The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle
Ratings10
Average rating3.9
“This rollicking romance entrapped me! True in its detail and its scope, it is amusing yet heart-breaking.” —Ian McKellen Perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and TJ Klune, this humorous, life-affirming, and charmingly wise novel tells the story of how the forced retirement of a shy, closeted postman in northern England creates a second chance with his lost love, as he learns to embrace his true self, connect with his community, and finally experience his life’s great adventure… Indie Next List Selection | Library Reads Selection Every day, Albert Entwistle makes his way through the streets of his small English town, delivering letters and parcels and returning greetings with a quick wave and a “how do?” Everyone on his route knows Albert, or thinks they do—a man of quiet routines, content to live alone with his cat, Gracie. Three months before his sixty-fifth birthday, Albert receives a letter from the Royal Mail thanking him for decades of service and stating that he is being forced into retirement. At once, Albert’s simple life unravels. Without the work that fills his days, what will he do? He has no friends, family, or hobbies—just a past he never speaks of, and a lost love that fills him with regret. And so, rather than continue his lonely existence, Albert forms a brave plan to start truly living, to be honest about who he is . . . and to find George, the man with whom he spent one perfect spring and summer long ago. One painful yet exhilarating step at a time, Albert begins searching for George and revealing his story to those around him. As he does, something extraordinary happens. Albert finds unlikely allies, new friends, and the courage to help others—even as he seeks the happiness he’s always denied himself. Beautifully written, funny, and wise, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle is a book to fall in love with and to be inspired by, one that proves it is never too late to live, to hope, and to love. A Note from Matt Cain, the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: “One of the things that inspired me to write this novel was all the joy I felt at seeing gay men like myself being embraced by British society. I think you'd be hard-pushed to find any other minority community in the UK that was as hated, feared and vilified as gay men were fifty years ago and is now as widely celebrated and loved. Acceptance of gay men has become a touchstone of British values within less than a decade, something that even the most optimistic commentators couldn’t have predicted. I wanted to write a book that would celebrate this. And I sincerely hope The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle makes its readers feel good about themselves and the part they’ve played in bringing about this extraordinary social shift.” —Matt Cain
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I really expected to like this book more than I did, but Albert is a curmudgeon who isn't the least bit curious about the world and holds on to his naivet?? like an emergency blanket. I just don't really understand or have the patience for the type of people who haven't been more than 50 miles from their place of birth until they're old - especially someone who lives 100 miles from one of the greatest cities in the world.
He's worked for the same Royal Mail post office in the same town since he was of working age and shies away from anything, especially if it's even close to being “gay”. Now, I understand that he had trauma from his asshole cop dad and his equally (but in different ways) abusive mother but there's a point where you cross from being traumatized to full blown mental illness. He has no friends, he doesn't like anyone he's around, he doesn't have any hobbies, he's never even been on the internet... it's just really sad and bizarre.
The thing that kicks Albert out of his 55+ year slump is the death of his cat. He seems to have this revelation that life is short and he's been wasting what he has of his. The story kind of shifts from him to a young mother on his route, even with whole chapters devoted to her POV, which I was uninterested in. If your title says “Life of” and then a character's name, I don't want it to be about other people. Her pushing her boyfriend into a relationship and talking to her shitty friend about her life didn't progress the story in any way.
The latter half of the book is Albert and this young mom going on tiny adventures looking for the love of his life - a kid he was in a relationship with when they were both still in high school. While this may be charming to some people, I found it kind of obsessive. Of course this old man who has never experienced the world and has denied himself even the simplest of pleasures his entire life is going to be fixated on the single thing that made him happy, but it felt obsessive and weird. At least it got him out of the house.
Overall, the story itself could be cute and it does have decent character progression, but you have to really identify with these characters to really appreciate it and I just didn't.
TWs: Animal death, homophobia
This was a sweet read about Albert, whose retirement is coming up, and he begins to do all sorts of things for the first time in search of his love from his teenage years.. I loved the story, though I did feel like some parts were a little dragged, which could be skipped here and there. I wished the ending was a little longer, though, after George came back to Albert was a little longer I would have loved to see where they have gone and did together after!
