Elizabeth Berg has brought me many happy moments while reading her books, so I was very happy to receive an uncorrected proof on Kindle of her latest offering from NetGalley and Random House.

This sweet story of three people who come together to form a family was predictable and some would say sappy but I would say - we need books like this which inspire us to reach out to one another and be more open to seeing opportunities vs. problems.  It is a quick read but one which will stay with me for a long time!!

'The Story of Arthur Truluv' is a lovely tale about Maddy, a 17 year old girl whose life is hard: her mother is dead, her father can't engage with her, and the kids at school are awful to her. Arthur is an 85-year-old lonely man, who lives alone except for his cat Gordon. Arthur spends his days  passing the time between visits to his wife's grave, until one day, when Arthur and Maddy meet in the cemetery, and their lives are ever the same again. 

This is the story of two good, lonely human beings who meet and develop a friendship that spans generations and will last a lifetime. It's a warm-hearted story which will make you laugh and cry. Much recommended for YA readers and adult readers alike.

Thank you, thank you, thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of The Story of Arthur Truluv written by Elizabeth Berg. I always love anything by Elizabeth Berg, however I have to say this book really touched my heart like no other in quite some time. It is the beautiful story of an elderly man Arthur Moses, whose wife Nola has died six months before. Unable to live without her, he visits her grave daily to have lunch with her, and visits with neighboring graves as they are now her neighbors. Their he meets a teenager Maddie. She along with Arthur 's neighbor Lucille, and Arthur learn to face the challenges of life and death together.

What a beautiful book depicting love at it’s best, losses that could break you but instead help create bonds never to be broken, comeraderie and caring that brought three strangers together to form a “pseudo” family giving each other the support they need. Arthur Moses, having lost his wife six months ago, goes to the cemetery every day with his folding chair and his lunch to sit with her-sometimes talking to her and other times just visiting-rain or shine. On one visit he encounters Maddie, a teenage girl who lost her mother shortly after her birth and whose father was incapable of dealing with his loss or his daughter. She nicknames Arthur “Truluv”as she has never seen or felt such devotion.   Finding herself pregnant and feeling like a pariah at school she knows she can’t go home. Arthur offers her a place to stay in exchange for her doing chores for him as  he finds things becoming more difficult  given his age. At the same time his neighbor Lucille  had finally found her true love only to lose him too soon. Finding herself bereft Arthur includes her and together they begin a new journey of companionship. I could go on and on but suffice it to say this book is beautifully written and speaks volumes about interaction in the face of loss.  For anyone who thinks going to a cemetery to visit a loved one who has passed is morose-think again. It can be very cathartic, and healing  and shows the measure of how much that person mattered in your life. I loved this book and especially Arthur “Truluv”.

I don't have much to say about The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg besides, I loved it and I read all night and was sorry when I finished it. I put off reading it for a little bit because after reading the synopsis I was afraid it would be sad. It wasn't sad. It was uplifting, and satisfying at a time when old age and its concerns are troubling for me. Thanks for sharing this story with me. I read it in exchange for a review, but truly enjoyed it.

The Story of Arthur Truluv is a heartwarming tale about three people who overcome loneliness and grief and create another chance at happiness. It is about making connections, and helping one another. Plus, who wouldn't love Arthur Truluv? He is the ideal grandfather! I love how he was so dedicated to his deceased wife that he went to have lunch with her every single day. Such devotion and connection. And I love how he was able to look outside of himself and his grief and so easily accept others into his life. Instead of cutting himself off, he opened up his arms and just gave love and acceptance, creating a family with Maddy and Lucille. I just felt like he died too quickly once that family was formed! Overall a great story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

This is a different kind of love story.  It is a gentle, sweet tale about three lonely people who find love and family when they thought none could be found.  Arthur Moses is an elderly man who lost the love of his life, Nora, six months ago.  He spends lunchtime with her every day at the cemetery, just to feel close to her.  He befriends Maddy Harris, a lonely high school senior who is an outcast that skips school to sit in the cemetery and take pictures.  She lost her mother when she was two weeks old and has never fit in with the other kids her age.  His neighbor, Lucille Howard is an 84-year-old spinster who loves baking and “mothering” Arthur.  She finally gets her chance with her one true love when life takes a surprising turn.  This is the story how the three come together to save each other.
 
The characters are affable and well defined.  They are believable and relatable.  They could be anyone that you interact with daily.  It is the kindly grandfather that lives down the lane and your heart is glad when these three lonely people connect and have each other.
 
This is very fast read. Although the subject can be intense and invoke emotions, it is written in such a way that the pages fly by and you won’t want to put it down.  The story is realistic and so are the characters, you are left feeling uplifted to know that people still can and will come together to help each other in need and loneliness.

