All the Lonely People was the first book I've read by Mike Gayle, but it won't be the last! Huburt Bird is right up there with Arthur TruLuv and Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton as the people I've most enjoyed getting to know.

Romantic Novelists’ Association award-winner Gayle delights ... With a winning main character, this absolutely heartwarming story unfolds with just enough surprises and heft to keep readers engaged. A natural choice for fans of Helen Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand or any of the myriad recent books about cranky men finding late-in-life joy.

I absolutely loved this book! Loaded with wonderful characters that made me laugh, made me cry, and made me feel lots of emotions.

Hubert Bird, a native Jamaican, moved to England when he was a young man in search of employment. He faced discrimination especially when he married Joyce whose family disapproved of him and disowned her. They had a loving marriage and raised a couple of children until she met an early death. After her death, Hubert withdrew from friends and mostly became a hermit. My heart broke for Hubert over all the losses he experienced. Then one day the elderly widower receives news that reluctantly forces him out into the world again.

I do not want to say much here about the plot as I do not want to give anything away. There are several special moments that I do not wish to ruin for the reader.

This book addresses the societal problem of loneliness. When Hubert is forced out into the world, he surprisingly makes friends. Through these friends, he finds himself spearheading a movement to conquer loneliness in their community.

I loved this quote: “It used to be the family all looking out for one another but it’s not like that anymore…It used to be neighbours kept an eye on you but people like to keep themselves to themselves now”.

If you enjoyed “A Man Called Ove,” you are sure to enjoy this book.

All the lonely people is about Mr. Hubert Bird who is in his 80s or 90s. He is living alone in the uk in London. and he is been lying to his daughter and saying that he is doing all of these things and keeping up this life that he actually is not and it kind of plays out very interestingly.

I totally recommend this book I think if you have like a dry sense of humor you will love this book. I think if you have been struggling through the pandemic trying to figure out how to start life again, how to go outside, how to socialize again. I think you'll enjoy this book again...
You must read this book...this book is interesting

I loved this book in so many ways and will write more when the discussion is posted.

Finally a book that gives a solution to a GLOBAL problem - loneliness of aged people and even young people. Rather than have individuals TALK ABOUT IT, the characters in the book actually get together and make an action plan and PUT IT into PRACTICE. They do something about the problem and make a change! What a refreshing difference this book makes! I laughed and I cried throughout the book as Hubert retold his amazing story of moving from Jamaica to England, overcoming prejudices and marrying a white woman, raising a family and becoming a successful man in changing times. His friendships and activities in his older years are pattern to be followed by many Baby Boomers as they plot their journeys through retirement. A MUST READ!

When choosing this book, the review said if you liked "a man called ove". This is true. These two books should not be read in the same year. Although both books are well-written, the similarities are too many. The book is enjoyable and easy to read with good-sized chapters for people who have limited spurts of time. Highly recommended...just wait a little...

“Ah, look at all the lonely people; where do they all come from?” As I read this book, the lyrics of the song kept running through my head. Hubert Bird, an 84-year-old Jamaican immigrant living in London for the past 60 years, just wants to be left alone. He’s all alone and lonely and he thinks he likes it that way. When his new neighbor, Ashleigh, and her young daughter, Layla, knock on his door one day making friendly overtures to get acquainted, Hubert rebuffs them. When Hubert’s daughter Rose writes to say she’s coming to visit in a few weeks, he panics because he’s been telling Rose stories about the gay old life he’s living with his friends, and the truth is: he has no friends at all! The story then takes us through all the gyrations Hubert makes in discovering that he has a knack for convincing people that they should get together and fight against loneliness. It is quite a romp involving the whole community, and before you know it, Hubert is the president of the “Campaign to End Loneliness in Bromley”! In reading about this book, it is often compared to “A Man Called Ove.” I think you will have to read it to decide whether you agree on how Hubert measures up to Ove.