Audiobook, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle @mikegayle #BenOnwukwe @libro.fm @HachetteAudio

Jonetta | Blue Mood Café


Hubert Bird lives a lonely and isolated life, has for years, but you couldn’t tell that from the sunny updates he provides his daughter Rose in their weekly phone calls. He lives in the London borough of Bromley and she’s a professor with a wonderful career in Melbourne, Australia. He even maintains a notebook to keep up with his lies about his busy life full of friends and activities. But now with Rose’s planned visit in six weeks, Hubert has to somehow create the life he’s sold to his daughter to make certain she doesn’t feel the need to uproot her life and return home to take care of him.

My goodness, how I loved this story! It’s told in two timelines, then & now, beginning with Hubert’s immigration from Jamaica to England in the late 1950s. We learn of the pivotal moments in his life, including his marriage to Joyce Pierce, a white woman who sacrifices her own family in loving him. He’s a widower in the now who reluctantly forms a friendship with a new neighbor, a young single mother named Ashleigh. Together they create an initiative to end loneliness in their borough that grows organically and so quickly that Hubert is suddenly faced with having the life he’d fabricated for his daughter.

The story is rich with layers and complex characters, especially so as it moves through the timelines to present day. I loved his relationship with Joyce and how they created a beautiful life despite rampant racism in the early years. There’s an amazing twist at the end that I never saw coming, throwing everything into a different perspective. It just made a great story even more outstanding. I listened to the book and the narrator is a gem! He gave life to Hubert, mastering that Jamaican lilt while juggling other British accents. His storytelling skills are excellent, making the words lift from the pages. This will rank as one of my top five favorites for the year, both story and narration. If you’re looking for something to fill your heart with hope and triumph, this is that story.

Book Info

  • Release Date: July 13, 2021
  • Narrator: Ben Onwukwe
  • Audio Length: 12 hours, 21 minutes
  • Publisher: Hachette Audio

 

 

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm

 

 

(Thanks to Libro.fm and Hachette Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)

Published by Jonetta | Blue Mood Café

25 thoughts on “All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle @mikegayle #BenOnwukwe @libro.fm @HachetteAudio”

  1. Pingback: 2021 Audiobook Challenge – Blue Mood Café

  4. I just wanted to hug Hubert from your first paragraph and that feeling didn’t leave as I continued to read your review. What a lovely story and the unexpected twist at the end definitely has me intrigued. Great review, Jo.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Amazing review Jo. Hubert sounds like such a sweet, wonderful character who cares so much. I am definitely going to see if I can find this one on audio, it sounds wonderful. Another book to read and/or listen to in the sunshine next month.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Pingback: 2021 Audiobook Challenge Update – Blue Mood Café
  12. Pingback: Best of 2021 – Top 12 Books – Blue Mood Café
  13. Pingback: Saturdays at the Café – Blue Mood Café
  14. Pingback: Saturdays at the Café – Blue Mood Café

Comment anyone?