The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: the most heartwarming and uplifting love story of the year

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He lives alone with his cat Gracie and listening to music is the highlight of his day. He has no friends and no human love in his life. Albert Entwistle was a postman. It was one of the few things everyone knew about him. And it was one of the few things he was comfortable with people knowing. This audiobook contains exclusive interviews by Matt Cain with gay men on their experiences growing up through the 1950s to in the 1970s and the 1980s.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain | Goodreads The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain | Goodreads

year-old Albert Entwistle has been a postie in a quiet town in Northern England for all his life, living alone since the death of his mam 18 years ago. He keeps himself to himself. He always has. But he's just learned he'll be forced to retire at his next birthday. With no friends and nothing to look forward to, the lonely future he faces terrifies him. He realises it's finally time to be honest about who he is. He must learn to ask for what he wants. And he must find the courage to look for the man that, many years ago, he lost - but has never forgotten . . . I really felt for Albert. Growing up he had to put up with rampant homophobia, even though he was in the closet then, from school friends to his parents. His parents were real pieces of work. Seeing how their homophobic abuse caused Albert to wither in on himself; the emotional scarring of which stayed with Albert long after they died. But seeing Albert finally able to flourish now, coming out and being accepted and loved was so pure and beautiful!!The Independent best ‘never-too-late’ story of 2021, and one of the 8 best uplifting books of the year* My favourite character has got to be Albert, he had a determination that shone and after years of hiding and being alone was ready to fully embrace life. I also loved the young George. I could vividly imagine his flamboyant ways, singing, and dancing when the two met at the bunker. There's really nothing surprising in this story, but that's not a criticism. It's a lovely heartwarming experience and one that I am glad to have had. Two things further enriched my listening pleasure: narrator Simon Vance was superb. He singly narrated a large cast of characters and not once was I confused about who was speaking. The second was author Matt Cain talking about his research and some excerpts of his interviews with gay men who lived through the eras that Albert's story is set in.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: the most heartwarming

year-old Albert Entwistle has been a postie in a quiet town in Northern England for all his life, living alone since the death of his mam 18 years ago. He keeps himself to himself. He always has. But he's just learned he'll be forced to retire at his next birthday. With no friends and nothing to look forward to, the lonely future he faces terrifies him. He realises it's finally time to be honest about who he is. He must learn to ask for what he wants. And he must find the courage to look for George, the man that, many years ago, he lost - but has never forgotten . . .

Albert is such an endearing character– flawed, funny and awkward, but completely relatable. A wonderfully warm story that completely drew me in’ RUTH HOGAN

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle (Audio Download): Matt The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle (Audio Download): Matt

I loved this book, and all of the characters that Albert worked with. They all had their own stories to tell, and I loved the way they helped Albert to come out of his shell, and be courageous. This is a great, easy to read book, which is very enjoyable, uplifting and heartwarming, and I highly recommend it. George wasn't like Albert, he couldn't hide his secret. Not as well as Albert. I don’t think, for one moment, that George, now in his sixties ever thought, maybe it wasn’t that George couldn't hide his secret, maybe George didn't want to hide his secret. Because while Albert has spent almost the rest of his life as a postman, the only kind of life lived, watching others live, delivering their mail, always an outsider, watching, which is no way to live, no life at all. And, because Albert chose to keep what he wanted in life a secret, he has been unable to live, at all, seemingly, somewhat paralyzed by fear of others “knowing”. 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. LGBT plays a big part in this book and it was so very well woven through, showing past experiences and how they contrasted with present experiences. Novels featuring older protagonists have become among some of my very favorites: Harold Fry, Ove, Missy, to name just a few. With much of their lives behind them, they have wonderful stories to tell and a richness to their character that draws empathy and compassion. I am now adding Albert Entwistle to this list.When it comes to written – rather than verbal – evidence of working-class queer lives, this is often ambiguous. For Stephen Hornby's last play, The Adhesion of Love, he researched a group of working-class men from Bolton who set up a Walt Whitman appreciation society in the 1880s. They entered into regular correspondence with America’s great queer poet – and two of them even travelled to New York to visit him. In the play, Hornby has inferred that the men were what we'd now call gay. "If we look at the record that does exist of the Bolton men’s lives with the assumption that they were heterosexual," he says, "we're just left with a lot of puzzles and unanswerable questions. If we flip it, and assume they were interested in men sexually and emotionally, then all those puzzles disappear, and all the questions are answered." I so enjoyed this – a warm-hearted, moving and thought-provoking joy about an elderly postman’s awakening to life and love’ FANNY BLAKE What we see all through history is that people are denied their past as part of a way to control them," says Hornby. "The fascist playbook is always to destroy the history and culture of the minority it is repressing. History empowers us. At its most fundamental, it says, 'We have always been here. We have a place.'"

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain | Waterstones

As a therapist I can understand that this book gives a very important and positive message. There are actually certain clients I would recommend it to.This was a good story! I was able to care for Albert and I was sad about how alone he was and how his life was so full of fear. I enjoyed his journey to self-discovery with the help of Nicole, his workmates, and Edith. What I wasn't sure about was him trying to look for George after so long and not realizing that maybe George already had a family or a special someone. 50 years is a long time to wait. Albert is set in his life, not drawing too much attention to himself and leads a strict routine. He is a post office worker and lives with his Cat. People always seem to tell him everything, but he just wants to lead his simple life. Then the unimaginable happens and that dreaded letter of retirement changes everything and seems to set off a whole string of unlikeable events. Without giving the whole story away, he soon discovers that people in general are not that bad to get to know, and that love always conquers all.