Mark Twain wrote: It is sound judgment to put on a bold face and play your hand for a hundred tunes what it is worth; forty-nine times out of fifty nobody dares to "call," and you roll in the chips.
Category: Human Relations
Average Rating: 4.0
Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he'd return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there's nobody left in Fred's life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he's desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness.
But Fred's luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of grumpy Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head--as long as his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.
Denise Simms is stuck breathing the same disappointing air again and again. A middle-aged mom and caregiver at Bernard's facility, her crumbling marriage and daughter's health concerns are suffocating her joy for life. Wounded by her two-faced husband, she vows never to let a man deceive her again.
As Fred walks in Bernard's shoes, he leaves a trail of kindness behind him, fueling Denise's suspicions about his true identity. When unexpected truths are revealed, Fred and Denise rediscover their sense of purpose and learn how to return a broken life to mint condition.
Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a hilarious, feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family.
Rating: 4
This is not a romance novel, but it could reasonably be called a love story. It's all about love and loneliness, about regrets and forgiveness, and about caring and kindness. It's a character-driven story with a happy ending, expertly read by Tim Carroll. It's set in Australia, but the accents aren't strong and the narration is quite understandable. It's a very touching story that I highly recommend to all.
Copyright © 2006-2026 by MyListens.com