Mr Doubler Begins Again

Mr Doubler is a reclusive potato farmer whose life revolves around his farm and his Great Potato Experiment. Increasingly he comes to realize how much his lunches with his cleaner, Mrs. Millwood mean to him. Their discussions help this solitary person open his mind and think about approaching issues from different angles. Mrs. Millwood becomes severely ill and hospitalized and her absence in her life is a great loss to him. This sweet and gentle soul, Mr. Doubler, is riddled with doubts about his missing wife, his two semi-estranged children, a rival corporate farmer, in general most things. From her hospital bed Mrs. Millwood with the help of her daughter set about ensuring that this sweet and gentle Mr Doubler gets out into the world and doesn't end up a sick, lonely reclusive man.
All the characters of this lovely book are quirky and a little off normal and I loved getting to know them. What seemed at first to be a simple little read was a thought provoking and entertaining book. I highly recommend it to anyone.

What a charming, funny, entertaining, uplifting book this is. Reclusive potato farmer Mr Doubler spends his days working on his Great Potato Experiment and having lunch with his cleaner, Mrs Millwood. He doesn’t have any friends, his children don’t understand him, and his wife left him for a life in Spain.

Despite his hermit-like existence, Mr Doubler is an engaging character who I fell in love with early on in the book. The story follows him delightfully yet almost painfully as he re-emerges into the real world. We watch him develop into a likeable, intelligent, observant problem solver. His relationship with Mrs Millwood changes over time and is both endearing and heartbreaking.

The writing is crisp and witty. I laughed out loud at some of the pictures the author paints of the meanderings of Mr Doubler. I loved the names - Mirth Farm, the evil Mr Peele, The Central Potato Research Institute of Northern India. This book is fun to read.

Mr Doubler Begins Again is a wonderfully offbeat and quirky story that I enjoyed from cover to cover.

This was a charming and entirely pleasant read.

The narrative structure of the book is unusual. I kept waiting for a moment of conflict to happen but it didn't. The whole book was the unravelling of pain caused before the opening of the story. Yet that doesn't mean it wasn't a page turner. It certainly was. I found myself moving along at a good clip.

For a book which begins with a man in isolation, who is growing potatoes, it covers a whole range of themes and topics. A highly recommended book!

What a fantastic book - beautifully written and a real page turner without being high octane at any point!
The characters are for the most part fundamentally good despite the damages life has inflicted and this is a life affirming story of renewal and optimism but never in a saccharine way. Funny and sad in equal measure this novel holds some real truths about life without being preachy or sentimental. The writing style is easy to read but forensically descriptive - there were so many sentences i wanted to commit to memory. This is one of the best books i have read in ages and will be featuring as a xmas gift for many of my book reading friends.

A fabulous book which tells the story of Mr Doubler a potato grower and his relationship with his housekeeper Mrs Millwood. Such a fun and lovely read. So many thought provoking moments, teaches you that if you are lucky enough to have a loving family around you good friends also mean so much. Didn't want it to end!. Mr Doubler I would love to have you in my life.

A treasure of a book. It tackles so many issues in a sensitive and thought-provoking way. The relationships that Mr Doubler learns to develop and nourish are beautifully described but leave room for the reader to add their own experiences and thoughts. Mr Doubler seems naïve in his approach to his children but is quite capable of bartering his high quality illicitly made gin. On first glance he seems quite a simple character as his sole purpose is to develop a blight-free potato breed. However he has well-developed people skills that tease out the truth that lies behind the people he comes into contact with.

Mr Doubler is a sweet man who loves the simple pleasures in life, when his cleaner of 15 years is taken ill his life takes on new fulfilment with the help of a few friends on the way. Mrs. Millwood has been Mr. Doubler's only friend for such a long time when she is taken ill he is at a loss, luckily the long lunch chats have built a bond between them that means she was never going to leave him on his own, she sends her firm but fair daughter to keep him on the straight and narrow up on the secluded Mirth farm. Set on a potato farm, this is a heart warming tale of love and loss, friendships and families, exploring those relationships and how they can help your life flourish. I liked all the characters, even his money grabbing son Julian, well written bad guys are my favourite, although Mr Doubler comes a close second with his immense knowledge of gin! A great read I would reccomend to all those worried about loneliness.

