The Six Loves of Billy Binns - Richard Lumsden

Billy is over 100 years old;  served in WW1, fell in love, did stupid things, did more stupid things, never meant to hurt anyone at all..... and now, living in a home for the elderly, he wants to remember everything, so that he can get it all on paper before he dies. He's frail, and he can't hold a pen or pencil for long. So one of the staff lends him a typewriter, and he finds that easier - one letter at a time.   And you are reading it all.
Such a clever idea, to tell the story of a life - not an exceptional life, no glory in it, but a life like many people have lived before, and will again. It is a life with love in it - but are any of those people Billy recalls real loves? or just people who passed through his life? There is a lot of pathos inside these pages, and I found myself only able to read one section at a time because of the sadness within. No tears, but I did feel much empathy for Billy, as I am sure you will too, because the mistakes made were all too human.
Richard Lumsden is an actor with a familiar face, but if the parts dry up, there is certainly room in the publishing world for more of his stories. A rather unusual, but very readable debut here.