Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam is easily the most adorable and quirkiest love story I’ve read in a while.
With a byline of “The somewhat true story of a man, his wife, and her alligator”, I kind of knew this was going to be a fun ride but wasn’t expecting it to be this enjoyable.
A blend of fact and fiction, the events of Carrying Albert Home should be taken lightly but the lessons are not trivial at all.
Elsie and Homer Hickam are a young, married couple living in the coalfields of West Virginia. Elsie has a pet alligator, Albert, given to her by an old flame. The two-year old alligator now takes up their bath tub and is getting in Homer’s nerves. Homer one day has had enough and gave Elsie an ultimatum: “It’s me or that alligator.”
Elsie agreed to “get rid” of Albert the alligator, on one condition: They must take him home to Florida, where he belongs. So in 1935, the Hickams set on a road trip to Florida where they run into one adventure (or mishap) to another.
What’s real for sure is that Elsie and Homer Hickham are an actual couple. Their tale is told by their son, the author, Homer Hickam, Jr. It looks as though there really was an alligator that the couple took to Florida, though their journey was probably not as eventful or as coloured as the book plays it out to be.
Their adventures range from being part of a bank robbery, to giving John Steinbeck a ride (and even supposedly helping him come up with the title ‘Grapes of Wrath’), to starring in a Hollywood film. Heck, they even have a ghost encounter!
Beneath the exciting (some border on ridiculous) adventures that the couple somehow always manage to inadvertently step into, they discover their true feelings for one another.
Despite its comical scenarios, Carrying Albert Home portrays a realistic look into marriage, especially the first years or decade of it. As is customary in the olden days (more so in the 1920s-30s), couples don’t date very long and marry almost immediately. This was the case for Elsie and Homer, and from time to time, each of them question their own feelings and the other’s true feelings for them.
There was a moment in the book when Homer so badly wanted to talk about an important issue with Elsie but something always got in the way. Long-married couples know this well. Issues that should have been communicated end up being brushed aside because of chores, kids, work, etc. Then the issue ends up brewing. Sometimes, truths come out in snippets and spurts in casual conversations. Very relatable moments in the book that are weaved amongst riotous scenarios.
In an interview, Homer Hickam (the author), said that he marvelled at how his parents managed to stay married for over 60 years despite their differing personalities and characters. He mused that it must have been this grand road trip adventure that played a part in the staying power of his parents’ marriage.
What a pleasure it has been to read this book. I wish I’d read it sooner (it sat on my TBR pile for more than two years!). There are two cover variants of Carrying Albert Home, and none of them bring justice to the story.
If I could sum this book up: it’s Big Fish (2003 Tim Burton film) meets Anne Tyler (particularly her book, An Amateur Marriage).
PS Someone named Albert (not an alligator) gave me this book, so a very corny photo:
Looked. Hooked. Booked. 