by Mike Gayle
Hubert couldn’t wait to meet Melody’s parents, to chat with her mother, to try to repair the bonds that had been broken so long ago. It felt like something he could finally do for Joyce, even though she wasn’t here to see it happen. He could right this wrong, he could bring the family back together, he could honor his wonderful wife’s memory in the most fitting way he could imagine.
As he and Jan continued to wend their way through the crowds, he felt, for the first time in a very long while, like there might just be some light at the end of the tunnel. He’d been living in the shadows for so long, and holding on so tightly to the past, that he’d let the present pass him by. But that was then, and this was now, and he was finally ready to embrace the future and make the most of every minute he had left. To continue living wasn’t a betrayal of Joyce, of Rose, of David, of any of the life that had led him to this moment. In fact, to choose to continue living was to honor the memory of those he had loved and lost, a celebration of the life they had once shared.
Eighteen Months Later
Right,” said Ashleigh, retying the bow on Layla’s dress as the little girl stamped her feet excitedly, “has everyone checked in their coat now?”
“Yes,” said Jan, coming to stand next to Ashleigh, “and I’ve just had a lovely chat with the girl who took mine. Russian she was, or something like that. Beautiful skin.”
“I’m not leaving my coat with anyone,” said Maude. “I’ve got things in here I need.” She pulled up the collar of her dark brown boiled-wool coat and then shoved her hands deep into its pockets. “Haven’t checked my coat in anywhere since 1993, when someone stole my bus pass from the cloakroom at the bingo. Never again.”
“This is hardly the bingo hall, Maude,” said Fiona, gesturing to the ornate chandelier above them. “No one’s going to be stealing your bus pass at the Ritz.”
Emils came and stood next to Ashleigh, and Layla stretched out her hands to him. “I can’t wait to show my mum the photographs we took outside,” he said, sweeping Layla up into his arms. “She will be very proud.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere this posh,” said Randip shyly.
“It’s certainly fancy,” said Gus. “I’ve just been to the toilet and man, they’re out of this world. None of your paper towels and noisy hand-dryers here; it’s all linen napkins and expensive-looking hand lotion.”
“No doubt all built on the backs of slaves and the working classes,” said Tony bitterly. He pulled uncomfortably at the tie he was wearing under protest. “I feel all itchy just being here.”
“Thanks for that, Tony,” said Ashleigh. “But let’s just remember why we are here, eh?”
A waiter appeared and informed them that their table was ready. Gathering themselves together, they followed him up a short flight of marble steps. The table was draped in spotless white linen and set with bone china teacups and plates, starched white napkins, and silver cutlery so polished that Gus even pretended to check his reflection in a butter knife.
As they sat down, their waiter, a young man smartly dressed in a bow tie, waistcoat, and tails, brought over menus, while another filled their glasses with champagne before departing.
Standing up, Ashleigh addressed the table. “Even after all the practice I’ve had over the past year and a half, I’m still not great at making speeches, and certainly not the kind of speech I need to make right now.” She paused, and Emils, who was sitting next to her, put a reassuring hand on her arm. “On behalf of Jan and myself, I just want to thank you all for coming today to remember our dear, dear friend, Hubert. It’s been just over two months since we lost him, and even now, not a day goes by when I don’t walk past his house and look over at it, hoping to see him clipping his front hedge, washing his windows, or watering his hanging baskets.” She paused again and glanced over at Jan, who was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
“No one’s ever ready to let those they love go, but we can take some comfort from the fact that, as Hubert told me himself when he was in hospital, this past year of his life had been one in which he’d found not just happiness and peace but real purpose too. When I think back to his funeral, seeing the church as full as it was, it really gladdens my heart. I lost count of the number of times someone stopped me to say what a difference the campaign had made to them. I remember an old lady telling me how, after years alone, she’d finally had the courage to join one of the social groups that are still going on all these months after the launch week. A single mum who, thanks to the campaign, was able to connect with other mums in the area. A Syrian refugee who joined the Bromley Buddy scheme we set up and told me that because of it, he finally felt like he had somewhere to call home. And I know that every single one of us sitting around this table today has a story to tell about someone they know whose life has been changed for the better by the campaign.”
She looked around the table again and picked up her glass.
“More than that, we’ve all ourselves been changed for the better by working together and knowing Hubert. By arranging this lovely treat for us, I know that he wanted to say thank you to all of us for the difference we made to him too. And even though he’s not with us, his legacy lives on in the committee and the people we’ve become as a result of knowing such a kind and wonderful man. So, let’s raise our glasses and make a toast to Hubert Bird: our president, our neighbor, and our friend!”
