Frankie by Graham Norton

Frankie is the fifth novel by Graham Norton and the third one I’ve read. Published in paperback in 2025, I picked it up in a couple of months ago because I was short on books. It then took me a while to get round to reading it, because of new books by two of my favourite authors – Richard Osman and Robert Galbraith – and a reissued book by another favourite author, Lisa Jewell.

In 2024, Frankie Howe is in her 80s and recovering from a fall. A young Irish carer, Damian, arrives at her London flat to look after her overnight while she gets better. Frankie is also Irish and something about Damian inspires her to tell the story of her life – some of which has never been shared before.

As an orphan, young Frances had a strict and loveless upbringing. Her life revolved around the church. There was no fun or adventure.

But a series of unlucky and lucky chance occurrences take her from her small town to London and then to New York, where she lives for many years. Frankie is part of a thriving art and restaurant scene and sees so many changes in the city and the people around her.

The story is written as short chapters of Damian and Frankie together, before going off into a long chapter of Frankie’s life from 1950 to 1987. I don’t want to go into too much detail, because the joy is in discovering what happens next to Frankie and her friends. It is a story which feels simultaneously big – the story of a whole life – and small because it is just about one woman from humble beginnings with the odds stacked against her.

If you enjoy reading about people’s lives, loves and friendships, you will love Frankie. It had me in tears a couple of times. It is a beautiful read and my favourite Graham Norton book to date.

The other Graham Norton books I’ve read are Home Stretch and Holding.