How Not to Die Alone

Roper’s delightful debut is as funny as it is touching. Andrew is a 42-year-old single man whose life became complicated by an accidental lie about having a wife and children, told while interviewing for a job. After he’s hired, the lie mushrooms, but he can’t find a way to fix it during the following five years at the U.K.’s Death Administration Council, where his responsibilities include inspecting the homes of people who have died alone, and arranging their funerals. Not only do Andrew’s annoying boss and two irritating coworkers ask casual, typical questions about his family, it’s also decided that there will be dinners sponsored by each employee in his or her home. The plot becomes even more complicated for Andrew when he is put in charge of showing the ropes to a new employee, Peggy, a woman he’s attracted to but who is married and has two daughters. As he grows closer to Peggy, Andrew’s social awkwardness adds to his problems: he once finds himself so filled with trepidation about a planned encounter that he spontaneously apologizes after hearing a coworker sneeze. This story of a neurotic, tenderhearted man struggling to learn how not to be alone is irresistible. (May)