A little boy and his grandfather embark on a quest to find the old man's missing
birthday in Diana Rosie's debut novel, Alberto's Lost Birthday. Alberto is an o
ld man. But he doesn't know how old - he remembers nothing before his arrival at
an orphanage during the Spanish civil war.
He rarely thinks about his missin
g childhood, but when seven-year-old Tino discovers his grandfather has never ha
d a birthday party, never blown out candles on a birthday cake, never received a
single birthday present, he's determined things should change. And so the two s
et out to find Alberto's birthday. Their search for the old man's memories takes
them deep into the heart of Spain - a country that has pledged to forget its pa
inful past.
As stories of courage, cruelty and love unfold, Alberto realises
that he has lost more than a birthday. He has lost a part of himself. But with h
is grandson's help, he might just find it again.