Mr Doubler is a meticulous gentleman who is obsessed by potatoes. He lives on an isolated farm, and has become somewhat of a recluse since his wife died 20 years ago. His sole aim in life to become a potato grower extraordinaire and his days are ordered by a routine which he follows faithfully. This includes observing and recording information pertaining to his beloved potatoes, checking up on the security of his farm to protect it from (possibly imagined) threats and eating his lunch with Mrs Millwood, a widow who comes in five days a week to help out with the housework. When Mrs Millwood becomes ill and is taken into hospital, his routine is severely disrupted and his life begins to change in ways he would never have thought possible.

I think I have fallen in love with Mr Doubler - he is a wonderful man. At the start this is a slow, ponderous book but it gains momentum as it progresses. There are plenty of astute observations, two very well developed characters whose interaction forms the basis of the majority of the book and some very amusing moments to lighten the atmosphere. It is also tender, compassionate and laugh-out-loud funny in places. Add to this a good helping of philosophy and you have the basis for a very interesting book. The double-act formed by Mr Doubler and Mrs Millwood is a creative masterpiece and the situations in which Mr Doubler finds himself when circumstances dictate that he take himself out of his comfort zone are very cleverly engineered by the author. The book is also very well written - the language, punctuation and sentence construction are a delight and make the narrative flow seamlessly.

My only criticism is that although the start of the book was never quite boring, it did take me a little while to get into. My goodness me though, I soon became completely entranced. It also wasn’t entirely clear to me whether his surname was Doubler or whether this was a nickname. Whilst the book is called “Mr. Doubler begins again”, there is a reference to “Doubler” being a potato-related nick-name (at least I am pretty sure there was, but I can’t actually find that passage again now).

I hope there is enough material for Mr Doubler to have a sequel dedicated to him. Needless to say I will be looking out for it. Well done Seni.

Mr Doubler lives all alone at Mirth Farm on top of a hill. The only company he wants or needs are his beloved potato plants, and his housekeeper, Mrs Millwood, who visits every day. But when Mrs Millwood is taken ill it ruins everything, and Doubler begins to worry that he has lost his way in life.

This book proved very popular with our bookgroup. One described it as "one of my favourite books for a long time". It is both a good read, and a thought-provoking read, not always an easy combination to achieve. A feel-good book, but with depth.
We warmed to the character of Mr Doubler, and liked the way that he, and his relationship with Mrs Millwood and his rural community, developed over the course of the novel. The story is many-hued, being in turn funny, touching, uplifting and sad. It touches on many of the major social issues of the day, including loneliness, rural isolation, ageing, family relationships, and how to live a meaningful life, but also tells a good tale, and keeps the reader engaged.
We particularly enjoyed the descriptions of baking and of making and drinking a good gin! Some members would have liked a little less dialogue in the book and a little more description of the countryside and the seasons, since the story is very rooted in a sense of place and the real value of land. We thought it could translate into an interesting film, and was definitely a novel that would repay re-reading. Will there be a sequel?

Overall a really lovely story about ageing, family, and community, with some valuable lessons about the pleasures of doing things the old-fashioned way, working the land, and enjoying the fruits of your labours.

Rating: 9 members read the book. Average score 4.6 /5

What an absolute gem of a book. I loved Mr Doubler, and all the characters he met through his wise housekeeper - everyone needs a Mrs Millwood in their lives. The vivid descriptions of everyday situations fair leapt off the page and into my imagination. This is a book about second chances, and I was rooting for Mr Doubler all the way through the story. This is a perfect book for cosying up with on a cold winter's day, and left me smiling long after I had finished reading it.