Frank And Red by Matt Coyne

 

Frank and Red by Matt Coyne.

Published 1st February 2024 by Wildfire.

From the cover of the book:

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.

***********

Frank's life has grown small since the death of his wife Marcie nearly two years ago. Having fallen out with his son at Marcie's funeral, after a painful outburst of recriminations, his grief confines him to the house and he has not gone beyond his own garden gate for many months. His only company comes from the occasional visits of life-long friend Fat Ken, who refuses to be put off by Frank's dark moods, and the 'ghost' of Marcie - who Frank is convinced is simply his own conscience fighting a losing battle to try to get him to pull himself together.

Frank is suddenly wrenched from his curmudgeonly zone when a familiar-looking, young single mother and her son, six-year-old-son Red, move in next door. Red is struggling too. He is bewildered by the break-up of his parents' marriage, and the absence of his father, and is finding it impossible to make friends at a new school, especially as he has become the target of the class bully.

Against the odds, Frank and Red strike up an unlikely friendship over the (broken) garden fence. A friendship that will change both of their lives...

Frank and Red is an unlikely buddy story that hits the 'in-the-feels' spot to perfection. Frank and Red are both lost souls. Frank has become comfortable in his sweary, grumpy old sod rut, drinking himself into oblivion to forget his sorrows, and ignore the commentary of ghostly Marcie on his sorry state - especially when it comes to his refusal to make his peace with their son, Mikey. Not even the persistent, cheery attempts of lifelong friend, Fat Ken, can shift him from the place he has gone to. But something magical happens when little Red moves in next door. Red, at six years old, has no concept of personal space, and he inserts himself into Frank's life to significant effect - via many bad-tempered games of Guess Who?, some companionable DIY, an unfortunate incident with a fish, and Red's misguided 'mission' to help Frank make up things with Mikey ahead of his granddaughter's christening.

Both Frank and Red spring from these pages as fully-formed, totally convincing characters, and through them Coyne explores a wealth of themes around over-whelming grief, family, friendship, and the loss of the people you rely on to help you navigate the bumps in the road on life's journey. Coyne gets into the nitty gritty of heavy subjects, but he examines them with a sensitivity that is astonishing for a debut novel, alternately lightening the mood with wicked humour and going right for the emotional jugular to bring a lump to your throat.

I laughed and cried my way through this heart-warming masterpiece, totally falling in love with the characters and Coyne's writing. This is going to be hard one to beat when it comes to my book of 2024, and I recommend it to you whole-heartedly as a gem that you it would be a crime for you to miss - make sure you get the tissues in before you read it, because you are going to need them... 

Frank and Red is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Wildfire for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Matt Coyne lives in South Yorkshire with his partner Lyndsay, their son Charlie, and a Jack Russell - with 'issues' - called Popcorn. Frank and Red is Matt's first novel, but he is the author of two Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction books inspired by his popular parenting blog and social media profile: Man vs Baby (Dummy and Man vs Toddler). He also writes children's books about monsters and stuff.

When he is not writing, Matt enjoys the pub, obscure Japanese films and falling for clickbait headlines, like '13 potatoes that look like Channing Tatum'.