The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: the most heartwarming and uplifting love story of the year

Product Information

The more Albert opens up to others, the more he begins to find his voice and stops feeling ashamed of who he is. His past, and people in it, had made him afraid to be himself so this revelation to him about people accepting him for who he is was wonderful to witness. Albert had been given a blunt message about what his friends thought of people like him, what the world at large thought of people like him—of the real him, the him he’d been careful to keep well hidden.” I’ve just finished this roller coaster ride of emotions and it exceeded all my expectations. I completed this delightful story within two days as I was so enthralled by the characters and the journey that they were on that I couldn’t wait to find out where the story took them. He always felt like an outsider but by opening up to a few people he started to belong to not just one community but two. Its funny and also really emotional but heartwarming and above all quite positive. HB: Okay so at the end of the book you’ve included some conversations that you said were inspired by the story of Albert but were there any people or any conversations that inspired the story in the first place?

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain | Hachette UK

I’ve finished the book now. I comple If you are looking for a feel good book which will make you smile, laugh and cry then this is it! Follow the story of Albert Entwhistle who has never felt able to come out as gay since his one and only love affair as a young man, at a time when such relationships were illegal. Now, nearly fifty years later he is single, alone and about to retire from his job. He lives alone with his cat Gracie and listening to music is the highlight of his day. He has no friends and no human love in his life.

MC: It is a nightmare question because I’ve got so many. I would say, if you had asked me from childhood I would say The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – all those Narnia books were my escape and inspired me to be creative. But if you’re going to ask me hard and fast my best book of all time, I would say the Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain - Book The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain - Book

Wonderful. Written with such a good heart, filled with joy and strength and optimism . . . inventive and fun but most importantly, true.’ RUSSELL T. DAVIES Yeah, but one thing I've learned is that if you try to do that, you never do put the past behind you - it just tags along in the present. And it burrows into you like some kind of poison. It's only by facing up to it and dealing with all the feelings it brings up that we can learn from it and move on.” But he reminded himself that everyone was busy steering a course through their own dramas, that everyone was grappling with their own challenges in life. They're all busy coloring themselves in.”When it came to his mother, that would be the only woman he ever loved. Because Albert loved a man. Throughout his sixty years he has loved one man. One he met in high school in 1969. George. Well, that’s really not the right thing to say, not when it comes to Albert. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, it was that Albert wasn’t built that way. He was not built to marry a woman, do all those things that men were expected to do, that his mother wanted for him. And, as the only child all her focus was on him, no one else around to divert the woman's attention. Especially when she lost pregnancy after pregnancy after Albert was born, her attitude about it, turning to him, in anger. The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain is a story about a 64-year-old man named Albert Entwistle (big surprise there) who is about to retire from the Royal Mail (the UK equivalent of the United States Post Office). He discovers that he has largely lived his life alone and closed off from the people around him. His secret is that nearly 50 years ago, he fell in love with a man named George. Will Albert be able to find connection in this world? And what happened to George? All in all, despite the somewhat formulaic approach, the book offers plenty of insightful content and is a pretty good reading experience. If I had read it, I might have rated it a 3.25-3.5. But the audiobook definitely enhanced my experience and I’ll go with a higher rating. The Netgalley tagline calls this “the most uplifting and heart-warming PERFECT COMFORT LISTEN”, and I agree. I loved it! Really heart-warming and joyful, but also so poignant. I cannot recommend this book highly enough' LORRAINE KELLY

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: the most heartwarming The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: the most heartwarming

Albert doesn't have any family or friends. He doesn't have any interests, outside of his job, to fill his time. What he does have are regrets for a life he could have led, but didn't. Now he has three months before retirement to figure out how to start living his life as he always imagined it to be. Will he be able to begin sharing his true self with others for the first time in his life? Join Albert as he sets out to find the long-lost love of his life, and has an unforgettable and completely life-affirming adventure on the way . . . This is a love story the likes of which you have never read before! In all of Albert’s life, until now, all he had was his job as a postal carrier. He takes great pride and joy carrying the post, it is an honor and a privilege and he feels, for the most part, fulfilled, because of this job. Whether it was God, fate, Albert get’s notice that it is time for him to retire, something ALbert did not see coming. Because the job is the only thing that gets him out of the house, into the world, the only connection he has to other people, knowing that shortly this job will end, slowly Albert devolves. He does not know what to do. All his routines are coming undone. THE AUTHOR: Matt Cain is a writer, broadcaster, and a leading commentator on LGBT+ issues. Born in Bury and brought up in Bolton, Matt now lives in London with his partner, Harry, and their cat, Nelly. A really fast paced and enjoyable listed. I loved how he slowly starting changing and accepting himself for who he is. The character building was amazing and I could truly see how well Albert could dance in my mind.The funny thing about the book is that I don’t think Albert has ever thought about what might have happened after, if someone was to find out he desired men rather than women. I don’t think he’s ever even conceived of getting over that hump. Because the life he lives seems worse, in fact, than having to disclose that information and live with the consequences of it. Because Albert is a total spaz when it comes to any living that is outside the home he lives in. Which, mind you, is the home he grew up in, the home he lived with his mother in and then, took care of her until she died. I know that some of you reading the review may be thinking, like I did, that hopefully he had a mother who was there for him, helping him make some kind of an enjoyable life. However, if that was a hope, well, keep hoping for something else for Albert. Albert’s story is beautifully told, in his own voice and in dual timelines, as he goes about his quest and reminisces about the past. His journey is poignant and at times desperately sad. But it is also uplifting and joyous. Albert's coming out is a wonderfully warm story that had me with earplugs in, listening at every opportunity. It's a story of personal growth, of a man filled with fear and shame who slowly becomes honest with himself, optimistic and looking forward to his future. It's an emotional story. I cried for Albert the teenager, and for his friend George. I was saddened by the unhappy, reclusive man Albert became. I wept tears of joy and relief as Albert found himself, his new self, a man who made friends and helped others. There were places I laughed out loud, and snorted coffee through my nose.