One of the many things I love about Elizabeth Berg is that she is a popular author who does not simply keep writing the same book over and over again. This one illustrates that perfectly.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Arthur is a widower who visits the cemetery every day to have lunch with his deceased wife. He befriends young Maddy, a troubled teenager who is dealing with a different kind of grief and together with Arthur's neighbor and friend Lucille, the threesome creates their own little family. There is a hint of magical realism in this book as Arthur is able to see the lives of all the deceased souls in the cemetery right down to what they wore and the jobs they had. This feel-good book was an absolute joy to read. *ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I think I’ve read everything that Elizabeth Berg has written and I’ve loved it all. Thus, I was excited to see that she had a new novel out and I could get it via Net Galley.

The Story of Arthur Truluv was a sweet and touching story that had me both laughing and crying. It reminded me a bit of “A Man Called Ove”, and I loved that novel as well.

I loved these characters so much, but especially Arthur. Elizabeth Berg has done it again, writing a beautiful novel with memorable characters and a resounding message.
Thank you for my review e-copy!

Elizabeth Berg has done it again! She has created three wonderful characters. Each unique on their own but beautiful when together. This intergenerational novel includes Arthur who morns the loss of his wife. Maddy, a troubled teen who meets Arthur in the local cemetery. And Lucille, Arthurs neighbor, I loved how they come together as a family and their journey they have along the way.

I absolutely loved this novel, the story of three individuals Two seniors and a teenager who open their hearts to each other and become family. Heartwarming, funny, sad.
My favorite excerpt from the book, 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. Beneath the quote, Maddy has written,

Thank you Elizabeth Berg for a wonderful book. Netgalley thank you giving me this opportunity.

How utterly delightful! This book really played on my heartstrings. It is unusual for an avid reader to get to the end of a book and not wish that something had played out just a little differently, but as I finished "The Story of Arthur Truluv", I thought that each line in this book was exactly as it should be.
Lots of reviewers describe this as a feel-good book, and maybe it is. I found it to be transformational- making the ordinary into extraordinary. Within this book is this transformative individual, Arthur, who chooses to look beyond the ordinary and be awakened to delight by the love he continues to share with his newly deceased wife. He is a simple old man who has a sixth sense about the world of both the living and the dead. His ability to know things about the people who are buried in the cemetery where he visits his wife's grave is indicative of his insight and openness to the world in spite of his age. Rather than seeming supernatural, he seems more in touch with the world around him to the point that he experiences things that other people miss. This genuine concern for others is what brings he, Maddy, and Lucille together. The magic is that he is able to transform the lives of these two people who he welcomes into his home. Ms. Berg creates a direct inference from his life skills as a gardener to his ability to grow and bring these women's lives into full flower. I agree with many readers, including the author, who have already said that we all need an Arthur in our life.
Speaking of Ms. Berg, she can rest assured that I "got it", and I suspect so will many other readers. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Not everyone will appreciate it, but the world would be a much better place if they did.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. Please give us more like this, Random House and Ms. Berg!

I enjoyed this "feel good" story about a sweet 85 year old gentleman, Arthur Moses (Truluv), 83 year old neighbour, Lucille Howard, and 17 year old Maddy Harris, who has been motherless since she was little.
Arthur loves his wife dearly and makes daily visits to the cemetery to eat lunch by her graveside. Maddy visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. They meet at the cemetery and one rainy day Arthur invites her to his home. Moved by Arthur's kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname "Truluv".
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a beautiful moving novel of compassion in the face of loss, of small acts that turn friends into family, and of possibilities to achieve happiness at any age.

Some of my favourite quotes from THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg:-

"He wets his hair at the kitchen sink, then pulls his comb out of his pocket and holds up a pot for a mirror. The bones of his face protrude; he's gotten so skinny he could take a bath in a gun barrel."

"What girls do to each other is beyond description. No Chinese torture comes close."

"The house practically purrs."

"He looks forward to life as much as he ever did. But going to doctors? He's done with that. He's an old man living an old man's life. He thinks of himself as a caboose on a long, long train. The engine is close to the terminal; but the caboose is far from it."

