The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle - Matt Cain

Author: Matt Cain

Narrator: Layton Williams

Genre: LGBTQ Fiction, Contemporary Drama

Rating: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A sweet story that goes somewhat predictably but still hits the mark. The audiobook is a wonderful choice to get to know Albert Entwistle.

Story:

64 year old Albert has been a postman all his adult life. And that’s all that people know about him. He is a loner, not because he hates people but he is afraid of them and of theirs discovering his big secret. When he receives an official letter saying he has to retire from his job on his 65th birthday, Albert is left questioning his life choices. With no family, no friends and no future, is he destined to spend the rest of his life alone? Albert decides that it high time to take charge of the situation and begin making some courageous changes in his life, including a search for his long lost love, George.

The story is written in a limited third person pov of Albert and one of his young neighbours, single mom Nicole, who is trying hard to get her life back on track.

Where the book worked for me:

❤ 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.)

❤ The rest of the characters in the book are also quite interesting, though not much layered. They all come in predictable patterns but are carved in a way as to make many of them interesting. Nicole is the best of the other characters, what with her shyness considered snootiness and her single Black mom status marking her as a potential failure.

❤ The book incorporates several factual elements of the discrimination faced by gay boys during the 60s and 70s in the UK. I was impressed with the level of detail the author had incorporated in the story and the bonus section of the audiobook reveals the extent of his research. It seems to be an accurate rendition of the emotional upheavals these boys must have undergone just because of their sexual orientation. (A part of the homosexual representation felt over-the-top and stereotypical to me, but the author is a well-known commentator on LGBT+ issues and a former journalist. So I will trust his portrayal than my “feelings” which are more based on the rubbish LGBT+ representation in mass media. This book has been enlightening in that regard.)

❤ The book focusses on the importance of having the right kind of people in your life. It covers a whole gamut of relationships, right from parents (supportive as well as toxic), friends, neighbours, office colleagues, married couples, dating couples (both heterosexual and homosexual),… each relationship is given a fair bit of weightage and adds to the appeal of the story.

❤ There are too many characters but don't worry about memorising them. Each person is sketched well enough for you to move on with the flow and still recall them whenever they come up in the plot.

❤ The audiobook was one big factor in my enjoyment of this book. (More on this below.)

Where the book could have worked better for me:

💔 The story is quite predictable, with only a couple of surprises along the way. Then again, I should have expected this, considering it is contemporary general fiction.

💔 I wish the secondary characters had been more layered than one-dimensional.

💔 It tries too hard to incorporate varied social commentary in the narrative, with topics ranging from Afro hair to climate change. I understand the need for topics but the core issue here was huge enough without treating the book as a chance to broadcast more meaningful messages for societal betterment.

💔 The character change in both Nicole and Albert is almost abrupt. Both were introverted/reserved at the start but transition almost overnight into friendly and conversational, neither of which is an easy skill for an introvert and takes a long time to develop.

⚠ I don’t think most readers will see this as a negative, but to me, it was a minor red flag. There is one line in the story that is an important part of Albert’s past relationship with George and comes up 2-3 times: “I love you a little bit more than yesterday and a little bit less than tomorrow.” It is cheesily cute but it is not original. The quote is quite common and is a translated excerpt of a French poem by Rosemonde Gérard, ‘Chaque jour je t'aime davantage, aujourd'hui plus qu'hier, et bien moins que demain.” I don’t know how I feel about an author taking another writer’s line and including it almost verbatim in their work without due credit.

The audiobook experience:

The audiobook clocks at 12.5 hours and is narrated by Layton Williams. I was so impressed by his narration and his accent that I Googled him and ended up open-mouthed in astonishment! What perfect casting for this audiobook! I couldn’t figure out his accent but I simply loved it, though it took me a bit of time initially to understand him. His voice is so beautiful and so suited to everyone in the cast. The subtle nuances of his character-voicing ensure that we never get confused about which character is speaking (and this is in a book with quite a lot of characters.) I especially loved the way he voiced Marjorie when she was going through one of her hot flushes. 😂😂 10/10 for his narration.

A great narrator can make an audiobook, and this one certainly benefited from its narrator. But I also want to commend its production quality. There are special audio effects for phone call conversations, such that the speaker on the other end sounds as if he/she is actually on the phone with us. There is a megaphone kind of effect for tannoy announcements. There is a musical interlude each time Alfred goes into flashback about George. And it’s not even the same music each time but changes depending on the mood of the flashback. So many glimpses into the past and a complicated present timeline with multiple characters, yet there’s never a moment of confusion. All credit to the audiobook producer.

The icing on the cake? There is a 30 minute audio-exclusive material where author Matt Cain reveals his research methodology and some interview excerpts with gay men who lived through the 50s/60s/70s. These are quite emotional and eye-opening.

All in all, despite the somewhat formulaic approach, the book offers plenty of insightful content and is a pretty good reading experience. If I had read it, I might have rated it a 3.25-3.5. But the audiobook definitely enhanced my experience and I’ll go with a higher rating. The Netgalley tagline calls this “the most uplifting and heart-warming PERFECT COMFORT LISTEN”, and I agree.

My thanks to Headline Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.