I fell in love with this book from the first chapter. The characters were developed so well, and I instantly connected with them. What a wonderful surprise this book was. I laughed and cried. Would definitely recommend it!

The Story of Arthur Truluv is the perfect combination of A Man Called Ove and the movie Juno! Arthur Moses has recently lost his wife and is struggling to fill his days. He's a little lost. He goes every day to the cemetery to eat lunch at his wife's grave. While at the cemetery he makes an unlikely friend, a teenage girl (Maddy) who lost her mother at a young age and has a distant father. She is in desperate need of someone to love her and Arthur is in desperate need of a friend. 

"'God, you really love her!' She's digging in the earth, making a little hole and filling it up, making a hole and filling it up. 
'I did. I do. Always and forever. Nola Corrine.' 
She looks over at him. 'I'm going to call you Truluv. We'll spell it T-R-U-L-U-V. That's your new name.' 
'And I'm going to call you Sunshine.' 
'Ha, ha.'"

This story is pretty sad at times. Please be aware that there are definitely triggers in this book. There is discussion of suicide and attempted suicide. Maddy also experiences bullying. This story gets pretty dark at times, but is very well written. 

Maddy finds herself pregnant as she is about to graduate high school. The father wants nothing to do with her or the baby. Maddy's father doesn't want her to keep the baby and feels the baby will ruin her life. Maddy leaves home, but doesn't have any where to turn. After spending a couple of nights outside she is taken in by one of her teachers that can see she is gifted and just needs a little help in life. 

Maddy can't stay with her teacher forever and asks Arthur to stay with him in exchange for housekeeping and cooking. Arthur is over-joyed at the prospect and quickly accepts. He has a four bedroom house all to himself and is happy to have someone to fill a spare room. 

"How wonderful to be cared for, even if it's by a couple of goofy old people. She adores Arthur. Arthur and his things, like Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger. Who are in her backpack. Later tonight, she'll confess. Here's what she knows: he'll forgive her."

When Arthur's neighbor loses her fiancé unexpectedly she decides life would be better in one of Arthur's spare bedrooms. She moves herself across the street and begins teaching cooking classes out of Arthur's kitchen. Soon Arthur has a full house bustling with activity. It is a dream come true!

The Story of Arthur Truluv is quirky and unexpected. I really enjoyed the story of Arthur and Maddy. Although sad at times, it is worth the read.

In a new novel, Elizabeth Berg uses her gift for writing to create a lovely story about three lonely people at different stages of their lives.  Arthur Moses misses his wife who died six months ago.  Maddy feels disconnected from everyone in school and alone at home.  Lucille, Arthur's neighbor,  is a retired teacher who also lives alone.

Arthur takes his lunch and a portable chair to the cemetery every day to sit at his wife's grave.  He tells her every bit of news he can think of, eats his lunch, and then goes back to the bus stop and travels home.  The trip is the highlight of his day.  At home, Arthur has Gordon, the cat, and he settles in for a night of thinking of Nora and doing the little chores he has around the house.  Arthur's situation is sad for me.  I think it is hard for older people who have been married for many years to think of that space in their lives when a partner dies.  Arthur feels it strongly.  It resonated for me as I remember my father's grief when my mother passed away.  There is little comfort in the first year.

Berg steps in and gives Arthur a young girl to think about when he sees her frequently at the cemetery.  He wonders why she isn't in school and waves to her when he catches her eye.  After a time, they meet and learn about each other's lives.  Maddy lost her mother when she was a baby.  She has always been sad, living with a father who is distant.  Maddy has never made any friends at school.  Fortunately, there is an English teacher who seems to understand, and he gives her confidence and support.  

Arthur and Maddy learn about each other through short conversations.  Arthur worries about Maddy and begins to take a fatherly view of her and why she spends so much time out of school.  He gives her his name and address in case she ever needs someone to help.  In the meantime, Arthur continues to visit with his neighbor, Lucille, who is a magical baker.  If Arthur goes over and sits with Lucille on her porch, the rewards include cookies and companionship.

Eventually, all three characters come together to form an unlikely alliance.  The story is lovely and heartwarming.  It helped me get through the painful parts of aging and loss.  Maddy decided early on to call the old man in the cemetery Arthur Truluv, a name that suits Arthur well.  He was a man who had a capacity for love we need more of in this world today.

Advanced copy from NetGalley and Random House.

Publish date November 21.

An ode to the home made family, an homage to Age, and a paen to kindness. Honest, funny, and so moving tears will never be too far from your eyes. 

