This was a sweet, easy read. A little too neatly wrapped up, but overall a good story with likable characters. I always enjoy Berg's books and this one was no exception.

A beautiful story about people and who we consider family. Arthur is a sweet old gentleman who visits his wife's grave daily to have lunch with her and talk to her. Maddy is a sullen teenager who also visits the cemetery frequently, using it as an escape from the harshness of her peers and the emptiness she feels. Lucille is Arthur's neighbour, a kind, but somewhat intense lady. Ultimately these three find their lives intertwined and undeniably changed for the better. While the story has melancholy overtones and is sad, it is also one of hope, kindness, acceptance, and love.

Truthfully, there is one detail, or really, glaring error, in the storyline that should bother me more than it does. However, it somehow becomes a secondary detail, somewhat lost in the charming story. An impressive feat.

Strong 4 stars.

This is a beautiful glance into real life. Elizabeth Berg can take you on a short journey that feels like a lifelong adventure. Beautifully written, great characters, great book.

The Story of Arthur Truluv

by Elizabeth Berg

I don’t know what I expected as I methodically started the next book in my queue. This one was labelled “Women’s Fiction” which I have learned covers a wide range of possibilities. As a book blogger, I rarely read the online summary again after I have made my selection of a book that I will read weeks or even months later. I never read other reviews until I have written my own. Those practices keep even my subconscious honest.

The Story of Arthur Truluv is a beautiful, delicate surprise. A rather short book that rightfully flows from beginning to end with only double line spacing to mark changes or pauses in the storyline, it is best with no chapter breaks. By the end I had fallen in love with the main characters, the aging Arthur and the young Maddy who is covered with the sadness of being different in so many ways. I was immersed in their individual stories and their collective potential for happiness. They meet in a cemetery and quietly begin a friendship that crosses age barriers.

I am not generally an openly emotional person, but The Story of Arthur Truluv left me in tears, not of sorrow but of hope. Hope for the characters and for the future of real people who find themselves closed in by circumstances but trying to address life and death with hope, courage, and the gentleness that emanates from kindness.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Women’s Fiction

Notes: I don’t usually read books I review more than once. I think this book will start a new Kindle collection for me: “Revisit.”

Publication: November 21, 2017—Random House

Memorable Lines:

The bones of his face protrude; he’s gotten so skinny he could take a bath in a gun barrel.

But adults complicate everything. They are by nature complicators. They learned to make things harder than they need to be and they learned to talk way too much.

“But what we need are readers. Right? Where would writers be without readers?…See, that’s what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness. I am the great appreciator, that’s what I do and that’s all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I did a lot of things for a lot of years. Now, well, here I am in the rocking chair, and I don’t mind it, Lucille. I don’t feel useless. I feel lucky.”

Love fed this charming tale f friendship between Arthur and Maddie, Elizabeth Berg never disappoints ,

A lovely story, wonderful characters, making family of the people you find in your life.

First - thank you to NetGalley for this e-book copy for my enjoyment and review. Elizabeth Berg has done it again, with this delightful story of Arthur, Maddy (his friend from his visits to the cemetary) and neighbor Lucille. This is a truly heart-warming story that the reader will enjoy from the very first few pages. The book flows along so beautifully, you can't put it down. Comparable to A Man Called Ove - just as good! Thank you Ms. Berg, again.

A genuine heartfelt book about finding friendship and family through life’s tough times and losses of the past.

Arthur finds a young friend Maddy during his visits to the cemetery to talk to his wife and their friendship grows and blossoms. Maddy sends joy to Arthur’s quite boring life. Lucille is Arthur’s neighbor and she soon takes an interest in Maddy two and the two of them together help show this girl what family can be.

A great book to read.

This was a lovely, feel good story about a young teenager's relationship with an elderly widower. It reminded me of A Man Called Ove, although this main character, Arthur, is a gentler soul than Ove. This is a short, light book, and was just what I needed after a bunch of heavier reads.

