Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Book Review: All Together Now by Alan Doyle

Title: All Together Now
Author: Alan Doyle
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Adult
Pages: 200
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Year Published: 2020
Format: Audiobook

"One of Newfoundland's funniest and most beloved storytellers offers his cure for the Covid blues.

Is there a more sociable province than Newfoundland and Labrador? Or anywhere in Canada with a greater reputation for coming to the rescue of those in need?

At this time of Covid, singer, songwriter and bestselling author Alan Doyle is feeling everyone's pain. off the road and spending more days at home than he has since he was a child hawking cod tongues on the wharfs of Petty Harbour, he misses the crowds and companionship of performing across the country and beyond. But most of all, he misses the cheery clamour of pubs in his hometown, where one yarn follows another so quickly you have to be as ready as an Olympian at the start line to get your tale in before someone is well into theirs already. We're all experiencing our own version of that deprivation, and Alan, one of Newfoundland's finest storytellers, wants to offer a little balm. 

All Together Now is a gathering book form- a virtual Newfoundland pub. There are adventures in foreign lands, including an apparently filthy singalong in Polish (well, he would have sung along if he'd understood the language), a real-life ghost story involving an elderly neighbour, a red convertible and a clown horn, a potted history of his social drinking and heartwarming reminiscences from another past world, childhood- all designed to put a smile on the faces of the isolated-addled."

My Rating: 5/5

I think that even years after Covid has left us less isolated but still changed as a society, this book still reads perfectly. This brought many laughs, smiles and just general giggles. I would highly recommend Alan Doyle's books to everyone. If you're looking for great storytelling, a laugh and just a general good outlook, you've found the author for you.

Sidny

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