Perfect for a book club! So much meaning behind the characters - Arthur Moses rescues like his Biblical namesake was rescued. Family is where you find it and love can conquer our demons.

Some books are just too sweet, sentimental and syrupy for my taste. Although I enjoyed this lovely book of two people coming together, being catalysts in each other's lives and moving toward the inevitable ending, I found this a bit predictable and derivative.

Arthur and Maddy meet in a cemetery, their friendship causes both to change and reexamine their lives and futures. Handled as a delicate read, it is a lovely way to spend a tearful afternoon and wish we could all find a mensch like Arthur.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC for my Kindle.
My favorite book, thus far, by Elizabeth Berg. What a touching story about aging, loneliness, death, and family. Be prepared to cry, laugh, and pray when you read this great book.

I loved this book! Berg is a master story teller and this is one of her finest pieces of work, I would recommend it to anyone, I think it would make an great gift.

The Story of Arthur Truluv is a moving story about the makings of a "family", related by blood or not. Each character in this story was strong, yet perfectly vulnerable. A great read!

Not since "A man called Ove" have I been so charmed by a book. "The story of Arthur Truluv" is one of those novels that give you a book hangover (you don't want to start another book because you are still living in that book's world.)

"He's an old man living an old man's life"

Arthur Moses is an eighty-five year old widower. He hasn't been a widower very long and his grief is still raw and fresh. He was one of those fortunate people who marry the love of their life and stay in love until death does them part. And it did. Nola passed away over six months ago, yet he has lunch with her everyday. He takes the bus to the cemetery and eats his sandwich with Nola while discussing the day's events.

When he is not at the cemetery, Arthur spends his time talking to his cat, Gordon, and his next-door neighbor, Lucille, octogenarian and expert baker of cookies.

It is in the cemetery where Arthur meets Maddy Harris - a seventeen year old girl who comes to the cemetery on her lunch break from school. Maddy does not have any real friends. She lives with her father, but theirs is a cold relationship with little, if any, overt displays of affection. She loves to write poetry and take pictures. Maddy is very intelligent, but she has always been an outcast among her peers. She is teased, bullied, and made to feel alone. But then... she has always felt alone.

"But the longer I live, the more I come to see that love is not so easy for everyone. It can get awfully complicated."

When Arthur and Maddy become acquainted, Maddy is in a sexual relationship. She thinks that if she makes Anderson happy sexually, that he will come to love her. Above all else, Maddy craves love and acceptance. As can be predicted this relationship ends badly, as there was not any real love on Maddy's side and Anderson was just using her.

She is astounded at the love that Arthur has for his dead wife and she gives him the nickname 'Truluv'. Arthur is a true friend - and she secretly thinks he is cute with his large ears and big brown eyes. When Maddy's life takes an unexpected turn it is Arthur that she goes to for support. And support her he does. He invites her to live with him in his big rambling, old-fashioned, house. Before long, Lucille sells her house next-door and moves in with Arthur and Maddy. Mason, Missouri is a sleepy little town of five thousand souls. And now it is the home of Arthur, Maddy and Lucille.

"What is it that makes a family? Certainly no document does, no legal pronouncement or accident of birth. No, real families come from choices we make about who we want to be bound to, and the ties to such families live in our hearts."

"The story of Arthur Truluv" is a touching work of literary fiction. Told in a way that is not at all 'sappy', the book explores the themes of loneliness, aging, and family. I'm certain it will resonate with readers who enjoyed "A man called Ove" and "The storied life of A.J. Fikry". I know it will be near the top of my 'Best of 2017' list. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to read it. Highly recommended!

A sentimental story with unique characters.
This is not the usual type of book I read, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Arthur meets Maddy when he's visiting his dead wife in the cemetery; he eats a lunch sandwich there every day. Maddy is a high school senior who's got a hopeless crush on a jerk.Warm-hearted Arthur reaches out to Maddy in a totally open way. Maddy's parents seem uninvolved at best. When Maddy's dad meets Arthur, he's mainly concerned about whether Maddy has enough money.The Story of Arthur Truluv is one of those rare coming-of-age novels that are just as much about the end of life as they are about growing up.

Three people. Each with a feeling of loss. Each with an emptiness that seems that it can't be filled. This book will make you cry then make you happy. The characters are realistic and true to life. It's good to know that there's happiness after such loss and loneliness.

