The Reinvention of Albert Paugh by Jean Davies Okimoto will most definitely make my favorites list this year! It is a delightful novel that left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside and I so loved it and its quirky characters that have taken up a place in my heart.
Dr. Albert Paugh is having a tough time in the last year or so. To begin with he’s flunking being retired. Who does that? Albert had been a vet living on the quaint Vashon Island for more years than he can count but a heart attack and his wife’s cancer prompted him into retirement and now he has absolutely no idea what to do with himself. To top that his wife announces one day that she wants a divorce and she’s leaving him to live with her friend. How much can one guy take? Since his wife had owned the house and she’s selling it Albert rents a cottage on Baker’s Beach. He and his dog Bert visit with friends but Albert essentially just feels lost until he meets Bonnie, a widow renting a cottage across the way from him. What he feels when he’s with Bonnie is so much different than with his ex wife – he feels loved and accepted. Even better she loves dogs. Still Albert needs to find some way to reinvent himself in order to feel good about himself and this later part of his life. The question is what will fulfill him in such a way …
As I was reading I fell in love with Albert Paugh and his dog Bert. It doesn’t matter that he’s quite a bit older than me and a fictional character – I adored him. He’s such a kind, sweet man and his love for his dog, really for any animals, made him all the more attractive. It was so cute because you see this quite often when an older gentleman becomes a widow or divorced there are women coming out of the woodwork and Albert had no shortage of women trying to get his attention. Yet Albert was more comfortable with his dog than most people and that came from a traumatic experience in his childhood and even into his being an adult and his wife not accepting him as he was.
I really felt for Albert and I think many people will relate to him and his story. As for a bookclub pick I think this would be a great selection especially if you have a group of people that are up there in age a bit. There are a multitude of topics to discuss like retirement, divorce, pets, new love in later life, and just the need to feel loved and accepted as we move through our lives. And the big one … it’s never too late to start again or to find love.
I can’t recommend this book strongly enough. It’s such a heartwarming and beautiful story and if you love animals you will love Albert. I could see myself and my own intense love for my dogs in so many parts of this story. Once again I highly recommend The Reinvention of Albert Paugh. You might want a box of tissues – not because anything bad happens – just because if you’re anything like me you cry just because! Loved it – lots!
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I can totally see why you’d fall for Albert – I’m sure I will as well when I read his story.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
Oh wow, this sounds like a great one and Albert Paugh sounds like a character one can’t help but love.
Great review! Happy weekend 🙂