The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife ~ Anna Johnston
At 82, Frederick Fife is on the verge of homelessness. His life savings was spent on unsuccessful cancer treatments to save his wife, and he is being evicted because he can’t afford his rent. (Shockingly, this story takes place in Australia, not the US. It feels like such an American story, right?) A fluke accident, a heart attack (not his), a man who could be his identical twin, and suddenly Frederick is living in a nearby rest home, and everyone is calling him Bernard. He tries to straighten them out, but as Bernard suffers dementia, no one will listen to him. Frederick feels pretty guilty about the whole situation, but at the same time, he now has a warm bed and 3 delicious meals a day, and also, he’s making friends. What could go wrong?
This was such a cozy, heartwarming story, I enjoyed every minute of it. Yes, there were times when misunderstandings went on far too long, but sometimes I love a book without any abuse, rape, murder, or other horrible drama. This is that book. Recommended.
18 Comments
StephLove
One of my friends said she liked this one.
J
I liked it too! It was good.
Elisabeth
I read this book last month and thought it was really sweet. It reminded me a bit of the Thursday Murder Club (minus the murder part).
I did think the toilet humour started to feel a bit tired after a while (it wasn’t horrible, but did stand out to me), but I was invested in the characters.
J
I haven’t read the Thursday Murder Club, but I think it was your review that pushed me over the edge to taking this one out from the library, so thank you!
NGS
Huh. A cozy book about fraud? Maybe I’m into it?
J
Could be satisfying! I was all in for the fraud aspect, I wanted Frederick to have a cozy bed and good food!
Nicole MacPherson
I read this in London and it was such a breath of fresh air after a whole slough of DNFs! I really liked it, it was so sweet.
J
Me too! I think it was you and Elisabeth that convinced me, though maybe there was one more person who read it too?
Gigi
This sounds like something I would enjoy; I’ve added it to my list of books.
J
I hope you enjoy it!
Suzanne
This sounds heartwarming and charming, which are things I do not gravitate toward… is there at least a murder Julie? A little one? “Accidentally committing fraud” doesn’t get my heart pounding quite enough, lol.
J
There are police involved, and some family drama…was there a murder? I don’t think so. We could pretend maybe?
Margaret
It sounds like a book I would very much enjoy and need at the moment!
J
If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it!
ernie
What a fun sounding premise. I bet I’ll enjoy this one.
J
I hope you do!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
This sounds fun.
But I need to pass on it – so many books on my TBR.
If I come across it again I might put it down.
J
SO MANY BOOKS, so little time, right?