Loneliness can affect anyone of us, old or young. This warming tale takes you through laughter, sadness, anger and regret to ultimately show that we all need to be accepted for who we are and be loved by somebody.
Reading this book during the Covid-19 lockdown was particularly appropriate I felt, given its key theme of loneliness. Alfie lives in a care home, surrounded by other older people, but he doesn’t feel that he belongs and he is lonely. Partly you feel that he is responsible for this situation, having no family and not making friends with the other residents, and as the story progresses we find out exactly how this has come about, through his conversations with a teenager at the park and his letters to a penpal in the USA. At the other end of the scale, Julia is one of the nurses, friendly and caring but also lonely. She watches Alfie and worries that she is heading the same way. Can she find out why he is so lonely and save herself at the same time? In some ways, the story comfortably goes the way you expect it to, but then it twists unexpectedly, in a way that makes you want to read it again with that hindsight. The inevitable sorrow is handled carefully so that is doesn't overwhelm you. But in most places, this story also makes you laugh, especially with its insight into the predicaments of being older in this age of technology. At its heart is the reassuring message that we all need to belong and have the power to do something about it.