One for my baby /

Alfie Budd goes to Hong Kong to teach English and finds more than he ever dreamed he could: the woman of his dreams, who loves him back, and a world that is exotic and feels more like home to him than England. Tragically, Alfie loses his wife in a freak diving accident and he returns to England in order to "get on with life." But he doesn't. He takes a job teaching English at Churchill's Language School, where he meets an odd assortment of foreign students trying to get ahead and make something of themselves. Alfie settles into a semidepressed state, believing that you don't get a second chance at love, and he doesn't really seem to care. The only stable and happy fixture in his life is his beloved grandmother, but when she is diagnosed with an inoperable tumor, the grief seems almost too much to bear. Cynicism, wry humor, incisive social commentary, and wisdom fill this tale for modern times that acknowledges the variety of family lifestyles that abound, and the serious life choices everyone faces. This audiobook will make you frequently laugh out loud while it moves you to tears. Not as poignant and endearing as Parsons's first hit, Man and Boy, this is a deeper journey, one that touches your heart in a profound way. Gerard Doyle does a superb job of bringing Alfie and this host of unusual characters to life. Highly recommended for all audio collections.-Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.