Name: The Story of Arthur Truluv
Rating: 3.944444444444445 (18 reviews)
ISBN: 9781524783037

Elizabeth Berg

Making daily visits to the grave of his beloved late wife, Arthur forges unexpected relationships with a nosy neighbor and a troubled teen who dubs him "Truluv" before the trio discovers healing and family together.

The Story of Arthur Truluv

“I dare you to read this novel and not fall in love with Arthur Truluv. His story will make you laugh and cry, and will show you a love that never ends, and what it means to be truly human.”—Fannie Flagg An emotionally powerful novel about three people who each lose the one they love most, only to find second chances where they least expect them “Fans of Meg Wolitzer, Emma Straub, or [Elizabeth] Berg’s previous novels will appreciate the richly complex characters and clear prose. Redemptive without being maudlin, this story of two misfits lucky to have found one another will tug at readers’ heartstrings.”—Booklist For the past six months, Arthur Moses’s days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. The last thing Arthur would imagine is for one unlikely encounter to utterly transform his life. Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. One afternoon she joins Arthur—a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls. Moved by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv.” As Arthur’s neighbor Lucille moves into their orbit, the unlikely trio band together and, through heartache and hardships, help one another rediscover their own potential to start anew. Wonderfully written and full of profound observations about life, The Story of Arthur Truluv is a beautiful and moving novel of compassion in the face of loss, of the small acts that turn friends into family, and of the possibilities to achieve happiness at any age. Praise for The Story of Arthur Truluv “For several days after [finishing The Story of Arthur Truluv], I felt lifted by it, and I found myself telling friends, also feeling overwhelmed by 2017, about the book. Read this, I said, it will offer some balance to all that has happened, and it is a welcome reminder we’re all neighbors here.”—Chicago Tribune “Not since Paul Zindel’s classic The Pigman have we seen such a unique bond between people who might not look twice at each other in real life. This small, mighty novel offers proof that they should.”—People, Book of the Week

A Novel

Jennifer Eggleston 

Lots of sappy tears ...

This is a beautiful story about three lonely people, Truluv, Maddy, and Lucille, in the world who became a family. 

This gave me all the Hallmark card feels.

"Truluv is a moving novel about three people who have lost the person they love most, and must find their way back to happiness. Arthur, a widower, meets Maddy, an angry and friendless teenage girl, while visiting his late wife at the cemetery, where he goes every day for lunch. Against all odds, the two strike up a friendship that pulls them out of a serious rut. They band together with Arthur's nosy neighbor Lucille, to create lives that are truly worth living. Proving that life's most precious moments are sweeter when shared, they go from strangers, to friends, to an untraditional but loving family. Betrayal, loneliness, romance and family are at the heart of this honey of a book, a must-read for fans of Elizabeth Berg's early work. This is a story about life being affirmed at all ages, old and young, and about finding happiness when hope seems lost. Readers will laugh, cry, and love Truluv"--

a novel

The story of Arthur Truluv

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Elizabeth Berg, this novel follows the lives of three characters, Arthur, Maddy, and Lucille and how their lives come together just when they need each other most.

This is the most recent novel in my local book club, and I must admit that I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. This is a good book for discussion, as each character is unique, and the three make an excellent foil of comparison between one another and their own secondary characters.

Truluv reads like a commentary on life, and it would appear that is what it is. You have a teen who has had a difficult life at home where she never received the love she needed as her father was withdrawn after her mother’s death. An old man whose life consists of visiting his wife every day at the cemetery, taking care of his cat, and having aimless conversations with his neighbor. Finally, an old woman who views her life as a waste because she never got married or had children. And they come together in a wonderful way that contains an excellent marriage for anyone who feels they are alone and don’t think life will get any better.

This is a novel that floats along. It doesn’t try to contain itself to a certain month, nor does it hurry its characters along. It comes in only to tell the relevant bits it needs to, solidly pushing this into a shorter literary novel.

This is not a fantasy novel, Arthur only imagines the dead’s lives he doesn’t know them, and this isn’t a romance novel. But this is a great novel of growth and love and was overall a wonderful read.

The Story of Arthur Truluv

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