Who can resist a book like Carrying Albert Home
with the subtitle: “The Somewhat True Story of a Man, His Wife, and Her
Alligator?” This is a marvelous yarn
written with much affection by Homer Hickam, award-winning author of Rocket
Boys (October Sky).
Set in the 1930’s, this novel exaggerates the events that
may have transpired when Hickam’s parents, Elsie and Homer, returned Albert (the
alligator) from Coalwood, West Virginia to Orlando, Florida. Passing through the Carolinas and Georgia, the
Hickams and Albert encounter famous writers, pirates, bank robbers, and natural
disasters – to name just a few. Readers
will definitely be entertained, although the circumstances and coincidences are
a bit absurd at times. The story is told as a series of (tall) tales with charm, humor and heart by a
gifted writer.
Carrying Albert Home is full of madcap
adventures, but also has a serious underlying story as the relationship between
Elsie and Homer matures. There is some introspection, too: “Elsie had always felt her life was like a jigsaw puzzle with
no picture on the box to show her how the puzzle pieces should fit together” or
“Time is really the only gift we receive from God that we can give to others.” Kismet is mentioned a dozen times in Hickam’s
new novel and if you are interested in the fate/fortune/destiny of a man, his
wife and her alligator, do look for the very enjoyable Carrying Albert
Home.
