The borrowed life of frederick fife - anna johnston

For readers of Remarkably Bright Creatures and The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry , a warm, life-affirming debut about a zany case of mistaken identity that allows a lonely old man one last chance to be part of a family.

Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise Ill take excellent care of it.

Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart.

If he borrowed your car, hed return it washed with a full tank of gas.

The problem is theres nobody left in Freds life to borrow from.

At eighty-two, hes desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness.

Freds luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of Bernard Greer at the local nursing home.

Now he has a roof over his head, three meals a day, and, most importantly, the chance to be part of a family again.

All he has to do is hope that his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.

As Fred navigates life in Bernards shoes, he learns about the mans past and what it might take to return a life in better condition than he found it.

Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family, from an exciting new voice in fiction.