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lizziaha's review against another edition
4.0
Group of lonely misfits turned found family waged war against loneliness and Hubert Bird comes to grips with his past. I really enjoyed the beginning half of the book, but the ending fell a little flat for me. The main conflict of the book was not exactly resolved, it was sort of dissolved, which meant there was no payoff for the tension, which didn’t work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dementia, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia
leanneymu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
A gentle, sweet book, that went to some surprisingly dark places, but was ultimately very uplifting. Just what I needed after reading a few hard-hittin recently.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit, Xenophobia, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicide, and Racism
elliemayxox's review against another edition
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
5.0
If you like books that will make you sad for all the right reasons this is the one! It gives 'A Man Called Ove' vibes and I'm here for it.
This narrative follows an elderly man called Humbert Bird. In his weekly phonecalls with his daughter, Rose, he paints the picture of a perfect retirement including fun and friends, in reality this is not true. When his daughter announces she is visiting soon so Humbert needs to make his real life as close to his fake life as he can. The story follows as he tries to renew a cherished friendship and joins a community group, will he succeed or will he always be one for those lonely people?
I love the split timelines within the book. It adds tension in just the right places, creating almost a mini cliff hanger, and helps you get to know and love Humbert as a character. It breaks your heart just that bit more when you come to realise his resilience and constant optimism despite the many hurdles he faced when he moved away from his family and country.
I like the ending but I'm still conflicted about it. It was sweet, especially the found family elements and seeing everyone still together and happy. Without giving spoilers, there was simply an element that I'm not entirely sure was necessary, yes it pulls on the heartstrings and the ending would without the element would have read completely different. It just felt a bit cut short, almost as if it was an afterthought, especially as it was a particularly short chapter in the novel.
The way the narrative voice changes to a couple different characters was also quite clever. It really emphasized not only Humbert's sadness and loneliness but also the impact of people choices, but not in a victim blaming way, the characters did what they thought was best in that moment for them, and it felt realistic.
The love between Humbert and Joyce was beautiful as well, very much forbidden love vibes because of the time setting of the novel but they preserved and worked super well a couple. Humbert was truly dedicated to Joyce, and the juxtaposition between Gus the Lady's man and dedicated Humbert further emphasized the strength and love within Humbert and Joyces marriage.
This book really touched my heart and I hope it touches yours. I feel this would be a good match for people who like elderly, lonely characters or if you enjoyed 'A Man Called Ove'. Would possibly work for people who like historical fiction because of the split timelines.
This narrative follows an elderly man called Humbert Bird. In his weekly phonecalls with his daughter, Rose, he paints the picture of a perfect retirement including fun and friends, in reality this is not true. When his daughter announces she is visiting soon so Humbert needs to make his real life as close to his fake life as he can. The story follows as he tries to renew a cherished friendship and joins a community group, will he succeed or will he always be one for those lonely people?
I love the split timelines within the book. It adds tension in just the right places, creating almost a mini cliff hanger, and helps you get to know and love Humbert as a character. It breaks your heart just that bit more when you come to realise his resilience and constant optimism despite the many hurdles he faced when he moved away from his family and country.
I like the ending but I'm still conflicted about it. It was sweet, especially the found family elements and seeing everyone still together and happy. Without giving spoilers, there was simply an element that I'm not entirely sure was necessary, yes it pulls on the heartstrings and the ending would without the element would have read completely different. It just felt a bit cut short, almost as if it was an afterthought, especially as it was a particularly short chapter in the novel.
The way the narrative voice changes to a couple different characters was also quite clever. It really emphasized not only Humbert's sadness and loneliness but also the impact of people choices, but not in a victim blaming way, the characters did what they thought was best in that moment for them, and it felt realistic.
The love between Humbert and Joyce was beautiful as well, very much forbidden love vibes because of the time setting of the novel but they preserved and worked super well a couple. Humbert was truly dedicated to Joyce, and the juxtaposition between Gus the Lady's man and dedicated Humbert further emphasized the strength and love within Humbert and Joyces marriage.
This book really touched my heart and I hope it touches yours. I feel this would be a good match for people who like elderly, lonely characters or if you enjoyed 'A Man Called Ove'. Would possibly work for people who like historical fiction because of the split timelines.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Addiction and Dementia
heartofhorrors's review against another edition
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Drug abuse, Racism, Addiction, and Death
m_liz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Racism
Moderate: Dementia
louise010's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Dementia, and Racism
spaghettireads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Dementia
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
Minor: Infertility
amandadelbrocco's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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? Yes
3.5
Overall enjoyed but it was incredibly similar in plot development to A Man Called Ove and that's all I could think about while reading. I think some of the topics weren't discussed as deeply as they could have been and some of it was very surface level and repetitive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction
ashenlar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
3.0
A quick, fun read with book club. Probably not something I would've picked up in terms of writing style, but I'm glad to have read it for the hopeful and positive message overall, and very diverse characters.
I do think generally everything things either a bit too easy or obvious for plot progression (eg the first woman Hubert really meets ends up being the love of his life with a pretty blandly perfect relationship) - or twists that come too out of nowhere and don't really feel convincing (Rose's death)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Addiction, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, and Drug use
lhodgson26's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
<spoiler > I adore Mike Gayles books and this one may be my favourite one yet. Like his others the characters are so real and they make their way into your heart. The book helps to make you believe in humanity again and that there are genuinely good people like Hubert and Asheligh out there. Some really important themes of loneliness, drug abuse, racism , alzhimers and grief were all showcased throughout this book. Told between the present day and the past we learn of Huberts life from how he left Jamaica and came to England to start a family and all of the heartbreak he experienced. The plot twist towards the end that Rose wasn't really alive and he'd been talking to a ghost for the last five years was heartbreaking. But I loved the sense of community andall his friends he then made as he tried to rebuild his life from his oldest friend Gus to his new friendship with Joyce. Just when you think he finally got his happy ever after it was then only eighteen months later when he died but no doubt reunited with his beloved wife and his daughter.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug abuse, and Child death