Frank and Red – Matt Coyne @manversus baby #frankandred @wildfirebooks @headlinepg

My thoughts

Thank you to Ollie Martin for my invitation to the blog tour and to Wildfire Books for my copy of the book.

Frank and Red are very different, one is a bereaved man and the other a lonely six year old boy who meet when Red moves with his mum to live next door to Frank.

Frank was happily married to Marcie a successful author and father to a son Michael (Mikey). Sadly Marcie passed away after a short illness and Frank now lives alone angry, sad and isolated. As a young child Red reads none of the social cues that Frank exhibits and he starts to wear down his defences. Red is also suffering, starting again at a new school,these scenes nearly broke my heart as he tries to navigate new friendships and keeping his sadness from his mum so she doesn’t worry.

Frank and Mikey his son are estranged after the death of Marcie and this only exacerbates his grief and isolation. Frank is really stubborn and will not reach out to Mikey even though Mikey has tried.

This is an absolutely beautiful book, it is funny and heartbreaking in equal measures. I really enjoy books with intergenerational relationships and this one is sublime. Frank’s sweary outbursts made me laugh out loud and Red’s naivety and fragility made my heart hurt.

This is definitely going to be one of my books of the year because it is unputdownable, uplifting and beautiful.

Frank and Red will be remembered for a long time.

5 stars *****

About the book

Sometimes, the friend you need is the one you never saw coming.

‘A lovely feel-good treat’ The Times | ‘Heart-warming, perceptive and empathetic’ CultureFly

Frank and Red are a mess.

Frank is a grumpy old curmudgeon. A recluse whose only company is the ‘ghost’ of his dead wife, Marcie. He is estranged from his friends, his son, and the ever-changing world beyond his front gate.

And then Red moves in next door.

Red is six. A boy struggling to adjust to the separation of his mum and dad, a new school, and the demonic school bully. Red is curious, smart, he never stops talking, and he’s got a trampoline.
From the moment Red’s blonde mop appears over the top of the fence that divides their two gardens, the unlikeliest of friendships is born.

. . . And it is a friendship that will change both of their lives forever.