Blog tour: All the Lonely People

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By Mike Gayle
Published by Hodder & Stoughton 

Synopsys: In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship and fulfilment.

But Hubert Bird is lying.

The truth is day after day drags by without him seeing a single soul.

Until, that is, he receives some good news - good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that will force him out again, into a world he has long since turned his back on.

Now Hubert faces a seemingly impossible task: to make his real life resemble his fake life before the truth comes out.

Along the way Hubert stumbles across a second chance at love, renews a cherished friendship and finds himself roped into an audacious community scheme that seeks to end loneliness once and for all ...

Life is certainly beginning to happen to Hubert Bird. But with the origin of his earlier isolation always lurking in the shadows will he ever get to live the life he's pretended to have for so long?

How did this book end up in my hands? I received an advance copy of this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest opinion. So here we go…

Was it a page-turner? What a joy to read. And what a rollercoaster of emotions. This book and its characters touched me and are still with me long after reaching the final sentence. I don’t mind it when a book character is not likeable – you can’t like everyone in life! – but nothing beats falling in love with a character. What a beautiful book! The alternating timelines made it easy to keep the pace up, in a bid to know everything there is to know, as soon as possible. Definitely a page-turner.  

Did the book meet my expectations? This novel easily exceeded my expectations. The characters, the descriptions, the themes and the way they are dealt with… there is nothing to fault.

Three words to describe it. Moving. Uplifting. Topical.

Do I like the cover? Yes, it is sweet and simple: very effective.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, and I am now extremely interested in doing so, especially having read reviews of his previous novels. It seems he is a gifted storyteller!

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