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg is a novel that touches your heart and gives you hope. Arthur Moses is a man made of compassion and sincerity.  He has no pretense, no judgement of others. Everyone wants an Arthur Truluv in their lives.  Elizabeth Bergs writing flows so well it is like gulping water and you just can't get enough, fast enough. Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read this book early.

“We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars—everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings.”
Thorton Wilder, Our Town

It was six months ago, in November, the month when Arthur’s beloved wife Nola was buried, and he’s had a lunch date with her every day since. He heads to the cemetery on the bus, strolls his way through the headstones before he sits by her, sometimes he talks to her, sometimes he just listens. Either way, he’s in no hurry, she will be there.

This day, he stops in front of another headstone that seems to be calling out to him. A woman, born in 1897, died in 1929. He adds this in his head, she was thirty-two, but he does it again because he it would be disrespectful of him to stand there thinking about her, and getting such an important and intimate detail wrong. He pictures her in his mind, her hair, the colour, how she wore it, her life story pulling him in further. The colour of her eyes, her jewelry. Holding her little ones. And then the vision of it all fades. He heads over to sit with Nola.

He looks around at the signs of spring everywhere, a new beginning in the buds everywhere, the softening of the earth, and he wishes that his wife could return like that, again and again. A new beginning for her, surrounded by life, by renewal. Where she belongs.

He sees the girl sitting on the ground off in the distance, her back against a tree. He has seen her here before, he waves in her direction, she reacts as though she is frightened, and so he turns and goes to wait for the bus to return home. The girl, Maddy, feels badly, she hadn’t meant to scare him off.

Arthur is eighty-five years old. His doctor says he’ll live to be one hundred.

Maddy is seventeen years old, in high school where she feels like an outcast. She likes to take pictures and she writes poems, and she likes to read. Her mother died shortly after she was born, but sometimes Maddy feels as though she’s watching her, senses her presence in the eyes of a doe.

Lillian is Arthur’s next door neighbor, an older, lonely woman he talks to now and then, helps her out with her yard, puts the star on her Christmas tree. She loves to bake, and she is very good at it.

These three lonely people, whose lives have been tossed about, left with the invisible bruises of heartache, and yet life somehow manages to gather these three together, binding them collectively as one. A family, of sorts, each lending their strength, their talent, some compassion, an ear, love, and, most of all – love. We all have gifts to share, it just takes the one soul to share them and another to appreciate them.

Elizabeth Berg has written a simple story, simply told, about everyday people, who together, allow love in so they can, for the first time, or maybe even once again, become real.

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
--Margery Williams Bianco, “The Velveteen Rabbit”


Pub Date: 21 Nov 2017

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group / Random House

What a wonderful feel-good book! I absolutely loved every minute of this story about three lonely, hurting people who find each other and slowly become the family each of them needs so much. Elizabeth Berg is a master storyteller who uses simple sentences and ordinary people to draw the reader into her character's world so deeply, we know Maddy, Arthur, and Lucille. We not only know them, we love them, and mourn the loss of their company when the novel comes to a totally satisfying end. Elizabeth Berg is one of my very favorite authors.

"What is it that makes a family? Certainly no document does, no legal pronouncement or accident of birth. No, real families come from choices we make about who we want to be bound to, and the ties to such families lie in our hearts."

This is a book about three individuals who have relatively little in common but find themselves bound together in an unconventional but loving family. Arthur Moses a.k.a. Truluv, is an 85 year old man who goes to the cemetery each day to have lunch with his deceased wife. Arthur is a little lost since losing his wife. He is a kind and loving man who stops at various tombstones and wonders about the person's life. Maddy is a 17 year old girl who does not fit in. She often skips school and goes to the cemetery to take pictures and sit under a tree. She is a lost teenager whose Mother died two weeks after she was born. She has always felt like a burden to her father and gets into an unhealthy relationship looking for love. Lucille is Arthur's next door neighbor who makes Arthur cookies and is excited about a chance to be with her first love after so many years apart.

"I'll love you forever in darkness and sun, I'll love you past when my whole sweet life is done."

