Becoming Ted
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4.4 • 16 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A Man Called Ove meets “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” in this vibrant, joyful, universally relatable story about kindness, self-acceptance, and blooming at any age from the acclaimed author of the LibraryReads and Indie Next Pick, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle.
If Ted Ainsworth were to compare himself to one of the ice cream flavors made by his family’s company, famous throughout his sleepy Lancashire hometown, it might be vanilla—sweet, inoffensive, and pleasantly predictable. At forty-three, Ted is convinced there’s nothing remotely remarkable about him, except perhaps his luck in having landed handsome, charismatic Giles as a husband.
Then Giles suddenly leaves him for another man, filling his social media feed with posts about #newlove and adventure. And Ted, who has spent nearly twenty years living with, and often for, another person, must reimagine the future he has happily taken for granted.
But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he’s no longer in Giles’s shadow—funny, sassy, more uninhibited. Someone willing to take chances on new friendships, and even new love. Someone who’s been waiting in the wings too long, but who’s about to dust off a long-ago secret dream and overturn everyone’s expectations of him—especially his own. . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British journalist Cain (The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle) serves up a breezy second-act story that traces a 40-something gay man's unlikely journey to drag stardom. After nearly 20 years spent with the snobbish Giles in the quaint English town of St. Luke's-on-Sea, Ted Ainsworth discovers one morning that his husband has been cheating on him. They break up in a flash, and Ted is left reeling—he dodges messages from his best friend Denise and sulks through shifts at one of his family's ice cream parlors. When he regains his footing, he decides to pursue his long-dormant dream of becoming a drag queen. It's a big leap from his previous life (Giles discouraged him from dancing or dressing up), but with Denise's help, Ted constructs the leggy, foul-mouthed alter-ego Gail Force. Meanwhile, he frets about his disinterest in running the family business, and is further troubled by a series of threatening anonymous letters. After he falls for secretly gay Polish construction worker Oskar, Ted wonders if his new flame will support his drag ambitions. There's too much padding—Ted's angst about his lifelong distaste for ice cream is especially overplayed—but Cain constructs a soothing if familiar tale of self-empowerment. This sticky-sweet confection goes down smooth enough.
Customer Reviews
Another winner…
The length of this book was challenging even for a person who only reads substantial books. Yet, Ted is worth it… As is often the case, much of Ted’s world turns out to be shallow and superficial, but turmoil seems to be just what he needs. His husband is a major disappointment, his parents seem happy but pressure him, Oskar is precious. Ted’s desire to be a drag queen guide the story and keep you interested. The character development needed the length of the story. I recommend this to those readers who really want to get into a complex and satisfying story… Great Read!!