A little boy and his grandfather embark on a quest to find the old man's missing birthday in Diana Rosie's debut novel, Alberto's Lost Birthday.
Alberto is an old man. But he doesn't know how old - he remembers nothing before his arrival at an orphanage during the Spanish civil war.
He rarely thinks about his missing childhood, but when seven-year-old Tino discovers his grandfather has never had a birthday party, never blown out candles on a birthday cake, never received a single birthday present, he's determined things should change. And so the two set out to find Alberto's birthday.
Their search for the old man's memories takes them deep into the heart of Spain - a country that has pledged to forget its painful past. As stories of courage, cruelty and love unfold, Alberto realises that he has lost more than a birthday. He has lost a part of himself. But with his grandson's help, he might just find it again.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781447293019
Number of pages: 288
Weight: 420 g
Dimensions: 216 x 135 x 24 mm
An excellent first novel. Evoked the atmospher of Spain, past and present, vividly. Believed in all the characters. Good twist at the end, which I wasn't expecting.
I really enjoyed the style of writing, telling the story through each colourful character a chapter at a time. The chapters link the story, with tales from the past, through to the present, where Alberto goes on... More
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