Becoming Ted: The joyful and uplifting novel from the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

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In this respect I was in a similar position to Oskar, a young Polish man, who is on his own personal journey. Born in Bury and brought up in Bolton, Matt now lives in London with his husband, Harry, and their cat, Nelly. Denise, however, really isn’t; her character arc is established near the beginning of the story through comments about a series of bad relationships and her swearing off love altogether, but it doesn’t come back up again until we’re half way through the book, and not many pages overall are dedicated to her solving her specific issue. But the truth is, Ted has never wanted to work for the family firm - he doesn't even like ice cream, although he's never dared tell his domineering parents.

This was extremely annoying, and totally not how people think – it just felt so unnatural, and leads back to the passive, telling-not-showing writing style from before. I was spending more time noting how many different ways the human voice is used, rather than appreciating the writing, itself! Unfortunately he doesn’t even like ice cream – he never has although he has never voiced this to his family (whose motto is ‘Family First’) – guilt and duty keeping him silent. Matt Cain tackles shame, compassion and self-acceptance beautifully in Becoming Ted, which will come as no surprise to people who've read The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle.I laughed, I cried, and I felt so priviliged to follow him on his journey of becoming who he was always meant to be.

I’d like to thank Joe Thomas from Headline for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for sending me a proof copy. But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he’s no longer in Giles’s shadow—funny, sassy, more uninhibited. I confess Ted’s dream took me into a world I knew little about, not being familar with the TV programme he and his best friend Denise enjoy watching over a glass (or four) of ‘seccy’.Becoming Ted opens on Ted Ainsworth's husband leaving him, and causing confusion to seep into his life. A charmingly joyful, surprising story about love, acceptance, and self-expression from the acclaimed author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle . In 2021, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle was published by Headline, Becoming Ted followed in 2023, and One Love is set for release in January 2024. Despite having always worked at his family's ice-cream business in the quiet Lancashire town of St Luke's-on-Sea, feeling duty-bound by a responsibility to his family and his husband, Ted isn't happy, and he doesn't even like ice cream! That was a *very* short summary and there’s a *lot* more that goes on, sub-plots and character storylines but I so wholeheartedly 1000% recommend picking this book up I don’t want to spoil anything and Yhh, you need to experience it first hand I think to truly get the most out of this book.

To make matters worse, the flashbacks happen within the narrative, as Ted reflects on the past, taking a look back in time. Ted is happily married to Giles (or so he thinks) but when his heart is broken, he must find a way to live his own life and follow his own dreams, dreams which have been put aside by feelings of duty and of not feeling good enough. It’s a journey the author makes us want to accompany Ted on as he battles with the low self-esteem resulting from being dumped, quite out of the blue, by Giles, his partner of twenty years, and the responsibility he feels towards his parents to be part of the family business, famous for its ice cream. Ted literally puts it out of sight and out of mind, and doesn’t really pay it any thought until he gets another one. Many current queer narratives almost over fixate on high school and give us characters who come to terms with who they are during their teenage years.

My enemy with Matt Cain was the writing and the choices made to make this story stand out in a positive light, rather than the unsavory results that it garnered for me. When Ted is pleading with Giles to not break up with him, to not abandon what they had - if Ted is going to squeal and mewl his pleas - I can not take it seriously. But usually, the things about ourselves that we're told are 'too much' or that we tone down, whether because of our gender or anything else, are actually the things we should embrace wholeheartedly, as they are who we are at our essence. Seeing his personality shine and taking brave and bold steps towards his future, warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

As Giles packs his things, Ted tries hard not to seem pathetic, but can only just stop from throwing himself at the man’s feet and sobbing. Passing the Memory House retirement flats, he encounters a flamboyantly-dressed elderly gent whose gaydar picks Ted out straight away. While this is nice, and very much needed, for our young queer siblings, it does under-represent older queers who didn't have the language, knowledge, or ability to find and accept themselves until later in life. I think Matt Cain very much has a certain writing style and going off this book, it's absolutely not for me.He’s determined to make the most of it' and with a lot of helpful guidance and brave encouragement he ventures out into that bold and daring and colorful start to his new life. It's addressed that Oskar has internalised homophobia, but his actions because of it don't feel consistent. I never felt like I was in someone’s head because they were self censoring their own memories until the plot required them to think about them. Een verhaal over vallen en opstaan, ontwikkeling, een interessante nieuwe carrière en bevrijding, dat de mooie boodschap dat het nooit te laat is om eindelijk jezelf te worden en alles waar je blij van wordt te omarmen bevat.