Reviews with content warning for Suicide - All the Lonely People

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

7 reviews

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.

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spaghettireads's review against another edition

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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

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aniglen's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad 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

3.5

Compared to a Man Called Ove, All the Lonely People is about Huburt Byrd, an elderly recluse who finds out his daughter is about to visit and decides to show her how full and fulfilling his life is.

At the heart, this novel is about finding friendships later in life and how we may all more in common than we first think.

There are plenty of twists to keep the plot moving the reader interested, however I felt the author was trying to cover far too many topics that I got a little tired and found that it lacked depth.

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

What I was expecting: a cute heartwarming little book about an old man getting strangers to pose as his friends so he doesn’t disappoint his daughter

What I got: an absolutely gutpunchingly sad (but still heartwarming) book that deals with themes of grief, life as an immigrant in the 20th century and today, racism, isolation, and both blood and found family.

The diverse range of colourful characters clearly demonstrates the book’s message that anyone of any age, race, or background can experience loneliness, and all it takes is a little effort to discover that we aren’t so different from each other after all. Although the “present day” in this book is set in 2018, this message is particularly poignant after the pandemic, which left so many people literally isolated from a community. Hubert is an extremely likeable protagonist, and his journey throughout the book, both in the present day and in the flashbacks to his younger years, is told in a genuine and heartfelt way that makes the reader sympathise with him even though he has his flaws. I’d be interested in what people who live or have lived in Bromley might say about the setting, and whether it is as much of a love letter to the area (both the good and bad parts of it) as it appears to be to someone who has only ever been there once.

I felt that the pacing of the second half of the book could have been drawn out more as so many major events happen in such a short space of time that it is quite overwhelming. The speed at which the campaign grows, in particular, could have definitely been slower for it to have been more realistic. The twist fully came out of left field for me, and I’m still slightly conflicted as to whether or not I liked it, but I think it would have been great to have had a little more space to process it before moving on.

Overall, this was not the book I was expecting but I am nonetheless very glad I read it.

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