The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney is about an unlikely friendship between two old men in a nursing home.

My apologies for the delay in review of this wonderfully charming and heartwarming book! I was sure I had already written one!

Mooney has done a absolutely fantastic job with the narrative of this humorous tale of friendship. I laughed, I cried, I spent very long and thoughtful periods (during reading and after finishing the book.)

True to it’s title, it was a very unexpected story. I take my hat off to Mooney for such an enjoyable read.

This is a sometimes-poignant tale of how an elderly man fails to cope with his role in the world after the death of his wife but I found it overlong and in places, mawkish. I think it has lots to think about but whether or not it's entertaing will depend on your personal experience with old age, depression and suicida ideations.

What I read of the book was exceptional but the content triggered me so I was not able to finish it.

Joel feels like a prisoner in his own life. Mourning the loss of his beloved wife and feeling distanced from his daughter and grandchildren he thinks he is just waiting for death. So he decides he will make his own choices and welcome death with open arms. If he can control nothing in his life he can control his own death. And then Frank arrives.
This book is both hilarious and poignant. You quickly grow to love the characters (all of them) and, whilst Joel’s emotions are treated entirely seriously and raise thought provoking responses, the story is always told with fondness and a smile. Heartbreaking one moment and upliftingthe next, this book really had me hooked. I often felt it was a less “Hollywood” version of “The Bucket List” and I do think this would translate quite well to film, though some of Joel’s internal monologue would be a loss. The relationships underpin this book and therefore great characters are essential and this was certainly achieved, but beneath all this was a worrying sense of recognition towards the way we treat our elderly. An unmissable read.

Joel is an elderly man, lonely in a residential home; his wife died a few years ago, his recent roommate has just passed away and he doesn't have great relationships with his daughter or grandchildren. Enter Frank, Joel's new roommate, who listens to his plans of suicide and helps him develop them. Quickly, a strong friendship forms between the two men - could this be a new lease of life for Joel?
A sweet, endearing story - I enjoyed it a lot.