82 year-old Arthur Moses lives with his cat Gordon and lunches in the cemetery with his dead wife  every day.  Lucille is the nosy neighbor who may (in her 80s) finally have a chance at love when her high school beau shows up out of the blue. High school senior Maddy Harris (nicknamed “Saddy”) often hides from school in the cemetery. She has no friends, no mother, and a father who detached when her mother died two weeks after Maddie’s birth. When something happens that causes her to leave home, it is Arthur to whom she turns, and Lucille who pushes her way into the mix.

Beautiful writing and impressive descriptions of the wisdom that one accrues with time, the values that live at one’s core, and the powerful bonds that result when people bring courtesy, understanding, and gentleness to their interactions with others. It’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with Arthur (and why wouldn’t you want to?) and to wish you could spend a little time in Mason, Missouri with the rest of them. One of the warmest and most uplifting books I’ve read all year.

I loved this endearing novel about the unlikely friendship between widower Arthur "Truluv", Maddy, a teenage girl in need of a friend, and Lucille, Arthur's lonely elderly neighbor. I fell in love with the characters and could not put this book down.

This book was such a wonderful, gentle read about aging, loneliness and the people who become our families.  The story centers around Arthur, who visits his deceased wife at the cemetery every day, and  Maddy, a teenager who is struggling with life.  They meet at the cemetery and their friendship enriches both of their lives tremendously.  They join forces with Arthur's older next door neighbor Lucille and form a little family of their own.

I really felt this book portrayed elderly people in an illuminating light.  Too often, older people are overlooked instead of valued for their talents and experience.  Really a lovely read.

An interesting and believable story of the friendship between an older man and a teenager. Well written, engrossing, touching.

Thanks to the publisher, Random House, via NetGalley for an e-Uncorrected Proof in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy reading novels by Elizabeth Berg and this was no exception. It's a wonderful, charming story about three lonely people who find each other. Each of them, Arthur age 85; Maddy, age 17; and Lucille who is elderly and a neighbor of Arthur's; lose the person they love most in the world. For Arthur, it's his wife of many years. He takes the bus to the cemetery every day and eats his lunch by his wife's grave. He talks to her and imagines the lives of those buried nearby. Maddy, a loner, lost her mother at a very young age and her father, in his grief, shows her very little emotion as she grows. Lucille is a retired teacher, likes to bake, is very lonely until she reunites with a former classmate who was her first love.

Maddy, who does not fit in at school, skips lunch and goes to the nearby cemetery. Eventually she and Arthur meet and become friends. Arthur is compassionate and helps people he knows. These three people need each other and find the comfort of family when they are together. The side stories are interesting and tie the story into a terrific novel. The characters are so delightful in this emotional, uplifting book that should be another best-seller for this talented author.

What a charming and sweet story! I loved Arthur, an 85-year-old widower, Maddy, a 16-year-old high school student who has no friends her age, and Lucille, Arthur's elderly neighbor who loves to bake and share her sweets with Arthur. These are three lonely people who come together in a most unusual way and form a bonding and loving friendship. It was sad in parts but yet very uplifting and just so beautiful. This is one that I would pick up and read again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing Group for the advance copy of this book.

Elizabeth Berg never fails to disappoint.  Her stories are comparable to fine wines.  I think every reader would befriend each character if they could.

Any fan of Elizabeth Berg will not be disappointed in this one. Spot on characters that grab your heart. Charming story. Loved every page.

I adore Elizabeth Berg's books, and this one tops my list. Is it possible to say a book is sweet and heart-breaking at the same time? Her characters are so real and the story is beautifully told. I'm spreading the word about The Story of Arthur Truluv to every reader I know. So good.

I want to thank Random House, NetGallery and Elizabeth Berg for allowing me to have this ARC to read and review. It is hard to write this review without giving too much away and I think this is one of those books that is better read without knowing much about the plot. 

This gentle story tells of three people – two senior citizens and a teenager - with absolutely nothing in common except their own feelings of loss, grief and isolation, and how they chose to bond together and restore purpose and joy to one another’s lives. This is a story of friendship, love, and the family that you have as well as family that you choose. The writing is polished and gives vivid pictures of each character and event. I’ve enjoyed other books by Elizabeth Berg, but this one was, to me, a step above the others. One thing that was a bit unusual is that there are no chapters in the book. Some found it off-putting; for me it was only a problem in that I kept on reading (where with a chapter break I might have put it down). As a result, I finished this in a couple of sittings, sooner than I was ready to leave it.

Several reviewers have compared this (and not always favorably) to A Man Called Ove. I think there are definite similarities but each stands on its own, not least in that in this book, Arthur is always positive and loving, with none of Ove’s curmudgeonly grumbling and demeanor. 

I will say that this was nearly a 5-star read for me, except for an improbable pivotal event in the teenager’s life that just didn’t ring true. Otherwise, very well done, Ms Berg!