THE SIX LOVES OF BILLY BINNS is a deeply moving and honest debut set in London against the backdrop of the changing 20th century. it is reading group fiction perfect for those who loved the quirky pathos of Gail Honeyman’s ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE and the humour of Rachel Joyce’s THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY
‘A book I would like to have beside me as I grow old to remind me of what’s important in life and what is not’ Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl
I remember my dreams but not where they start.
Further back, I recall some of yesterday and the day before that. Then everything goes into a haze.
Fragments of memories come looming back like red London buses in a pea-souper.
Time plays funny tricks these days.
I wait for the next memory. I wait and I wait.
At 117 years old, Billy Binns is the oldest man in Europe and he knows his time is almost up. But Billy has a final wish: he wants to remember what love feels like one last time. As he looks back at the relationships that have shaped his flawed life – and the events that shaped the century – he recalls a life full of hope, mistakes, heartbreak and, above all, love.
‘A book I would like to have beside me as I grow old to remind me of what’s important in life and what is not’ Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl
I remember my dreams but not where they start.
Further back, I recall some of yesterday and the day before that. Then everything goes into a haze.
Fragments of memories come looming back like red London buses in a pea-souper.
Time plays funny tricks these days.
I wait for the next memory. I wait and I wait.
At 117 years old, Billy Binns is the oldest man in Europe and he knows his time is almost up. But Billy has a final wish: he wants to remember what love feels like one last time. As he looks back at the relationships that have shaped his flawed life – and the events that shaped the century – he recalls a life full of hope, mistakes, heartbreak and, above all, love.
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Reviews
The Six Loves of Billy Binns is extraordinary. Funny, heartbreaking, wise and so very uplifting, it's a beautiful story of life, love and redemption. Richard Lumsden is a natural, magical storyteller, weaving joy and pain through the life of a protagonist you can't fail to love. It's a book you read with your heart in your mouth and your breath held. It will stay with me for a long time. I loved it!
Magical
A book I would like to have beside me as I grow old to remind me of what's important in life and what is not
This uplifting and powerful debut is beautifully written, full of emotion and will tug at your heartstrings
Richard Lumsden's first novel is full of surprises and sentiment
A novel with enough warmth for the chilliest of Januarys . . . lovely
Moving
A big, assured, accomplished work
Lumsden's powers of invention and his sympathy for the human condition mean the novel never runs out of steam . . . quietly riveting
An emotional journey
Embraces the epic sweep of a century