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks as always for their time, advice, and friendship are due to: everyone at Hodder, everyone at UA, Nick Sayers, Amy Batley, Alice Morley, Jenny Platt, Ariella Feiner, Molly Jamieson, Richard and Judy, the Sunday Night Pub Club, the Board (in all its guises), Neil Price, Jenny Colgan, Jill Mansell, Beth O’Leary, Rosie Walsh, Libby Page, Sophie Kinsella, Lisa Jewell, Julie Cohen, Michelle Collins, Lenny Henry, Clare Mackintosh, Amanda Ross (and all at Cactus), Tracey Rees, Miranda Dickinson, Freya North, Ruth Hogan, all the “Lockdown Reading” regulars (you’ve made a weird time in history infinitely more bearable), and last but by no means least, my amazing readers for their support, enthusiasm, and general loveliness.
Discover Your Next Great Read
Get sneak peeks, book recommendations, and news about your favorite authors.
Tap here to learn more.
About the Author
Mike Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham, UK. After earning a sociology degree, he moved to London to become a journalist and ended up as an advice columnist for a teenage girls’ magazine before working as features editor for another teen magazine. He has written for a variety of publications, including the Sunday Times, the Guardian, and Cosmo. Mike became a full-time novelist in 1997 and has written thirteen novels, which have been translated into more than thirty languages. After stints in London and Manchester, Mike now resides in Birmingham with his wife, two kids, and a rabbit.
Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
1. For Hubert, it was the death of his daughter that led him to a life of loneliness. Who in your life inspires you to live life to the fullest?
2. Ashley makes a huge leap of faith by setting out on her own to raise her daughter. What kind of strength does it take to create the type of life you want while raising a child?
3. Hubert didn’t allow the color of his skin to dictate who he loved or the life he wanted to live. Have you ever defied someone else’s expectations or prejudices to pursue what makes you happy?
4. Discuss the moments of obvious/subtle racism Hubert had to overcome throughout the story. What can non-immigrants be aware of/do to help immigrants transition to life in a new country?
5. Gus’s descent into loneliness took on a dramatically different form than Hubert’s. While Hubert’s home still provided him the comforts he needed, Gus’s degraded and left him living in unhealthy conditions. Why do you think Gus found himself living like this?
6. Hubert grieves by keeping to himself. What are different ways of grieving and what kind of support do people need?
<
br /> 7. Hubert reluctantly left his loneliness behind to connect with his community and past friends. What have you reluctantly done that resulted in an unexpected joy?
8. Joyce stood up against racism to be with Hubert even though things in her life may have been easier without Hubert in it. What does that tell you about who Joyce is as a person and her values in life?
9. Hubert has a difficult relationship with his son. What caused David to turn to drugs and could Hubert have handled the situation differently? If yes, how?
10. Life is filled with joy, but also sadness. Discuss times when you felt like giving up, but your friends and family helped you find your joy again.
11. Hubert crafts an exciting lifestyle for himself in a notebook instead of going out and living it. Discuss why he does this even though he knows that it’s not his daughter on the phone that he’s telling these stories to.
12. To Hubert, his family was everything and he was willing to do anything for them. What does family mean to you?
13. If you could start a movement in your community, what would it be? And why?
A Q & A with the Author
Q. Your parents’ immigrant story is the foundation of Hubert’s story. What can you share with us about your parents’ story?
A. Unlike Hubert, who arrived by boat from the West Indies in the late 1950s, my parents arrived a decade later by plane. Both Hubert’s and my parents’ generation came to the UK having been invited to do so by the government to help meet the labor shortage in the postwar years. Instead of being welcomed, however, they were met with racism and prejudice at every turn, some of it overt, some of it more subtle, but all of it a shocking reality check. The mother country that they had been taught about at school turned out not to be a very loving parent.
Q. What made you want to write a story about a lonely person?
A. As Rose says in the book, “Loneliness is an epidemic,” and I wanted to look at this phenomenon through a single character. One of the questions I was curious about was, how do lonely people become lonely people? Are they born or are they made? As we look across Hubert’s life we see him leave his family in Jamaica, move countries, meet Joyce, start a new family, and then gradually, one by one, he loses his new family and his life empties out. There’s nothing unusual about Hubert’s story in a way, yet at the same time it’s completely and utterly heartbreaking—the inherent tragedy of being a human being. So I suppose one of the central questions of the book is, do you resign yourself to the fact that one day your life might be empty or try to fill it up with new friends and “family”?
Q. What does having a community of friends and family mean to you?
A. I think family and community is all about meeting that fundamental human need of belonging. On a family level it’s about looking after the needs and concerns of your household and also spending time with each other. On a community level I think it’s about having that wider connection outside the household, whether it’s based on location, belief, or commonality. It’s about looking out for one another and caring about what happens to other people.
Q. The discussion of race in today’s world is so important. What has changed since the time your parents emigrated from Jamaica and what progress still needs to be made?
