A beautifully quirky, yet at the same time completely logical love story (well it is logical once you've realised that you too, have fallen in love with an alligator). ‘Carrying Albert Home’ is a nine part tale, detailing an odyssey that took place during the 1930’s, interspersed with snappy little introductions to each part of the story by the author. As Homer (the elder) and Elsie his wife, adventure their way down the east coast from West Virgina to Florida, with Albert the alligator and the Rooster, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Homer Hickam (the younger and author) is telling the ‘somewhat true’ story of the early years of his parents marriage, surely this is the most fantastical tale ever told! I believe that John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway would remember their parts in this tale with glee, who wouldn't want to have been introduced to the charming and rather glorious Albert? I quite simply devoured this enchanting book in one sitting, and I will want to read it again and again. ~ Liz Robinson
Carrying Albert Home The Somewhat True Story of a Man, His Wife and Her Alligator Synopsis
The Great Depression had turned the American dream into a bitter tragedy. That's when Elsie and Homer's epic adventure began ...
A journey of a thousand miles. With an alligator on the back seat. And John Steinbeck as a passenger. This is a tale where everything is true,except the bits that are made up. In 1930s America, the Great Depression made everyone's horizons smaller, and Elsie Lavender found herself back where she began, in the coalfields of West Virginia. She had just one memento of her halcyon days - a baby alligator named Albert. Then one day, her husband's stoical patience snapped and Elsie had to choose between Homer and Albert. She decided that there was only one thing to do: they would carry Albert home to Florida. And so began their odyssey - a journey like no other, where Elsie, Homer and Albert encountered everything from movie stars and revolutionaries to Ernest Hemingway and hurricanes in their struggle to find love, redemption, and a place to call home. From the bestselling author of Rocket Boys-the basis of the movie October Sky-comes a long-awaited prequel. Big Fish meets The Notebook in this novel about a man, a woman, and their alligator.
'Great memoirs must balance the universal and the particular...In his debut, Hickam...walks the line beautifully...No matter how jaded readers have become by the onslaught of memoirs, none will want to miss the fantastic voyage of BCMA, Auk and Coalwood.' Publishers Weekly on Rocket Boys
'Recalling a lost era, the transition between small-town life and the dawning of the new technological age, he brings his American hometown to life with vivid images, appealing characters and considerable literary magic.' Publishers Weekly on The Coalwood Way
Author
About Homer Hickam
Homer Hickam is the bestselling and award-winning author of many books, including the #1 New York Times memoir Rocket Boys, which was adapted into the film October Sky. He is a Vietnam combat veteran and has also been a coal miner, scuba instructor, palaeontologist and NASA engineer.
