Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Secret Life Of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain. This is a gem of a book and is my favorite of the year so far. This book emotionally hit me in the heart. I listened as tears streamed down my face. To feel as though you have to hide yourself is a shame in itself because everyone had a gift in them to share with others. No matter the reason you hide.

I listened to the audiobook of this and enjoyed it. In some ways, it feels like a coming-of-age story, despite the main character being in his 60s. This tale of coming to terms with your identity after decades of being told that your identity is wrong or invalid is one that’s important to tell, and I appreciated the interview at the end. It starts off a little bit sad but is a feel-good story overall.

CW: homophobia

I think I liked this book. Though there were a few things that felt kind of weird to me. I also quite liked the narrator, Simon Vance. I’ve listened to a number of other audios narrated by him and he is quite good.

So, this is not my usual type of book, though I didn’t really know that going in. I saw ‘gay postman’ and I was in. Honestly, if it had just been ‘postman’ I still would have been in, because I can’t pass up a book about a postal worker (having spent 13 years as a postal worker in another life).

So, the book is about Albert Entwistle, who is a 64yo letter carrier. I had fun reading about his actual work, though I have to say that with current mail volumes, for a walk with 667 points of call, there is no way it should take 3.5 hours to sort. The only time I’ve been given even close to that long to sort was when I was delivering to a walk with 1200 points of call. Despite that, I really enjoyed all the work bits because it was a lot of the things I miss about the job. Also, the accuracy of a lot of the little annoyances; the mail slot with the brush bristles (seriously, who the fuck thought that up???), having to hide a big stick in a shrub so that you can distract the aggressive dog; too accurate.

Anyway, while there is a lot of postal content, that’s not really the main storyline. The main storyline is that Albert finds out 3 months before his 65th birthday that he will be forced to retire (Royal Mail does have compulsory retirement at 65). And then over Christmas he has a bit of a realization that all he has is his job (which he’s been doing since he was 16) and he sets out to make some changes. Sort of. He sets out to find the boy he fell in love with when he was 16, and we get to see his real self slowly revealed.

I’m not going to lie, the first quarter of this book is pretty bleak. Like, I felt so bad for Albert. Throughout the book we get flashbacks to the spring/summer he was 16 and in love with George and it is heartbreaking. I honestly think that’s what I got most from this book, the history and what it was like to be a gay man in the 1970s. Especially in rural, northern England. Having to constantly hide and worry about arrest (homosexual acts were legalized in 1967, but only if you were over 21, and only under certain conditions). I think one of things I liked most in the book is that at the end there are several interviews with gay men who are over 65yrs, talking about what it was like for them, being gay in the 60s and 70s. I feel like we all know we’ve come a long way with LGBTQIA+ rights, but for me, it almost seems abstract, because I don’t know a lot of specific history or what it was actually like.

Some of the things that didn’t quite work for me, and I’m going to be very general to avoid spoilers: Albert’s mam (I don’t understand any of her motives or Albert’s final decision on her), what seemed to be a throwaway line a side character said about their business partner “he’s gay so never had a family” (it just seems so stereotypical and wrong), and there were a few other small things that I’m not remembering at the moment.

Anyway, I did like this book. I want to say that I got queer Fredrik Backman vibes from this, but I’ve never actually read a Fredrik Backman, so I really don’t know if that’s accurate or not! If you are looking for a slow story about a postman’s life, this is the book for you!

This is a 5 star book/audiobook
I loved every second of this audiobook from the narrator to every single character and little detail. It is so charming and will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. I cannot wait to own my own personal physical copy, as Albert and his companions will stay with me for a long while, and I’ll want to revisit often.

This was a true little gem of a book. A closeted postman in England, Albert Entwistle is forced to retire. He lives alone and self-isolates. He goes on a quest to find a long lost love after retiring. The book was written beautifully and I was really wrapped up in Albert's life. It was funny and heart-warming. Highly recommend!
I really enjoyed the narrator's British accent, it was slight and still understandable. Good pacing, calm.