Review: All the Lonely People

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Because the truth was Hubert Bird was a liar. And a practiced one at that. 

All the Lonely People is the story of Jamaican immigrant Hubert Bird. With alternating chapters that show Hubert in the present time and past, readers get an encompassing look at Hubert's life. I thought the alternating chapters was a perfect structural choice as it pulled readers in with questions in the now, why is Hubert alone and answers revealed in the past chapters. 

A whole week had gone by since Rose's announcement and now, because of his lack of friends, Hubert was faced with an almost impossible choice: disappoint his darling daughter or force himself back out into the world from which he had retreated. 

The main plot has octogenarian Hubert wanting to make friends because for the last couple years he has been lying to his daughter Rose during their weekly phone calls. He has a notebook filled with notes about his friends and all that they do, but it's all lies. Rose suddenly tells Hubert that she is coming to visit from Australia in a few weeks and Hubert panics, not wanting Rose to feel bad or worry about him and leave her job to come take care of him in England. So when a new neighbor, single mother Layla knocks on his door to introduce herself, he starts his mission to try and gain some real friends. 

And in that moment, as he attempted to stem his tears, Hubert realized something he hadn't quite understood before now: he was lonely, really lonely, and most likely had been for a very long time. 

I thought the first half of this really showed what we'll do for the people we love but not for ourselves. Through Hubert and all the characters that have been in his life, his friend Gus, his wife Joyce, children Rose and David, neighbor Layla, and even the delivery man he befriends Emils, the reader gets welcomed into Hubert's world and who and what makes a life. The author opened up Hubert in a way that I felt he was real and that I knew him. While the majority of the chapters are from Hubert's point-of-view, there are a handful from secondary characters and I thought those greatly colored in Hubert's world even more. 

“You mean you don't think it's a daft idea?” “What? Helping lonely people? There's nothing daft about that, darling. Nothing daft at all. Count me in.” 

The second half delves more into Hubert's world and begins to answer the questions of how he lost touch with his circle of friends and why he doesn't like to talk about his son David. There was also Hubert's new circle of friends creating a group with the mission to end loneliness in their city. This group and the promoting of it takes over for a while and I'm not sure it completely fit in the flow of the story. It works to add some uplifting flair but it all felt a little idealistic and taking over a story in which it was a plot thread that didn't completely feel like it fit. With this though, there were also some latter second half shocking reveals that amp up the emotion and will get your eyes watering. 

“Joyce Bird,” said Hubert between fits of laughter, “featherweight champion of the world!” 

Overall, this is a story that will have characters who stick with you long after you've closed the book. It's a story about a life, it was uplifting and tragic and it was heartbreaking and reaffirming.

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