Approaching 80, frail and alone, a remarkable man makes the journey from his sheltered home in England to Berlin to meet his granddaughter. He has six days left to live and must relate his life story before he dies…

His life has been rich and full. He has witnessed first-hand the rise of the Nazis, experienced heartrending family tragedy, fought in the German army, been interred in a POW camp in Scotland and faced violent persecution in peacetime Britain. But he has also touched many lives, fallen deeply in love, raised a family and survived triumphantly at the limits of human endurance. He carries within him an astonishing family secret that he must share before he dies…a story that will mean someone else’s salvation.

Welcome to the moving, heart-warming and uncommon life of Alfred Warner.

Elderly Alfred Warner, is on the way to visit his granddaughter, Brynja, for the first time in Germany. Upon arrival, there is no-one there to meet him. Sitting on a bench deciding what to do next, he is helped by good Samaritan Julia, who offers him a lift to Brynja’s flat.

When they arrive at the building, they discover that Brynja is in hospital after jumping from her balcony. With nothing else to do, Julia takes Alfred home with her, and has him stay there.

Brynja is in a serious condition, and is in a coma. Discovering that she is unlikely to wake up within the next six days, Alfred asks Julia to do him a very big favour. He wants her to listen to his life story, and then to tell his granddaughter, as he will be dead in six days and won’t get to tell her himself.

The Uncommon Life of Alfred Warner, is a mesmerising, empathetic, gripping story, quite often heart-wrenching too. When I agreed to read the book, I wasn’t too sure whether I would like it or not, but boy I was mistaken. I loved every minute of it!

Starting off as a young boy, living in Germany with his family, Alfred tells the story of how he came to hear women speak to him, though not in real life, but in his head. How they first helped save his baby sister. The voices play a big part in his life, right the way up until his death.

Alfred is a captivating character, one you instantly fall in love with. He certainly led a full life, including both hard and amazing times. You are taken through various emotions, as you stand shoulder to shoulder with Alfred throughout his life story. From feeling pity and sadness, as he suddenly became an orphan, to love and joy when he married the woman of his dreams. Your emotions will be all over the place.

I looked forward to picking the book up each day, and I can’t remember the amount of people that I have told to read it. I would go as far to say it has been my favourite read of 2017, and it’s going to take one hell of a book to surpass it. Not only was this a unique, spell-binding novel, Juliet has an amazing way with words. She makes you feel at ease throughout this book, even with some of the difficult, emotional scenes.

The Uncommon Life of Alfred Warner in Six Days is a book that you will take into your heart and never let it go. Alfred’s story needs to be heard, and you need to hear it.

Juliet Conlin was born in London and grew up in England and Germany. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Durham. She works as a writer and translator and lives with her husband and four children in Berlin.

She writes in both English and German. Her debut novel The Fractured Man was published by Cargo in 2013. She is currently working on her third novel, Exile Shanghai, set in a Jewish ghetto in 1940’s China.

www.julietconlin.com
@julietconlin
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