Critics' Opinion:
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Published Jun 2019
368 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
A curmudgeon and his eccentric new roommate join together to plan an epic escape in this charming, poignant tale.
Joel lives in a nursing home, and he's not one bit happy about it. He hates being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. He's fed up with life and begins to plan a way out when his new roommate, a retired soap opera actor named Frank, moves in and turns the nursing-home community upside down.
Though the two men couldn't be more opposite, a fast friendship is formed when Frank is the only one who listens to and stands up for Joel. When he tells Frank about his burgeoning plan, they embark together on a mission to find the perfect escape, and along the way will discover that it's never too late for new beginnings.
Filled with colorful characters, sparkling humor and deep emotion, The Great Unexpected is the story of friendship, finding oneself later in life and experiencing newfound joy in the most unexpected places.
"A testimony to the powerful medicine that a friend can be... Engaging." - Kirkus Reviews
"Mooney's portrayal of this unexpected friendship will delight readers looking for an emotionally astute portrayal of people searching for meaning in their twilight years." - Booklist
"A wonderfully gentle book about friendship, loss and hope. With Joel and Frank, Mooney has created two memorable characters, while carefully and cleverly avoiding stereotypes around ageing. An engaging and poignant story that deserves to be read and enjoyed!" - Juliet Conlin
"A darkly funny, heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting story that could so easily have wandered into sentimentality but never got close. A beautiful and realistic voyage of a developing friendship including all the rocks along the way" - Steven Primrose-Smith
"I've never read anything quite like it ... funny, moving and terrifying all at once." - Rick O'Shea
This information about The Great Unexpected was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dan Mooney is a 32-year-old amateur filmmaker and air traffic controller, and a friend to many cats. He wrote his first piece of fiction for a child-operated local newspaper at age ten and has been writing ever since. He lives in Ireland.
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