up taking the place of another man in a local nursing home. Fred tries to set things straight, but it never goes well for him. He is the kind of person who improves the lives of everybody around him and quickly makes himself a home and a community in the nursing home.

This is the sweetest story I've read in a long time. It is heartwarming and it will restore your faith in humanity. I felt it was an absolutely adorable and quirky. Fred is the main character that we all need right now.

There are so many deep topics touched on in this book and Johnston does a great job of approaching them with humor and a life affirming point of view. I would say that if you are struggling with themes of cancer, dementia, child loss, grief, death of a partner - this book might be a little tough for you. If you're not struggling deeply with those themes, then this will really just touch your heart and make you feel like you're sitting in a sunny corner wrapped up in a cozy blanket with a nice beverage.

Enjoy!

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
Frederick Fife has hit the jackpot. After losing his wife and his apartment, Fred now has a warm place to live and 3 nutritious meals a day. He has friends and a reason to get up in the morning. But can he live with his conscience after being mistaken for Bernard Greer and taking his spot at the Wattle River Nursing home?
While trying to figure out a way to get out of his strange predicament, Frederick discovers friendship with Albert, a brother he never had and Hannah, a daughter that he and his wife had always wanted but couldn’t have.
Frederick Fife is a wonderful man, cheerful and wanting to make the world a better place. He makes a difference in the life of each person he meets.
Grief is written about in a line in the book: “Grief was love with nowhere to go. “ Frederick finds love after having lost the love of his life, and this new community helps him confront his grief and reconnect to life again. In sharing his joy and love, Frederick and his fellow residents find value in life and living to the fullest.
#netgalley

Good old Fred has run out of time and options. He's about to be evicted from his apartment and he has no family since the death of his wife several years prior to the start of the novel. Fred wanders off towards the river where he sees a man in a wheelchair too close to the water and Fred rushes, as much as an 82 yo man can, to save the fellow. The old man, Ben, is dead but in trying to save him Fred launches him into the river, falls over a rock and knocks himself out. Ben was with a group home and Fred bears such an uncanny resemblance to him that the nurses just bundle him back into the wheelchair and take Fred who is now Ben with them.
What a delightfully hilarious start to a love story about growing old and making connections. Of course the Fred as Ben charade can't last forever but while it does little miracles occur. My reason for the 4/5 rating is unnecessary length while Fred reminiscing about his late wife, what would she say, what would she do, etc. Tell us once, dear author, then move it along. Thank two NG for the advance copy.

Everyone needs a Fred in their life. Everyone. If you loved A Man Called Ove, you will love this one.

This was a heartwarming story. I would definitely recommend for fans of A Man Called Ove and even Only Murders In The Building! I love stories like these that focus on second chances and it never being too late to take hold of opportunities you would have thought passed you by at this point in life.

This is a sweet and uplifting story about a man that gets a second chance at life. Fred lost his wife and has no family. He lives alone and doesn’t have much to look forward to. He rents a small house and can barely afford it. At the age of 85 he gets the rare chance to live in a retirement home when the nurses mistake him for a resident. Fred quickly adjusts to living in luxury and making friends.

I thought this book was sweet. If you are looking for a feel good story then you will probably like it.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Frederick Fife is a character that will live in my heart for a long time. As will truly every character in this book. If there were more Frekericks in the world, we would all be better for it! Highly recommend!