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 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?

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle came to my attention thanks to a blog post highlighting an upcoming short story by the same author — and I was interested enough to want to read the story (which was just released last week, and I haven’t gotten to yet) and to look into his other works. Several of his books sound great… and I’m so glad I decided to give All the Lonely People a try!

Hubert Bird is a widower in his 80s living alone with his cat Puss in the home he shared with his late wife for over fifty years. Hubert was born and raised in Jamaica, and immigrated to London as a young man in search of a job and better prospects. There, he found true love, which flourished despite the racism that he and his white wife faced, raised a family, and lived through life’s ups and downs.

But now, Hubert shuns company and chooses isolation, having driven off his remaining friends years earlier during a dark time in his life. His one source of brightness is his weekly phone call with his daughter Rose, a professor living in Australia. Each week, he tells Rose about his active social life, going into great detail about the antics he gets up to with his close friends Dottie, Dennis, and Harvey, and Rose delights in hearing about his social circle and their escapades. The problem is, none of it is true — it’s a fiction that Hubert has created so that Rose won’t worry about him. But when Rose announces that she’s coming for a visit in a few months, Hubert begins to panic. He’ll have to come clean to Rose about all his lies, but maybe that won’t be so bad if he can actually make some friends between now and her visit.

When a chatty young neighbor, a single mom with a cute 2-year-old, comes knocking on his door, it’s Hubert’s first bit of connection. From there, as he ventures out more often, he starts meeting others, including a young baker from Latvia, an older woman who loves gardening, and a few other random people from the neighborhood. Hubert’s life takes an even bigger turn when the group of friends decide to form a committee — the Campaign to End Loneliness in Bromley. Suddenly, Hubert is thrust into the limelight as the face of the campaign, and his lonely life has been replaced by an ever growing circle of friends and associates.

Past sorrows never truly go away though, and when Hubert faces a shock that makes him finally confront a loss that he’s never gotten over, he’s tempted to retreat back into his former isolation, where he might have been alone, but at least he could pretend that nothing mattered to him.

All the Lonely People is a lovely book full of a charming cast of characters, depicting a life well-lived. Hubert’s life wasn’t easy, but it was full of joy. He experienced great pain and loss, but also true love and friendship. The story is told through chapters that alternate between “now” — Hubert in his 80s, reconnecting with the world around him — and “then”, his journey from Jamaica, finding his way in London, and his life with Joyce and their children.

It’s a beautiful story about connection, caring about others, and finding meaning in life through the people we meet along the way. Hubert is a remarkable character, and it’s wonderful to see him forging new relationships and rekindling old friendships.

As Hubert says toward the end of the book:

Extraordinary things can happen to ordinary people like you and me, but only if we open ourselves up enough to let them.

I highly recommend All the Lonely People. The characters are memorable and easy to care about, and while Hubert thinks of himself as ordinary, his story is anything but.

I’m eager to read more by this talented author! Suggestions welcome!

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
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