How Not to Die Alone

He dusted himself down, suddenly aware that people had seen him fall and were enjoying their dose of schadenfreude. He avoided eye contact and carried on, head down, hands thrust into his pockets. Gradually his embarrassment gave way to something else. It was in the aftermath of mishaps like this where he would feel it stir at his core and start to spread out, thick and cold, making it feel like he was walking through quicksand. There was nobody for him to share the story with. No one to help him laugh his way through it. Loneliness, however, was ever vigilant, always there to slow-clap his every stumble.

About a lonely middle-aged man pretending to his co-workers that he has a wife and kids in order to keep up with the impulsive lie he told years ago. It had some sentimental moments, but I found this book mostly dull and I wasn't really drawn into the characters.‬