"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."

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group, Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Berg books are like and old, comfy sweater. This book is no exception. Recommended to people who like great character development and stories that unwrap themselves slowly.

The world could surely use more people like Arthur Moses in it!

I loved this heartwarming story and was dreading the end, I wanted to spend forever with these characters!

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg is a story about loneliness and about friendship that can be found in the unlikeliest of places and about the family we create. The book is not really about the specific plot line or even the development of the characters. It is about the emotion. It is that feeling which draws me in and keeps me reading. Perfect for when I need a sweet, feel good story.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/02/the-story-of-arthur-truluv.html

Reviewed for NetGalley

This is a very touching novel. Arthur goes to the cemetery daily to visit his wife that has passed away. He meets Maddy, a teenager that visits the cemetery daily as well. The story tells the lives of each of these characters plus others.
This shows how lives can intertwine no matter what your age. You can see how compassion can built in others.

I really was not sure what to expect with The Story Of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg. I haven’t actually read anything by Berg before so it isn’t as though I knew what to expect going in. However, the fact that this was a relatively short book about an elderly person appealed to me. Then those super early glowing reviews came out and I just knew that I needed to prioritize this book.

The Story Of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg is about three main characters – Arthur Moses, Maddy, and Lucille. Arthur is an old man whose wife died. He goes to the cemetery everyday to have lunch with Nola, his wife. One day he sees another person in the cemetery, a high school girl named Maddy. The two strike up a friendship. Meanwhile an old neighbor, Lucille, is about to get a second chance at love, but tragedy strikes. Together, Arthur, Maddy, and Lucille form the bonds of a ragtag family.

Arthur is kind and gentle. He is patient. Like he is not that stereotypical grumpy old man. Rather, he delights in other people and in children. He is so considerate. I found that I immediately enjoyed his character. Plus he has this cool thing where the people in the graves he walks by speak to him, he can see a snippet of their lives. Also he owns a cat whom he really cares about. I think that I want to have a heart that is more like Arthur’s.

Maddy has had a rough go of life. Her mother died in a car accident when she was two weeks old. This, FYI, was really hard to read about as the mother of an infant. I don’t like to put myself in the shoes of Maddy’s mother. Anyways, so Maddy was raised by her father who is just consumed deeply by his grief. Longing for a connection with another person, she makes an ill advised decision about getting into a relationship with this guy who is just terrible. Anyways, Maddy and Arthur become friends due to spending all this time together in the cemetery. A lot actually happens with Maddy’s development that I won’t get into. I warmed up to her though and was satisfied with how her story resolves.

Lucille is probably the most difficult character to warm up to in The Story Of Arthur Truluv. She gets her redemption though. Lucille is a former school teacher and this amazing baker. She gets in touch with a man who she dated as a teenager and had planned to marry, only he knocks another woman up and does the right thing by the other woman. Years and years and years pass. They reconnect and rekindle old love. Tragedy happens, of course it does. Lucille falls deep into the depths of despair. But you know, hope and light thankfully win out. I loved seeing how things start to turn around and get better for Lucille. She’s a good egg, in the long run.

Overall, this is such a quick and sweet read. I loved how it really is this quiet story about three unassuming people that you can’t really help but grow to care and be concerned about. The only thing I didn’t care for was that the ebook I read didn’t seem to have chapters and I am a sucker for chapters — I need a natural stopping point, you know. Otherwise, The Story Of Arthur Truluv was out of the realm of what I normally read and entirely refreshing.

A touching story of friendship, loss, and finding family of your own choosing.

Nice heartwarming tale by Elizabeth Berg. I enjoyed this story. The author kept my interest and I read most of it in one sitting. I would recommend this title!

This was a very sweet and uplifting tale about people at different points in their lives connecting and providing support for one another. If you are a fan of Fredrij Backman, you will also like this book.

If you are looking for a book that will make you chuckle and warm your heart, this is it! A delightful story of three individuals and the path they took to become a family. This was truly a gem of a story.

ARC from Random House via Netgalley.

