The Inconvenient Need to Belong introduces us to Alfie, an old man with no visitors, living in a care home. To combat his loneliness, he sneaks out to the local park every Saturday to feed the ducks, where he meets Fred a young boy, to whom Alfie tells his life story in order to impart some wisdom.
This book really reminded me of books like Three Things About Elsie and The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. I liked that the story also focuses on Julia, a nurse at the care home who wants to learn more about this rather grumpy old man.
I thought that this was a heartwarming story about getting old, life and grief. Using the young Fred as a way to convey imparting wisdom to the next generation, is a brilliant idea and like in life, it’s just whether the younger generations as willing to listen.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loved either the books that I have mentioned or the contemporary family saga stories that are similar on the market. A lovely read to curl up with and enjoy.
| Primary Genre | Family Drama |
| Recommendations: |
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?... Read Full Review
