Frankie
ISBN: 9781529391442
Description
Always on the periphery, looking on, young Frankie Howe was never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage - after all, life had already judged her harshly. Now old, Frankie finds it easier to forget the life that came before. Then Damian, a young Irish carer, arrives at her London flat, there to keep an eye on her as she recovers from a fall. A memory is sparked, and the past crackles into life as Damian listens to the story Frankie has kept stored away all these years.
Reviewed on 16th August 2025
Graham somehow has the ability to output charming, sad, but incredibly readable novels over and over. It's almost annoying how good he turns out to be as a novelist.
This is the story of Frankie, a now elderly Irish lady living in London, as told to her temporary overnigh carer, a young man recently migrated from Ireland. Little by little she opens up and shares more of her life, which alternates between highs and lows.
The highs are amazing, but tinged with the knowledge that this is ultimately a tragedy, and so nothing will last. Despite the sadness though, I kept wanting to keep going and find out what was next for Frankie, and the people she'd picked up along the way.
It's also a story of an ally, starting well outside the LGBT community and joining in from the outside, and given it's set across the past 70 years or so that naturally adds to the sadness and tragedy of the story.
I loved reading this.