A. There’s no doubt that things have definitely improved, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. My mum used to talk about how when she first came to the country people would sometimes cross the road to avoid her. The fact that that kind of blatant racism is now no longer socially acceptable doesn’t mean that racism no longer exists. Often it goes underground, becomes more subtle—more insidious. We need more diversity in power. My children need to see people who look like them in every single walk of life from the very top all the way down; they need to feel that they aren’t going to be judged by the color of their skin or the way that they speak.
Q. You wrote a beautiful cast of characters, each with a very distinct personality. Where do you draw inspiration from to help you breathe life into each character and make them jump off the page?
A. I’ve always been a bit of a people watcher. I love nothing more than spending a few hours in a café pretending to work but actually observing what’s going on around me, and there are always so many characters to choose from! Loud people, quiet people, people who like to tell jokes, and people who are a little more reserved. That’s one of the wonderful things about human beings—we’re so diverse! Also I often read my work aloud as I’m writing, particularly with dialogue. That way I can check that it sounds natural, the way a real person might speak.
Q. Is there a character you identify with the most in All the Lonely People? Why?
A. I think it’s got to be Hubert. He reminds me partly of my father but also the elderly version of myself I fear awaits me in the future. I like the fact that even though he’s in his eighties Hubert is stylish and still takes pride in his appearance. Both my parents are very similar in this regard and so, I fear, am I!
Q. What do you hope your readers will take away from reading All the Lonely People?
A. Primarily that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they put their minds to it. I think all too often it’s easy to feel powerless or to assume that the only change that can come about is from the top down. What All the Lonely People shows is that when we come together with a common cause, we can make a difference. I also love the idea of having a grand ambition. I think it’s good to have unrealistic targets, to, in effect, shoot for the moon. Too often we limit ourselves to what we believe is possible, which has the potential to blind us to the real possibilities before us.
Q. Was there any research you did to make sure the flashback chapters were historically accurate?
A. I did a great deal of research and there are some wonderful resources out there. YouTube has some wonderful old Pathé newsreels from the period, which helped me get a picture in my head of both the West Indies and the UK in the 1950s and beyond. Other resources that were helpful were:
• Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children, edited by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff (Headline)
• Back in Time for Brixton (BBC 2)
• Black Nurses: The Women Who Saved the NHS (BBC 4)
Q. You wrote several books before All the Lonely People. Does your writing process change from book to book?
A. Absolutely. Although I wouldn’t say it changes so much as it adapts! All the Lonely People is actually my seventeenth book and each book I write is a learning process. I’d like to say that it gets easier but I’d be lying! I treat each story I write as a fresh challenge. I hate the idea of just churning out the same thing book after book. My readers deserve more than this and I’d be bored to tears!
Q. When did you realize that you wanted to become a writer?
A. I’ve always loved books right back to when I was very small and trips to the library were the highlight of my week. On one of those visits I remember picking up a book called Just William by Richmal Crompton. It was about a schoolboy called William who constantly found himself in all sorts of scrapes through “no fault” of his own. I enjoyed it so much that the very first thing I did after reading the last page was to borrow my dad’s old typewriter and attempt to write my own version called Just Michael!
Q. When you’re not writing, what are your favorite hobbies or things to do?
A. After a morning spent writing I like to do anything that involves not staring at a screen! Usually the first thing I’ll do is get outside and take my dog for a walk. He’s a rescue greyhound and loves being outside, and so whether it’s sunny, rainy, or snowing he makes me take him out. Normally I’ll wear my headphones and listen to an audiobook, or sometimes I’ll leave the headphones at home and instead listen to my thoughts! Other than that I enjoy reading (I usually have at least two or three books going on at once), going to the gym (mostly because it’s a great place to listen to audiobooks or catch up on podcasts and still get fit!), and watching good drama on TV (recent fav
orites have included The Good Fight, Ozark, and Line of Duty).
Q. What’s one thing you want all your readers to know about you?
A. That I love being a writer and I care about what I do. Each book I write is a labor of love and takes a lot of time, blood, sweat, and tears, and I’m happy to do that because I really believe in the power of a good story. There’s nothing better than being fully immersed in a good book and meeting fantastic characters you care about and for whom you want nothing more than the happy ending that’s due to them.
Understanding History to Write a Modern-Day Novel
It used to be the case that whenever anyone asked me about the research I’d undertaken during the course of writing one of my novels I’d say something debonair like, “My life is my research!” I’d raise an eyebrow as if to make it clear what an incredibly interesting person I was, constantly having adventures and living life to the fullest. The truth of the matter, however, is that I’m actually quite boring, really, and even worse I prefer it that way. I like my drama to exist only inside the pages of the books I write. Real-life drama isn’t my thing, at least if I can help it.