The Story of Arthur Truluv is one of those quiet novels that slowly peaks your interest the more you read it. Arthur is an 82 year old widower who spends his time going to the cemetery to visit his wife's grave. He also developed a habit of visiting her "neighbors", and trying to imagine their lives prior to death. This is also where he makes Maddy's acquaintance, an 18 year old girl who finds her own comfort in the graveyard. This two strike up somewhat odd but heartwarming friendship and with the addition of Lucille, Arthur's elderly neighbor they form a bond that would rival any blood family. This book doesn't really have the usual plot but its charm lies in the well developed characters and the observations about life and it's somewhat and often times complicated meaning. This is a great book for those who love their stories more about little slices of life events and lovable characters.

My favorite book of the year! As someone who works with seniors, I found this book so poignant and touching. Elizabeth Berg captured not only the twilight of life so perfectly but also the hope of new life. This was such a pleasurable read!

I thought it was a well written book with enjoyable characters.
I would recommend it to others.

The Story of Arthur Truluv is a warm blanket book. Reminiscent of Frederik Backman's, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, it is a story about loss, home, grief, reinvention and moving on. Although the themes in the book are heavy at times, Berg weaves a story of hope even in the middle of heartbreak. It doesn't feel depressing but full of light and joy.

There aren't many books that feel whimsical, but this is that rare book. Arthur Moses is quirky in a good way. He eats lunch at his wife's grave every day and while there he imagines the lives of the neighbors around her. He meets Maddy, a lonely teenage girl on the cusp of adulthood, but carrying the weight of her lonely childhood on her shoulders. She also goes to the cemetery, but for very different reasons. The two form an unlikely friendship and become the family they both need.

It's also a story about how to care for people who have never experienced the love of another person. You see this in both his friendship with Maddy, but also his growing relationship with his neighbor Lucille Howard. Each of the characters feels ignored or invisible, either through old-age or grief. And don't we all feel this way at times? We know what we need but don't know how to ask for it, or we don't know what we need and keep looking in all the wrong places. The journey of each of the characters reminds us that we are never too lost to be found. And it reminds the person who cares for others, that relationship takes time and patience.

As the holiday season becomes more intense with a flurry of activity, give yourself permission to take a night off, sip a good red wine, favorite tea or hot chocolate drink while you snuggle under a blanket and wrap yourself in a feel good book that will help you get through the dark winter days ahead.

THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg is a sentimental, gentle read, reminiscent in some ways of A Man Called Ove. The title character is an older man who has recently been widowed and he makes a vow to visit his wife, Nola's grave every day. It's at the cemetery that he meets a troubled seventeen year-old, Maddy, offering her some cookies baked by his retired neighbor, Louise.

Arthur, Maddy and Louise each suffer a loss and their coping mechanisms (or lack thereof), as well as the affection they gradually develop for each other is the heart of this book. Berg is an excellent writer and she deftly explores themes of loneliness, kindness and friendship across generations as, over time, these three characters form a caring family of sorts.

AUTHOR APPEARANCE: For those who are interested, Elizabeth Berg will be at the Highland Park< Illinois Public Library on Monday, December 4th at 7:00pm.

This was a sweet charming book about how one does not to be related by blood to be a family.

Artur Trulov is a older man who visits his beloved wife's grave everyday and bring his lunch and a chair to share some time with her. Arthur tends his roses and shares his time with Gordon his cat and briefly shares time with her neighbor, Lucille. Maddie Harris finds peace wandering the graveyard where she sees and finally meets and speaks to Arthur. She is a troubled teen having lost her mother when she was quite young and seems to have lost the love and affection of her father at the very same time. Lucille, also seems loveless. She lives alone with her cooking and baking being the whole of her life.

