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

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MC: It’s inspired by Shirley Valentine. It’s about a 40-something gay man who is dumped by his husband and is devastated, but actually decides to see this as an opportunity to finally pursue his dream, his second chance, which is to become a drag queen in his 40s and he goes and makes it happen. HB: So you have another book coming out in 2023 called Becoming Ted. Can you describe that book to us in under 15 seconds?

REVIEW: The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

Wonderful. Written with such a good heart, filled with joy and strength and optimism’ RUSSELL T. DAVIES , creator of Channel 4’s smash-hit It’s a Sin Albert is set in his life, not drawing too much attention to himself and leads a strict routine. He is a post office worker and lives with his Cat. People always seem to tell him everything, but he just wants to lead his simple life. Then the unimaginable happens and that dreaded letter of retirement changes everything and seems to set off a whole string of unlikeable events. Without giving the whole story away, he soon discovers that people in general are not that bad to get to know, and that love always conquers all.Albert has worked all his life as a postman, he keeps to himself, preferring his own company and that of his cat. 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. It’s not the first time that Albert has received a letter that will change his life. But, as the snow starts to fall, this time around he’s spurred into action. The time has come for him to face the secret he’s been keeping for fifty years . . . When he is told he will be made to take involuntary retirement within a few months, upon his 65th birthday he decides to find his one true love, George who he hasn’t seen for 50 years.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: the most heartwarming

As I said, this one starts bleak but gets much happier before eventually becoming full fledged feelgood. It’s like most of all the tough conflict is cleared out early on to smooth the path for the rest of the story. I could feel Albert’s reluctance to interact with most of his colleagues and people on his post route. Albert is a quiet kind of person, as am I, and both of us aren’t the flamboyant ones who garner attention and tell every detail of our lives. I too look forward to getting home and relaxing with my cats (I’m one cat short of being an official Crazy Cat Lady). The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain is a beautifully written story that will pull at your heartstrings and make you smile through your tears. The protagonist is a sweet lovable character whose story pulls you in. The author touches upon themes of friendship, love, self-acceptance and community. The author sheds a light on discrimination against gay men in the 1970s and the challenges faced by same-sex couples in the same era through conversations with those whose experiences were similar to Albert’s at the end of the book. Yes, the plot was predictable but it is a heartwarming read with an interesting cast of characters that keeps you engaged till the very end. The subplots were well integrated into Albert’s story and it never felt as if the story was digressing. The story was a tad too long but not so much that the reader would lose interest. I switched between reading the book and listening to Simon Vance’s brilliant audio narration which made for a wonderful immersion reading experience. I loved this one, at first I thought, can I cope with reading something that is going to be this sad, but it was the ultimate uplit and showed how Albert rediscovered himself. One painful yet exhilarating step at a time, Albert begins searching for George and revealing his story to those around him. As he does, something extraordinary happens. Albert finds unlikely allies, new friends, and the courage to help others—even as he seeks the happiness he’s always denied himself.ABOUT 'THE SECRET LIFE OF ALBERT ENTWHISTLE': Albert Entwistle is a private man with a quiet, simple life. He lives alone with his cat Gracie. And he’s a postman. At least he was a postman until, three months before his sixty-fifth birthday, he receives a letter from the Royal Mail thanking him for decades of service and stating he is being forced into retirement. year-old Albert Entwistle has been a postie in a quiet town in Northern England for all his life, living alone since the death of his mam 18 years ago. He keeps himself to himself. He always has. But he's just learned he'll be forced to retire at his next birthday. With no friends and nothing to look forward to, the lonely future he faces terrifies him. He realises it's finally time to be honest about who he is. He must learn to ask for what he wants. And he must find the courage to look for George, the man that, many years ago, he lost - but has never forgotten . . .

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

Join Albert Entwistle 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. A lovely book about a secretly gay postman who is forced to retire. Other than work, he has lived reclusively, afraid to reveal his true self. But that changes as he decides to find the one person he has ever loved: George. A delightful tale about second chances and the balm of connecting. Albert was a little too perfect and did his advice to everyone have to be so perfect and life-changing? In the end, I didn’t quite buy what he was selling (nearly but not quite). I said in my review he was an “old 64-year old hiding in a young 64-year-old’s body”. But it’s not the first time that Albert has received a letter that will change his life and this time around he knows what he has to do. The time has come for him to face the secret he’s been keeping for nearly fifty years.Cain's characterisations are beautifully written and thought out. They are interesting, fleshed out, and vivid people who would be a joy to have in your life. Now sixty-five and being forced into retirement from a job he's held all his life, Albert decides it's finally time to truly start living. Gathering up the courage he didn't know he had, Albert begins a search to find George - the boy he loved with his whole heart and has never forgotten. Cain writes Albert's journey of courage from here like the opening of a budded flower. Albert, in his journey to find his one lost love, finds love and acceptance of himself; he finds friends and allies in unlikely places and knowledge that the world has changed enough so that he can embrace being the person he wants to be. I enjoyed the narrator as he sounded like who I thought Albert to be, including his voice. He was incredibly believable. I had assumed Albert to be another Ove. Thankfully, this is not yet another geriatric curmudgeon story, a trope that has become quite common after the success of ‘A Man Called Ove’. Albert has a sweet, introverted personality and comes across as a man who has been closeted all his life, and not just about his sexuality. His love for his cat Gracy and his brave attempts at getting to know his neighbours and co-workers won my heart. ( As an introvert myself, I understand how difficult it is to take the first step in talking with strangers and continuing a conversation.) There's really nothing surprising in this story, but that's not a criticism. It's a lovely heartwarming experience and one that I am glad to have had. Two things further enriched my listening pleasure: narrator Simon Vance was superb. He singly narrated a large cast of characters and not once was I confused about who was speaking. The second was author Matt Cain talking about his research and some excerpts of his interviews with gay men who lived through the eras that Albert's story is set in.