Book ~ "All the Lonely People" (2020) Mike Gayle

From Goodreads ~ Hubert Bird is not alone in being alone. He just needs to realise it.

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?

Hubert is an 82-year-old widower who lives alone in England and doesn't go out much. In his weekly calls with his daughter, Rose, who lives in Australia, he has made up a wonderful active life so she doesn't worry. That works well until Rose tells him that she will be coming for a visit in six weeks ... now he has to hustle to create the life Rose thinks he has.

Hubert tries joining a seniors activity club but doesn't feel comfortable there. When Ashleigh, a friendly young single mother from Wales, moves in next door, he begrudgingly becomes her friend. Ashleigh feels there are too many lonely people in their community so convinces Hubert to help her start an initiative to get everyone together so no one is lonely.

This story is written in third person perspective usually with a focus on Hubert. The story bounces back and forth from present day to the past (the chapters are labeled), starting in 1957 when Hubert moved from Jamaica to England, hoping for a better life but encountering a lot of prejudice. Not long after he arrived, he met and fell in love with Joyce, a white co-worker. Despite her family disowning her when they discover Hubert is Black, Hubert and Joyce marry and started a family.

It's been a while since I've read a Mike Gayle book and I liked this one. There was a weird twist towards the end, though. I can see why it was there but I found it a bit farfetched and unbelievable.

Book ~ "The Life And Soul Of The Party" (2009) Mike Gayle

From Goodreads ~ Meet Melissa and Paul: Five years after they split up he's still looking for love in all the wrong places while she wants the one thing she can't have: Paul.

Meet Chris and Vicky: They're so in tune they even brush their teeth in time with each other. So what is Chris doing risking it all for a meaningless affair?

Meet Cooper and Laura: He wants to settle down, she wants to take a grown-up gap year but can their relationship really survive a year apart?

Set across a year of leaving dos, birthday parties and anniversary celebrations The Life and Soul of the Party is a warm, funny and moving tale celebrating love, life and those special moments we've all spent in the kitchen at parties.

I enjoy Gayle's novels and it's been about three years since I last read one.

I liked this one. The style is different in that the chapters are short and snappy and each is written by one of the characters so you get to see how the various characters react to something.

They get together quite often at parties to celebrate something.

Gayle could have tied all the loose ends up at the end and have everyone get what they wanted and live happily ever after. I'm glad he didn't choose to go that route. I was happy with the way it ended.

My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint) is that there are so many characters that at first it was hard to keep them straight. But once I got into it and got to know them, I was fine.

I'd definitely recommend this novel.

Book ~ "Mr. Commitment" - Mike Gayle (2000)

From Goodreads ~ After twenty-eight years of shirking responsibility, Duffy's finally realising that he can't extend his adolescence forever. 

His low-paid temping job is threatening permanency. His gradually receding hairline is depressing him greatly. And if that's not enough, his long-suffering girlfriend, Mel, wants to get engaged. Trips to IKEA, dinner parties with married couples and talk of babies, however, are giving Duffy cold feet. He doesn't have many worldly goods to share - apart from the remote control for his TV, the beers in the fridge and his record collection - but can he really put his hand on his heart and say "I do'? 

He knows Mel's the one for him, so why is it he'd feel happier swapping "Till death us do part' for "Renewable on a four year basis'? But the choice is: All or nothing. Now or never. Mel or no Mel. So after a lifetime as Mr Irresponsible, does Duffy have what it takes to become Mr Commitment?

I've been reading a lot of Gayle's books in the last couple months. Though I enjoy his "lad lit", I'm glad this is the last I have of his to read. Though I like his style, they are starting to sound the same. So I need a break.

Having said that, I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it.

Book ~ "His 'N, Hers" - Mike Gayle (2005)

From Goodreads ~ From their first meeting at the student union over a decade ago, Jim and Alison successfully navigated their way through first dates, meeting parents, moving in together and more. Then they split up and divided their worldly goods (including a sofa, a cat and their flat) into his 'n 'hers. 