How these three people, bereft of love and caring is the basis of this lovely novel. They come together to form a bond of happiness and caring that delights the reader and makes you fall in love especially with Arthur. It also points most wonderfully the closeness one can have between the young and the old. “Happiness is only real when shared”

Special thanks to Elizabeth Berg, Random House, and NetGalley for providing this delightful book to me.

I just love Elizabeth Berg's storytelling and I have never been disappointed after reading one of her books. The Story of Arthur Truluv is a beautiful story about three lonely people who think that they are the only ones who are lonely and alone.

As the three struggle to get to know each other, they come to realize that their misfit lives just might fit perfectly together. Elizabeth created very memorable, caring characters—characters I won't soon forget—as she wove a heartwarming tale of friendship, support, and ultimately, family.

A sweet, sentimental story of how lonely, different people can come together to make a family. Not great literature but a heartwarming read nonetheless.

Loved this book!

Talented storyteller Elizabeth Berg returns following The Dream Lover and Make Someone Happy: Favorite Postings with one of her most charming books yet, THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV. Emotional and powerful, mixed with humor – three unlikely souls with their own loss, find solace in one another in this heartwarming tale.

Arthur Moses’ wife, Nola passed six months earlier. He has a routine. He tends to his cat Gordon, his rose garden, and takes the bus to the cemetery with his fold-up chair, to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. He is 85 years old.

Lucille Howard is Arthur’s neighbor. A bit nosy; however, she loves to cook and makes sure Arthur has plenty to eat. She is in love with her high school sweetheart, Frank. She is 83 years old. (very funny) She is excited about her second chance until she receives devastating news.

Maddy Harris is a troubled teen who sees Arthur at the cemetery. She has a strained relationship with her dad, bullied at school, a boyfriend who does not care about her, and a mother who died when she was but a baby. She is intrigued by Arthur and his relationship with his dead wife. She is 18 years old.

A little naive, she takes the bus to the cemetery. To be with people. She loves photography; however, feels isolated and soon finds herself pregnant. With no support from her own dad, she turns to Arthur for help.

Her own mother was cremated and she wished her mom had been buried at the cemetery. She finds graveyards comforting. She feels her dad blames her for his wife’s death. She lived, and her mother did not.

Maddy and Arthur strike up an unlikely friendship. Arthur is a self-less man and thinks of others. He listens and offers his time. He loves talking to his wife and keeping her updated with engaging stories.

The teen soon names Arthur “Truluv” due to his devotion to his wife. Maddy soon finds herself pregnant and when everyone turns against turn, Arthur is there to assist. They soon become best friends and then Lucille becomes a part of the group and the three move in together.

What they did not expect was to learn something about themselves in the process. A second chance at life. An unexpected friendship. Arthur soon finds he has a housekeeper and a cook. A lively and interesting home full of love and laughter.

Elizabeth Berg has a remarkable and unique talent of peaking inside the lives and hearts of people and life. Her characters are real and authentic. You feel their emotions and they jump off the page.

If you have read Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge and Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, you will see a difference in the character, Arthur. Everyone loves Arthur. He is not grumpy and is self-less. We all would love to have an Arthur in our lives!

Was reminded of the movie “Our Souls at Night”, starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. A widow and widower who've lived next to each other for years, who barely spoke; ultimately make a connection. (minus the sex) with Arthur and Lucille.

A light-hearted, a deeply moving novel (with a powerful takeaway), Berg once again delivers a thought-provoking tale of the resilience of the human spirit in the midst of grief and loneliness. Proof people can bond, outside of family across generations.

In our world of doom and gloom, it is pleasant to read such a charming book to lift your spirits.

A special thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

JDCMustReadBooks

This story of finding family in unlikely places is at the top of my new favorites list for this fall. With three troubled characters whose lives intersect right when they need each other the most the author provides a backdrop for an engaging examination of friendship and family and what can happen when you look at things in a positive light and change things together.
Arthur Truluv has been added to my list of endearing book characters which fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will also fall in love with.