Page Turners – February 2025 review

For our February book, the Page Turners read ‘All the Lonely People‘ by Mike Gayle. This book was published in 2021. It tells the story of widower Hubert Bird who regularly speaks to his daughter in Australia, telling her of the fun and friendships he is enjoying in his retirement. However, in truth he barely sees anyone. When his daughter says that she is going to visit him, he embarks on a race against time to make his real life resemble the stories he has told. The book tells of his attempts to make new friends and how he becomes part of an ambitious community scheme. At the same time, we learn of Hubert’s past life, arriving in Britain as part of the Windrush Generation and coping with the social and political attitudes of the following years. It gives a vivid account of the many difficulties he faced in his life and why he was now lonely. As Herbert meets a diverse cast of characters who are also lonely we gain a greater understanding of the issues behind this very topical issue.

Whilst some of us were initially apprehensive because of the title and subject matter, we all enjoyed this book, although there is a surprising twist in the middle that some of us found too implausible (no further spoilers!). We thought it was well written and we enjoyed getting to know the various characters and learning about their lives.
Many of us have experienced loneliness and we discussed this topic. We also considered the racism that Hubert encounters and the impact on his family and we thought about what life is like now for immigrants. We also compared Hubert with the character of Mr Loverman from the Bernadine Evaristo book that we read last May.
We found this to be an entertaining and heart-warming read. If you would like to experience it for yourself, do get in touch and perhaps swap our page turner for one of your own.

Deborah Wallis, convenor