Now, three years later, with new lives and new loves, they couldn't be happier. Until a chance encounter throws them back together and to embark on a journey through their past to ask themselves the big question - where did it all go wrong and is it too late to put it right?

This is the fourth "lad lit" I've read by Mike Gayle since discovering him this year ... and it's probably my favourite.

It's written in an interesting style ... going back and forth between Jim and Alison's perspective over the years.

The usual conversational tone was there as was the humour.

Would I recommend it? Yes!

Book ~ "Brand New Friend" - Mike Gayle (2005)

From Goodreads ~ When Rob's girlfriend asks him to leave London and live with her in Manchester, not only will it mean moving cities, it'll also mean leaving behind his best mate in the entire world. Believing that love conquers all and convinced of his ability to make new friends, Rob takes the plunge. 

Six months in, and yet to find so much as a regular drinking buddy, Rob realises that sometimes making friends in your thirties can be the hardest thing to do. 

With drastic action needed, his girlfriend puts an ad in the classifieds for him. Three excruciatingly embarrassing "bloke dates" later, Rob begins to truly despair. Until his luck changes ... there's just one problem. Apart from knowing less than nothing about music trivia, football, and the vital statistics of supermodels, Rob's new friend, Jo, has one huge flaw ... she's a girl.

This is the third novel I've read by Mike Gayle and I enjoyed it. It was an interesting topic to focus on. I just assumed guys found it easy to make new friends.

What did I like about it? I enjoyed the writing style. It's conversational ... funny at times. I liked the short chunky chapters. I'm happy it ended the way it did ... it could have gone one of two ways. And there were a few opportunities to tidy things up but Gayle didn't go there.

What didn't I like about it? I didn't feel anything for Ashley, Rob's girlfriend. Perhaps that's understandable considering it was written from Rob's point of view. And there were times when Jo seemed very weak and stupid.

Would I recommend it? Yes.

Book ~ "Dinner for Two" - Mike Gayle (2006)

From Goodreads ~ Thirty-two-year-old Dave Harding has an enviable life -career as a music journalist; a beautiful wife, Izzy; and a nice flat in London. But he feels the pain of Izzy's miscarriage so deeply that he realizes how much he wants to be a father. As luck would have it, it turns out he already is ... to a 13-year-old girl, Nicola, with whose mother he had a one-night stand just before college. 

After he learns of Nicola's existence, they begin seeing each other on the sly, telling neither Izzy nor Nicola's mother. This ploy buys them time to get to know one another before dealing with the inevitable complications. But deal they must, eventually. Gayle, to his credit, does not tidy things up too neatly, letting Izzy and Dave's relationship ride the fence.

I found that this book started out a bit slow and I was tempted to give up on it. But because I enjoyed Gayle's Turning Thirty, I persevered. And I'm glad I did.

Dave is a writer and his articles are included in the book ... I liked the writing style of Gayle, not Dave, and the short bit-sized chapters.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. It's interesting to read "lad lit" books for a chance.

Book ~ "Turning Thirty" - Mike Gayle (2005)

From Goodreads ~ Matt Beckford has a good job in New York and lives with his beautiful girlfriend, Elaine. But when Elaine breaks up with him, Matt finds himself on a new course, requesting a transfer and moving back home to Birmingham to live with his parents in the interim. 

Matt is none too thrilled by the prospect of turning 30 while living in his childhood home but he finds himself revisiting his youth by reconnecting with two old friends: his best friend, Gershwin, now married with a young daughter, and Ginny, the girl who was never quite Matt's girlfriend but with whom he shared a strong connection.

Though I'm on the other side of 30, I really enjoyed this book and the writing style. Matt is a nice guy trying to find himself. With mere months before his 30th birthday, Matt laments that he is not where he thought he would be at this age as he reconnects with his past.