If The Story of Arthur Truluv was a movie, you'd find it on the Hallmark Channel. Elizabeth Berg has created one of those melodramatic, heart wrenching, over the top dramas filled with the angst of loves both lost and found as three disparate characters find comfort as they form an unusual sort of alliance.

You have the teen girl who doesn't know where her life is headed living with a father who has been disconnected from his daughter since the tragic death of his wife. Maddy doesn't seem to fit in with anyone at school and even the new boy indicates he is not interested. Since everywhere she goes her peers whisper and mock, she skips school to spend time reflecting at a local cemetery. She's not the only one who finds the locale soothing. It is here that Maddy meets octogenarian Arthur Moses, an elderly gentleman who every day brings a bag lunch to his wife's gravesite to enjoy a meal with his long gone mate. Somehow the two form a connection and Arthur lets Maddy know that he'll be there for her if she ever needs a friend. Then there's Arthur's elderly neighbor, Lucille, who spends her days sitting out on her porch keeping track of all the doings, collecting gossip the way some people collect stamps. Her opinionated manner is excused by her skill in the kitchen, freely sharing her creations with Arthur. Arthur, who mostly eats canned beans and franks (which he divvies up with his cat), sympathizes with the lonely woman as he eats her mouth watering butter orange blossom cookies. Somehow, through a series of events, the three end up facing the future together finding comfort and even happiness as they create a unique sort of blended family transcending the usual mother, father, child homelife.

Add in a kind hearted teacher who reaches out to his artistic, though lackluster student, a lost love who finds his way home, and a skeevy boyfriend who just wants a good time without any commitments, and you have a charming little story perfect for a rainy afternoon.

While the simplistic style fits the subject matter and the rotating point of view between the three main characters gives us a decent grasp of their motivations, I had a problem with the use of present tense to tell the story. Very few are able to use this technique successfully, and Berg, unfortunately, is not one of those authors, at least not in this book. Perhaps modifications were made before publication, since my copy was an ARC provided by Netgalley (in exchange for an honest review). I also felt the ending was too abrupt, I would have liked a little more closure, especially considering the book was only 220 or so pages (and give us some dates, not just clues from the headstones). Of note, however, were the sweet little vignettes from the graveyard, where Arthur was able to relate telepathically with the deceased and share bits and pieces of their life and death with the reader. Three and a half stars.

Throughout the reading of "The Story of Arthur Truluv" I laughed and I cried. Elizabeth Berg is a gifted author who's characters are so real that I found it difficult to turn that last page - I did not want this story to end. This is a book that will be read over and over again! It is truly a gift to the reader.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Elizabeth Berg rarely disappoints, and with The Story of Arthur Truluv, she flat out warms your heart. This is the perfect book to read in between heavy or suspenseful books. It’s charming, sweet, meaningful and touching. It’s a great book to gift to just about anyone in your life.

Each character has their own private sorrows, which allows the reader to actualize their mental state. Their meeting and way in which they come to be so important to one another is moving and realistic. Baking and cemeteries are shockingly used as coping mechanisms. Having someone to listen, to care for, to receive care from and to trust are the basic themes in this book.

This will sit on my shelf for years to come to remember the sweetness the pages contain.

While I love this book overall, it was hard for me to really sink into the book. I was not hooked within the first few chapters. I had to force myself to keep reading. I loved Arthur and his trips to the cemetery. I enjoyed his crazy neighbor, because I’ve met a few old ladies like that. The hard character for me to relate to was Maddy. I grew to love her though as she became friends with Arthur.

The interactions between Arthur and Maddy are quite comical because of their age difference. And then Maddy ends up pregnant and Lucille is so excited. I am not sure what is more entertaining. The fuss she makes over Arthur and Maddy or her cooking classes she teaches from home. However, her friend passing away was heartbreaking, and I’m glad she moved across the street.

Arthur getting sick, Lucille taking on the role of housekeeper/mother, and Maddy having her baby make such a unique story in the end. It is an amazing tale of young lust, finding friendship where you least expect it, and learning to believe in oneself. It’s a wonderfully written book that I have recommended more than once since finishing it.

(4 stars because I struggled to get lost in the story at first)