Arthur meets Maddy at the cemetery where they have both been quietly observing each other. When Arthur waves at Maddy she decides to wave back and the two strike up a friendship. Maddy calls Arthur "Truluv" for his devotion to his wife and daily "lunches" with her at the cemetery. Arthur likes having someone to look after and Maddy feels accepted and safe with Arthur. She has always felt like an outsider at home and school but not with Arthur. After a heated argument with her father, Maddy runs away and eventually finds herself living at Arthur's home until College begins. While Maddy and Arthur are forming a friendship, Lucile has re-kindled her romance with her first love after having been contacted with him. She dreams of a future with him when tragedy strikes.

Arthur, Maddy and Lucile have all known loss. Each one has his/her cross to bear but they are able to forge a bond and become an unlikely family. Arthur is my favorite character and he steals the show in this book. He is generous and kind and maybe a little reckless - who would invite a virtually unknown person into their home to live? It reminds me of the quote " I always depended on the kindness of strangers." from A streetcar named Desire. I found this book to be an extremely fast sweet read. It's a sweet book - but not syrupy sweet. I found the story to be uplifting and light even though it dealt with loss. and I enjoyed the story. I especially enjoyed how the unlikely trio formed a family and provided something each one needed: acceptance, a sense of belonging, a sense of being needed, love, friendship, community, and hope.

I received a copy of this book from Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a charming, well-written book. While it has some hard truths, it is an uplifting story. Oh, that we all knew someone like Arthur to simply make our lives better!

A very sweet story. Three lonely hearts who find love and solace through friendship. As always, Elizabeth Berg delivers. It's a short, simple read but filled with sly humor and heartwarming food for thought. Everybody needs an Arthur in their lives. Thank you Random House and Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book by one of my favorite authors.

This book is such a refreshing, enjoyable & uplifting story I didn't want it to end. The characters are so loveable you'll feel like you're wrapped up in a warm blanket reading about them. LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

I loved this gentle, kind, caring book. It's all about love and family. Not your regular love and not your regular family, but deep abiding love none the same. It shows us love that survives death and how each of us grieve differently. It tells of creating families in ways that are completely different than the Mom, Dad and kids manner but family none the same. It tells of the strong bonds of love in the created family and how that love, too, survives death. Humor and pathos radiate through this book of love and family. If you, too, find yourself in need of a book to calm a troubled soul, this is the book. If I could give it six stars, I would.

I just fell in love with Arthur Truluv! What a sweet sweet character. Loved the love he had for his wife, fellow man and life! Arthur is the kind of person I wish the world had more of. I am going to share Arthur with everyone I know. Beautiful story with beautiful characters. I wish I had neighbors like Lucille and Arthur. I wouldn't mind some baked goods either!

"The Story of Arthur Truluv" is a story of friendship, purpose and combatting loneliness in a world that is so easy to shut out the elderly. 82 year old Arthur visits his dead wife daily at the cemetery where he runs into 18 year old Maddy who cuts class on a daily basis to be at peace in the cemetery. There is also Lucille the next door neighbor who still have a lot of life to live. These three characters all come together to form a unique bond.

I try not to compare books, but as soon as I read this title I thought "A Man Called Ove". They have basically the same premise- Elderly Man, misses his dead wife, set in his way, lonely, inquisitive neighbor... you get it.... same premise. This is basically another version of "A Man Called Ove" but it doesn't leave you with the tingly heartwarming feeling.

While I liked this book, I just felt like I didn't need to read it because I read a book exactly like it before. I felt the characters could be further developed and a lot of the storyline wasn't fully explored and even made sense, namely Maddy's relationship with her father, Lucille and her high school crush. Those two storylines just felt haphazard and not fully thought out or was just a means to an end.

Thanks Netgally for the ARC!

I looked back at my Goodreads account and realized I have been an Elizabeth Berg fan for a long time, but The Story of Arthur Truluv is by far my favorite. I would give it 10 stars if I could. Last night I got in bed to just give myself a taste of this story, and didn't come up for air til I finished at 3 in the morning. This grand story about the real meaning of family is a wonderful escape from the anxiety of the world of today. In this story we meet a troubled teen alienated from her father and schoolmates who finds respite by escaping from school at lunchtime to a nearby cemetery for peace and quiet. It is the same cemetery where Arthur, 83 years old and recently widowed goes to share lunch each day with his wife. The story of the connection of these two lonely people and Arthur's neighbor Lucille makes an uplifting tale filled with humor and deep insights. I also cheer for the inclusion of a teacher who is understanding and supportive. If you like the books of Anne Tyler and stories of thoroughly decent people trying to make meaning of life, you will love this book.