# The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

By Anna Johnston

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-borrowed-life-of-frederick-fife-a4a99374/

Eighty-two-year-old widower Fred Fife is broke and alone when someone mistakes him for Bernard Greer, a resident of Wattle River Nursing Home. Being taken in gives him shelter and people to care about. It also leaves him trying to manage a life that belongs to somebody else.

## What makes it funny?

Fred’s manners survive an opening encounter with a corpse. While trying to recover the body after seagulls disrupt his attempt to get help, he passes wind and apologizes, then remembers that the dead man cannot smell it.

### The comedy at work

Fred tries to help and explain himself, but physical mishaps and his own politeness keep making things worse. Once the staff decide he is a confused resident, his efforts to correct the mistake fail to dislodge their assumption.

### Try this if…

Fred offers company for readers drawn to later-life friendship and second chances. The affectionate nursing-home story also makes room for bodily jokes and an extended case of mistaken identity.

### Good to know

A dead body appears in the opening. Bereavement, threatened homelessness and dementia are part of the story’s treatment of aging and loneliness.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- Kind of humor: Farce · Situational comedy
- The atmosphere: Warmhearted
- Story ingredients: Found family
- Format: Novel
- Length: 384 pages
- Audiobook: 10 hr 50 min
- Published: 2024

## A few distinguishing details

- An accidental nursing-home resident living under another man’s name
- A man who apologizes to a corpse for passing wind

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Publishers Weekly review](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780063397293)
- Book information: [Audiobook listing](https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/The_Borrowed_Life_of_Frederick_Fife?hl=en_US&id=AQAAAECS0GiQ6M)
- Publisher: [Audiobook publisher](https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-borrowed-life-of-frederick-fife-9781761347610)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-borrowed-life-of-frederick-fife-9781761357251)
- Reading sample: [Publisher extract](https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-borrowed-life-of-frederick-fife-9781761357251/extracts/3083-the-borrowed-life-of-frederick-fife)