-
Access Our
Best Book Club
Books of 2025!
Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Discuss | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Book Reviewed by:If you loved A Man Called Ove, then prepare to be delighted as Jamaican immigrant Hubert rediscovers the world he'd turned his back on in this "warm, funny" novel (Good Housekeeping).
In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship, and fulfillment. But it's a lie. In reality, Hubert's days are all the same, dragging on without him seeing a single soul.
Until 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. The news that his daughter is coming for a visit.
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?
Gayle states in a Q&A that he set out to write a book about "how someone's life fills and then empties again," and the chapters set in the past accomplish that goal remarkably well. These feel realistic, as Hubert faces hurdles he must overcome to prosper in his adopted country; his life is good by many standards but far from idyllic. Along the way, the author tackles complex themes such as racism, drug abuse and grief, among others, and the unexpected depth here is what transforms the book from a light-but-forgettable read into a satisfying and memorable one. There are a few moments some may find a little manipulative — plot points inserted more to tug on readers' heartstrings than because they make sense — but I doubt most will mind. The book is compulsively readable and its characters so loveable it's easy to gloss over its minor flaws...continued
Full Review
(596 words)
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access,
become a member today.
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
The protagonist of Mike Gayle's novel All the Lonely People is a member of the "Windrush generation," which refers to people from the Caribbean who emigrated to the United Kingdom between 1948 and 1971.
Facing a severe labor shortage after World War II, the British government began encouraging mass immigration from citizens of its colonies. This position was bolstered by the British Nationality Act of 1948, which combined the citizenship of Britain and its colonies and permitted these groups to enter the United Kingdom.
The HMT Empire Windrush ("HMT" stands for Hired Military Transport) arrived in Jamaica to pick up servicemen who were on leave during the time when these pro-immigration policies were under discussion, and an ...
This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.
If you liked All the Lonely People, try these:
by Shelby Van Pelt
Published 2025
Winner of the 2022 BookBrowse Debut Award
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.
by Anne Tyler
Published 2025
A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.
Beth O'Leary, author of The Flat-Share
A heartwarming story about the power of community and human connection. Hubert Bird stole my heart.
.gif)